This session creates, updates, and deletes Replies 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 Reply, a ReplyForm is requested using getReplyFormsForCreate() specifying the desired post and record Types or none if no record Types are needed. Each of the returned ReplyForms 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 ReplyForm is submiited to a create operation, it cannot be reused with another create operation unless the first operation was unsuccessful. Each ReplyForm corresponds to an attempted transaction.

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

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

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

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

The delete operations delete Replies in bulk. To unmap a Reply from the current Forum, the ReplyForumAssignmentSession should be used. These delete operations attempt to remove the Reply itself thus removing it from all known Forum catalogs. Bulk delete operations return the results in DeleteResponses.