This session creates, updates, and deletes Periods in bulk. The data for create and update is provided by the consumer via the form object. OsidForms are requested for each create or update and may not be reused.

Create and update operations differ in their usage. To create a Period, a PeriodForm is requested using getPeriodFormsForCreate() specifying the desired record Types or none if no record Types are needed. Each of the returned PeriodForms will indicate that it is to be used with a create operation and can be used to examine metdata or validate data prior to creation. Once a PeriodForm is submiited to a create operation, it cannot be reused with another create operation unless the first operation was unsuccessful. Each PeriodForm corresponds to an attempted transaction.

The PeriodForms returned from getPeriodFormsForCreate() may be linked to the originating request through the peer Ids of the PeriodForm. In the case where there may be duplicates, any PeriodForm of the same peer Ids may be used for a create operation.

Once a batch of PeriodForms are submitted for create, a CreateResponse is returned for each PeriodForm, although the ordering is not defined. Only errors that pertain to the entire create operation are returned from createPeriods(), errors specific to an individual PeriodForm are indicated in the corresponding CreateResponse. CreateResponses may be linked to the originating PeriodForm through the PeriodForm Id .

For updates, PeriodForms are requested to the Period Id that is to be updated using getPeriodFormsForUpdate() where the reference Id in the PeriodForm may be used to link the request. Similarly, the PeriodForm has metadata about the data that can be updated and it can perform validation before submitting the update. The PeriodForm can only be used once for a successful update and cannot be reused.

Once a batch of PeriodForms are submitted for update, an UpdateResponse is returned for each PeriodForm, although the ordering is not defined. Only errors that pertain to the entire update operation are returned from updatePeriods(), errors specific to an individual PeriodForm are indicated in the corresponding UpdateResponse. UpdateResponses may be linked to the originating PeriodForm through the PeriodForm Id.

The delete operations delete Periods in bulk. To unmap a Period from the current Business, the PeriodBusinessAssignmentSession should be used. These delete operations attempt to remove the Period itself thus removing it from all known Business catalogs. Bulk delete operations return the results in DeleteResponses.