Synchronizing (Add/Remove Items) Pick list with some External source by using Metadata API

Question

By using Salesforce Metadata API, we can retrieve/read the pick list value.

We have a pick list, which contains few values which needs to be synchronized with some external items.

One solution is while entering a record, set a new "Text" value and assign it to picklist field. This will add the value in Picklist.

But we have a requirement, where we want to add a picklist item by Metadata API without entering any new records in that object.

When we tried to update through SQL DBAMP, it showed error:

OLE DB provider "DBAmp.DBAmp" for linked server "salesforce_INT" returned message "Error -: The Salesforce.com object cannot be updated or deleted.".

Some suggestion on this question would be really helpful.

Answer 1

You can take the Metadata API WSDL from any org and use any language that supports code generation from WSDL (e.g. Java) to create classes for the API. (You do not say from what technology stack you want to add the picklist values.)

This page Picklist (Including Dependent Picklist) in the Metadata API Developers Guide includes an example of some of the code you will have to write that builds on the generated classes. You will also have to write some login logic.