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HCL Commerce is a high-availability, highly scalable and customizable e-commerce platform. Able to support hundreds of thousands of transactions per day, HCL Commerce allows you to do business with consumers (B2C) or directly with businesses (B2B). HCL Commerce uses cloud friendly technology to make deployment and operation both easy and efficient. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels. Business users can also use AI enabled content management capabilities.
Reference
Topics in the Reference section contain all of the HCL Commerce reference documentation.
HCL Commerce database schema
The HCL Commerce database model was designed for data integrity and optimal performance. HCL Commerce provides several hundred tables that store HCL Commerce instance data. To maintain data integrity, and to ease maintenance referential integrity, constraints are widely used in the database model. Indexes are used carefully on tables to avoid over-indexing and to provide a good balance between data retrieval and data manipulation activities (insert and update). The business rules are implemented at the application level rather than by using database trigger. Triggers, however, are used to facilitate data staging and optimistic locking. A limited number of SQL-based database stored procedures are used for data intensive activities.
Data models
Any given database data model displays the relationship among database tables in the schema.
Catalog
The catalog data model shows the relationship between database tables related to the Catalog subsystem.
Attribute dictionary
The attribute dictionary data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about attribute dictionaries.

Documentation
HCL Commerce is a high-availability, highly scalable and customizable e-commerce platform. Able to support hundreds of thousands of transactions per day, HCL Commerce allows you to do business with consumers (B2C) or directly with businesses (B2B). HCL Commerce uses cloud friendly technology to make deployment and operation both easy and efficient. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels. Business users can also use AI enabled content management capabilities.
- Getting started
  HCL Commerce has different advantages for business users, administrators and developers. HCL Commerce targets each of these roles with a tailored set of offerings so that each of your users can get maximum benefit.
- Installing and deploying
  Learn how to install and deploy HCL Commerce development environments and HCL Commerce production environments.
- Migrating
  Before you migrate to HCL Commerce Version 9, review this information to help plan and execute your migration.
- Operating
  Topics in the Operating category highlight tasks that are typically performed by business users, customer support representatives, to complete their day-to-day tasks in the operation of the HCL Commerce site.
- Integrating
  Topics in the Integrating category highlight the tasks that are commonly performed for using HCL Commerce in combination with other products.
- Administering
  Topics in the Administering category highlight tasks that are typically performed by the Site Administrator, to support daily operations of the HCL Commerce site.
- Customizing
  The topics in the Customizing section describe tasks performed by an application developer to customize HCL Commerce.
- Tutorials
  HCL Commerce provides many tutorials to help you customize and understand your HCL Commerce instance and stores.
- Samples
  Topics in the Samples category highlight the various samples that are provided with HCL Commerce.
- Compliance
  The following section describes how you can leverage HCL Commerce features and functionality to help your site be compliant with different privacy and security standards.
- Securing
  These topics describe the security features of HCL Commerce and how to configure these features.
- Performance
  Topics in the Performance section describe the means by which to plan, implement, test, and re-visit the optimization of HCL Commerce site performance.
- Troubleshooting
  Topics in the Troubleshooting section highlight common issues that are encountered with HCL Commerce, and how they can be addressed or mitigated.
- Reference
  Topics in the Reference section contain all of the HCL Commerce reference documentation.
  - HCL Commerce API reference
    HCL Commerce exposes two main programming APIs. The first and newest API is a REST interface, and most new classes are exposed here. The legacy Java API also contains new classes not suitable for REST, and can be browsed in Javadoc format.
  - Cross-reference of data beans and tables
    Data beans are grouped into several component groups.
  - Cross-reference of commands, tasks, and tables
    URL commands, controller commands, task commands, view commands and tables are related to each other.
  - Cross reference: Commands to beans to database tables
    Use this information when you are customizing a command and you want to know which tables are affected. You should also use this topic if you are modifying a table and want to know which commands and beans are affected.
  - Run Engine commands
    The following Run Engine commands are available by default for you to configure the applications that are running inside the containers.
  - Entering Docker containers
    To enter a Docker container you can complete the following steps.
  - Docker container start up logic for 9.0.0.0 and 9.0.0.1
    When you deploy a container from an HCL provided image, an Entrypoint.sh helper script determines the configurations to use while starting up the container. Review the following information to learn about what the helper script does, and how you can customize the configurations.
  - Docker container start up logic for HCL Commerce Version 9.0.0.2 or later
    When you deploy a container from an HCL provided image, an Entrypoint.sh helper script determines the configurations to use while starting up the container. Review the following information to learn about what the helper script does, and how you can customize the configurations.
  - HCL Commerce database schema
    The HCL Commerce database model was designed for data integrity and optimal performance. HCL Commerce provides several hundred tables that store HCL Commerce instance data. To maintain data integrity, and to ease maintenance referential integrity, constraints are widely used in the database model. Indexes are used carefully on tables to avoid over-indexing and to provide a good balance between data retrieval and data manipulation activities (insert and update). The business rules are implemented at the application level rather than by using database trigger. Triggers, however, are used to facilitate data staging and optimistic locking. A limited number of SQL-based database stored procedures are used for data intensive activities.
    - Column data type considerations
      Several column data types are available for you to use when you are creating new database table or columns.
    - Schema changes from Version 8 to Version 9
      Database tables and columns within the HCL Commerce Version 9 database schema can differ from the tables and columns in the database schema for HCL Commerce Version 8.
    - Deprecated tables and columns
      If a database table or column is marked as deprecated, then the table or column is outdated by newer constructs. Deprecated sections are supported for reasons of compatibility with an earlier version only. These tables or columns are obsolete or can become obsolete in future versions of HCL Commerce.
    - Data models
      Any given database data model displays the relationship among database tables in the schema.
