Lesson 3 of 18 · 8–12 min
Org, App, Object, Field, and Record
These five terms form the vocabulary used in every Salesforce design discussion.
Learning sequence · data model first, security layers next
- What CRM and Salesforce Do
- The Salesforce Ecosystem and Major Clouds
- Org, App, Object, Field, and Record
- Standard and Custom Objects
- Common Standard Objects
- Field Types and Data Quality
- Objects, Fields & Records
- Lookup vs Master-Detail
- Many-to-Many Relationships and Junction Objects
- Profiles, Permission Sets & Object Access
- Field-Level Security
- OWD and Least-Privilege Record Access
- Opening Access: Role Hierarchy, Sharing Rules, Public Groups & Apex Sharing
- Apex First Steps
- Variables and Collections
- SOQL and DML Basics
- Why Asynchronous Apex Exists
- REST Callout Introduction
Your focus
Prepare for Your Next Developer Role
REVIEW · Review • Apply
- Explain how app navigation differs from the data model.
Learning objective
Place apps, objects, fields, and records correctly inside an org.
The concept
An org is a Salesforce environment. An app groups navigation and work for a user. An object defines a kind of business data, a field defines one attribute, and a record is one stored instance. An app can expose many objects, and the same object can appear in multiple apps.
Worked example
In a recruiting org, a Recruiter app can expose Candidate and Application objects. Candidate is an object, Email is a field, and Priya Sharma is one record.Ask whether a noun describes the environment, a workspace, a type of thing, an attribute, or one instance. Map it to org, app, object, field, or record in that order.
1.Org
2.App
3.Object
4.Field
5.Record
- Org connects to App
- App connects to Object
- Object connects to Field
- Object connects to Record
Common mistake
Calling an app a database table or confusing an object definition with one record.
Interview angle
Use a concrete hierarchy and clarify that apps organize user experience; they do not own copies of the records.
Pause and apply
Where would a hiring manager's email address sit in the hierarchy?
Official references
- Salesforce Trailhead: Understand Custom & Standard Objects (opens in a new tab)
- Salesforce Trailhead: Salesforce Architecture (opens in a new tab)
Reviewed 2026-09-23. Examples are illustrative; no code is executed here.
Key takeaways
- Objects define structure; records hold values.
- Apps organize work over shared org data.
Practice next
No linked assessment is available for this lesson. Use the pause-and-apply question to check your reasoning.
Reading these lessons does not yet save completion. Challenge results continue to provide assessment evidence.