Salesforce developers and administrators often work with Apex, its a proprietary programming language that drives complex business logic and custom functionality within the Salesforce platform. At the heart of Apex development lies the concept of Apex classes. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Salesforce Apex classes.

What is an Apex Class?

An Apex class is a template or blueprint that defines the data and behavior of an object in Salesforce. It encapsulates code into a unit, promoting reusability and making it easier to organize and maintain your Salesforce applications.

Apex classes are fundamental to Salesforce development because they can:

  • Allow you to create custom logic and functionality
  • Facilitate code reuse across your org
  • Enable you to build complex applications within Salesforce

Anatomy of an Apex Class

Let’s break down the structure of a basic Apex class:

public class MyApexClass {
	 // Class variables
	  private String myVariable;

	 // Constructor 
	 public MyApexClass() {
		 // Initialize variables 
        }
  
	// Methods 
	public void myMethod() {
		 // Method logic 
	 } 
 }

Key components include:

  • Class declaration: Defines the class name and access level
  • Variables: Store data used by the class
  • Constructor: Initializes the class when instantiated
  • Methods: Define the behavior and operations of the class

Best Practices for Writing Apex Classes

Follow these best practices to write clean, efficient Apex code:

  1. Use descriptive names for classes, methods, and variables
  2. Implement proper error handling with try-catch blocks
  3. Bulkify your code to handle multiple records efficiently
  4. Keep classes focused on a single responsibility
  5. Comment your code for better readability and maintenance

Testing Apex Classes

Salesforce has done the developers dirty with the 75% code coverage requirement. From my personal experience I have found out that testing Apex classes are counter productive and doesnt really ensures code quality and reliability.

Maybe I have not figured out an efficient workflow to test apex classes.

you can read more here on testing apex classes: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/apex_testing/apex_testing_intro

When writing test classes:

  • Test both positive and negative scenarios
  • Use @isTest annotation for test methods
  • Create test data within the test class

Advanced Concepts

As you progress, you’ll encounter more advanced topics:

  • Governor limits: Understand and work within Salesforce’s execution limits
  • Asynchronous Apex: Use @future, Queueable, and Batchable interfaces for long-running operations
  • Sharing and security: Implement proper access controls in your classes

Conclusion

Mastering Apex classes is essential for any Salesforce developer. They form the backbone of custom development on the platform, allowing you to create robust, scalable, and maintainable solutions. Keep practicing, exploring the Salesforce documentation, and don’t hesitate to engage with the vibrant Salesforce developer community as you continue your learning journey.