Profile Structure
A profile is a single instance of a profile definition containing the data that the profile definition collects.
Every profile is based on a single profile definition. You can embed profile definitions to create profiles that reference each other, for example, by adding an Address profile definition to the User Object profile definition, you can collect an address for a user and the user can reference the address. You use the Profile Definition Designer module in Commerce Server Business Desk to edit and manage profile definitions.
The following table shows a sample User Object profile definition and a single instance of the sample User Object profile definition with data for Sean Chai.
| Profile definition: User Object | Profile: Sean Chai |
|---|---|
| First name | Sean |
| Last name | Chai |
| City | Seattle |
| Gender | M |
| Age | 52 |
| E-mail address | seanchai@microsoft.com |
A Commerce Server profile consists of the following parts:
- Profile definition. A description of the data to be collected for a given type of profile. You can have multiple profiles based on a single profile definition. For example, the User Object profile definition can be used to create a profile for each user who registers on your site. System administrators use the Profiles resource in Commerce Server Manager to create profile definitions.
- Profile property. A characteristic that specifies the profile data to be collected when a user visits your Web site. For example, the First Name property specifies that the first name of the user should be collected. Use the Business Desk Profile Definition Designer module to add profile properties to profile definitions.
- Profile property attribute. A characteristic that specifies information about a profile property such as the data type of the property (for example, number, string, decimal, and site term).
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