Salesforce Trigger Workflow Framework

An opinionated, lightweight framework enabling admins and junior developers to implement business rules in Apex. Bulk-friendly by design.

Installation

Zip up the src directory and deploy with Workbench or your favorite IDE.

Quick Start

Let's say you're creating your first trigger on the Account object, and you want to implement a business rule to capitalize every letter in the Account Name field.

One-time Account object setup

Create a single trigger on the Account object named AccountTrigger as shown below.

trigger AccountTrigger on Account (
        before insert, after insert,
        before update, after update,
        before delete, after delete, after undelete) {

    // For readability, get a handle on the TriggerService object
    // for this Sobject type
    TriggerService service = TriggerService.getInstance(
        Schema.sobjectType.Account.getName(),
        TriggerWorkflowContext.getInstance()
    );

    // Process all of the trigger workflows
    service.processActiveWorkflows();
}

Create the AccountCapitalizeWorkflow class

public class AccountCapitalizeWorkflow extends AbstractSobjectWorkflow {
    
    /**
     * Code to execute in the `Trigger.isAfter` context. For insert
     * and update operations, this would be a good place to
     * create child records, enqueue async jobs, etc.
     */
    public override void executeAfter() {
        /* do nothing */
    }
    
    /**
     * Code to execute in the `Trigger.isBefore` context. For insert
     * and update operations, this is a good place to modify field
     * values on records being processed.
     */
    public override void executeBefore() {
        for (Account eachAccount : (List<Account>)this.records) {
            eachAccount.Name = eachAccount.Name.toUpperCase();
        }
    }

    /**
     * This is where entry criteria are defined, similar to
     * workflow rules.
     */
    public override Boolean qualify(Sobject newRecord, Sobject oldRecord) {
        
        // We are indiscriminately capitalizing the name
        // of an account every time a record is inserted or updated.
        return this.context.isInsert || this.context.isUpdate;
    }
}

All workflows must extend AbstractSobjectWorkflow. And as a result, three methods at a minimum must be overridden.

executeBefore can be used to do stuff with records (this.records) that meet the entry criteria before a record has been locked. For example, modify field values.
executeAfter can be used to do stuff with records (this.records) that meet the entry criteria after a record has been locked. For example, create child records, enqueue asynchronous jobs.
qualify defines the entry criteria

It's fine to do nothing in either executeBefore or executeAfter, but the methods must be overridden. This has the benefit of showing the reader at a glance that something or nothing is supposed to happen in either the before or after contexts.

Define the trigger workflow for AccountCapitalizeWorkflow