How to annotate RequiredProperties during deep insert?

[HeikoTheissen]

Consider an entity set Orders with a containment navigation property Items and assume that the item property ItemType is mandatory during item creation.

For a request like POST Orders(...)/Items, this is expressed as:

<Annotations Target="ns.Container/Orders/Items">
  <Annotation Term="Capabilities.InsertRestrictions">
    <Record>
      <PropertyValue Property="RequiredProperties">
        <Collection>
          <PropertyPath>ItemType</PropertyPath>
        </Collection>
      </PropertyValue>
    </Record>
  </Annotation>
</Annotations>

But how can the requirement be expressed for a deep insert POST Orders with the Items navigation property in the payload?

<Annotations Target="ns.Container/Orders">
  <Annotation Term="Capabilities.InsertRestrictions">
    <Record>
      <PropertyValue Property="RequiredProperties">
        <Collection>
          <PropertyPath>Items/ItemType</PropertyPath>
        </Collection>
      </PropertyValue>
    </Record>
  </Annotation>
</Annotations>

goes too far: It seems to require that the payload always contains Items.

To which requests does the following alternative apply?

• An insert POST Orders(...)/Items
• A deep insert POST Orders with Items in the payload

<Annotations Target="ns.Container/Orders">
  <Annotation Term="Capabilities.NavigationRestrictions">
    <Record>
      <PropertyValue Property="RestrictedProperties">
        <Collection>
          <Record>
            <PropertyValue Property="NavigationProperty" NavigationPropertyPath="Items" />
            <PropertyValue Property="InsertRestrictions">
              <Record>
                <PropertyValue Property="RequiredProperties">
                  <Collection>
                    <PropertyPath>Items/ItemType</PropertyPath>
                  </Collection>
                </PropertyValue>
              </Record>
            </PropertyValue>
          </Record>
        </Collection>
      </PropertyValue>
    </Record>
  </Annotation>
</Annotations>

If this applies to deep inserts, does it mandate the ItemType in an item without also mandating the Items?

[mikepizzo]

2025/8/13: if there is a constraint on a containment path then that constraint applies to any operation that goes through that containment path (i.e., deep insert, or a navigation bound to that target path).