      - Legend for data models
        Database tables within the HCL Commerce database schema are organized into functional groups, called data models.
      - Catalog
        The catalog data model shows the relationship between database tables related to the Catalog subsystem.
        Attachment
        The Attachment shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about attachment.
        Attribute
        The attribute data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about product attributes. Attributes can be one of several types, identified by the ATTRTYPE column.
        Attribute dictionary
        The attribute dictionary data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about attribute dictionaries.
        Catalog
        The catalog data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about a catalog.
        Catalog entry
        The catalog entry data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about a catalog entry.
        Catalog group
        This catalog group data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about catalog groups.
        Rule-based sales category and rule
        This data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about rule-based sales categories and the rules for those categories. Rule-based sales categories are a type of sales category that uses a search-based, user-defined rule with HCL Commerce search to find and automatically assign catalog entries to the category.
        Catalog filter
        The catalog filter data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about catalog filtering.
        Merchandising association
        The merchandising association data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about merchandising associations.
        Package
        The package data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about packages. A package is a group of items that are preselected for a fixed price. Packages must be bought intact, and cannot be broken down by the customer. If a package contains products with defining attributes, it must be associated to those attributes and their corresponding values.
        Dynamic kit
        This dynamic kit data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about configurable products. These configurable products are Dynamic Kit catalog entries.
        Product set
        This product set data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about product sets.
      - Marketing
        The marketing data model shows the relationship between database tables related to the Marketing subsystem.
      - Promotions
        The promotions data models show the relationship between database tables that are related to the promotions.
      - Member
        The member data model shows the relationship between database tables related to the Member subsystem.
      - Order Management
        The order management data model shows the relationship between database tables related to the Order Management subsystem.
      - Payment
        The payment data models show the database tables that are related to the payments subsystem.
      - Store
        The store data models show the relationship between database tables that are related to stores.
      - System
        The system data models show the relationship of database tables used for HCL Commerce system functions.
      - Trading
        The trading data models show the relationship of database tables in the Trading subsystem.
      - Content Management
        The Content Management shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about content management.
      - Content management system integration
        The content management system integration data model shows the relationship between database tables used by the solution.
      - Content versioning
        The content versioning data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about the content versioning.
      - Folder data model
        The folder data model shows the relationship between the database tables that include information about folder and folder items.
      - Wish list
        The Wish list data model (previously the Gift Center data model) shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about the storefront user wish list.
      - HCL Commerce search engine optimization
        The HCL Commerce search engine optimization (SEO) shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about HCL Commerce search engine optimization (SEO).
      - HCL Commerce search data model
        The HCL Commerce search data model shows the relationship between database tables that are related to HCL Commerce search.
    - Database tables
  - Payments subsystem
    In HCL Commerce, payment processing uses the Payments subsystem.
  - Dynamic caching
    In general, caching improves response time and reduces system load. Caching techniques are used to improve the performance of World Wide Web Internet applications. Most techniques cache static content (content that rarely changes) such as graphic and text files. However, many websites serve dynamic content, containing personalized information or data that changes more frequently. Caching dynamic content requires more sophisticated caching techniques, such as those provided by the WebSphere Application Server dynamic cache, a built-in service for caching and serving dynamic content.
  - HCL Commerce store pages properties
  - Cache-entry elements
    The root element of the cachespec.xml file, <cache>, contains <cache-entry> elements. The WebSphere dynamic cache service parses the cachespec.xml file during start-up, and extracts a set of configuration parameters from each <cache-entry> element.
  - Data Load utility configuration file schema
    The Data Load utility contains several configuration files. You can use the configuration file schema to understand and customize the data load configuration files.
  - HCL Commerce web services
    HCL Commerce provides many web services.
  - Utilities
    In HCL Commerce utilities are scripts that perform operations such as loading access control policies, loading store data, and cleaning the database of obsolete objects. In runtime environments, run utilities from the Utility server Docker container. In the development environment, run utilities from the bin directory.
  - Shopping flow URLs
    HCL Commerce shopping flow URLs are organized by subsystem.
  - Messaging system URLs
    The following URLs relate to the Messaging system.
  - Scheduler URLs
    The server subsystem consists of functions that are associated with URLs that are run by the scheduler.
  - jQuery Enhancements API
    The Aurora starter store in HCL Commerce is completely written in jQuery, which is one of the most commonly used JavaScript libraries used in dynamic websites. The jQuery AJAX and events API provides an easy to use framework that meets most AJAX requirements for storefront development.
  - HCL Commerce foundation tag library
    The HCL Commerce foundation JSTL tag library is a collection of custom tags that are provided to you to support the authoring of HCL Commerce JSP files. HCL Commerce stores use the JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL) to perform logic, instead of Java code. At the same time, business logic is moved into data beans. The combination of these steps allows for less Java code in a JSP page.

Attribute dictionary data model

The attribute dictionary data model shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about attribute dictionaries.

Click any of the database table boxes to see more information about that table.

Diagram showing the database relationships for the attribute dictionary