Annotations¶

The dorm_annotations package defines the metadata read by the dORM generator. Add annotations to abstract Dart classes and getters, then regenerate the .dorm.dart and .g.dart parts.

Note

An annotation declares names, fields, identities, or relationships. It does not open a connection or perform a database operation. Think of it as an instruction for the generator: it describes what a value means, while the generated entity and the selected engine use the resulting metadata at runtime.

Learn annotations in this order¶

Use the pages in this order when building a model from scratch:

Data for reusable serializable values;
Model for stored entities and their identities;
@Field for scalar and value fields;
ModelField for embedded data or models;
ForeignField for related identities;
@DerivedField for generated query values;
@PolymorphicData for variant declarations;
@PolymorphicField for storing a selected variant.

The Quickstart applies these annotations to one continuous store application. Use these pages when you need the parameters, defaults, generated names, or boundaries of a specific annotation.

All annotated source files must declare the generated parts:

lib/models.dart

part 'models.dorm.dart';
part 'models.g.dart';

After changing an annotation, run:

dart run build_runner build

The generated .dorm.dart file contains dORM entities, schema metadata, repositories, the generated Dorm, and relationship paths. The .g.dart file contains JSON helpers.