Can We Call Future Method from Batch Class in Salesforce?

Salesforce’s features can be both exciting and overwhelming. This blog aims to demystify the intricate relationship between Salesforce’s batch classes and future methods, ensuring you have a thorough understanding of how they can be harnessed to optimize your CRM processes.

By diving into this blog, you will uncover:

• Understand the essence, function, and significance of batch Apex in Salesforce.
• Discover the role and application of asynchronous future methods.
• Delve into the compatibility (or lack thereof) of calling future methods from batch classes.
• Arm yourself with tried-and-tested techniques to use these features seamlessly.

Join us as we dive deep, unraveling the layers of Salesforce’s asynchronous processing capabilities, and equipping you with knowledge that’s not just theoretical, but immensely practical.

Understanding Salesforce Batch Classes

Salesforce Batch Apex is a powerful tool specifically designed to handle large volumes of data or records that exceed normal processing limits. It’s one of the pillars of Salesforce’s asynchronous processing capabilities, allowing you to process records in the background and make the most out of system resources.

Essentially, a batch class in Salesforce is characterized by its implementation of the Database.Batchable interface, which encompasses three distinct methods: start(), execute(), and finish().

1. start() method: It’s the initial method called at the inception of your batch Apex job. It’s used to collect the records or objects that should be processed. The method returns a Database.QueryLocator object or an iterable consist of the records or objects passed onto the job.
2. execute() method: This is the method that’s called for every batch of records you’re processing. One can specify the size of these batches. This method takes in two parameters: a reference to the batch class (this), and a list of SObject records that need processing.
3. finish() method: This method executes after all batches have been processed. It’s typically used to perform post-processing operations like sending confirmation emails or logging execution information.

It’s vital to comprehend that batch classes operate on an asynchronous basis. In other words, when you execute a batch class, it doesn’t run immediately. Instead of immediate execution, it is positioned in the Apex job queue and runs when the system resources permit.

Batch classes can process up to 50 million records, with a maximum batch size of 2,000 records. This large-scale data processing capability makes batch Apex a key asset for handling bulk data in Salesforce, whether it’s for data cleaning, archiving, or complex computation.

Also Read – Batch Apex in Salesforce: Benefits, Use Cases, and Best Practices

What Is Future Method In Salesforce?

In Salesforce, a future method is a special type of method used for running processes in the background. It allows you to perform operations asynchronously, which means these operations do not need to be executed immediately and can run when system resources become available.

Future methods are part of Salesforce’s Apex programming language, which is used to customize functionalities in Salesforce applications. They are particularly useful for long-running operations and for scenarios where you need to make a callout to an external web service.

To outline a future method, the @future annotation is employed. This annotation informs the Apex compiler that the method should run in the background, asynchronously. Here’s an example of how you’d declare a future method:

@future

public static void myFutureMethod(List<Id> recordIds) {

    // Your processing logic here…

}

Also Read – Future Methods in Salesforce: Revolutionize Sales

Can We Call Future Method from Batch Class?

Asynchronous operations in Salesforce, such as future methods, run in the background, separated from the main execution thread. They are typically employed for extended operations like interacting with external web services or executing processes that benefit from running independently and at their own pace.

Nonetheless, one cannot call future method from a batch class.

Future methods come with specific constraints:

1. No more than 50 future methods (methods with the @future annotation) can be invoked in a single Apex transaction.
2. There exists an upper limit on future method calls within a 24-hour time frame, which is either 250,000 or a figure derived from multiplying the total user licenses in your organization by 200; the larger number is chosen. This boundary is implemented organization-wide and encapsulates all forms of asynchronous Apex, including Batch Apex, Queueable Apex, scheduled Apex, and future methods. 
3. Methods designated with the @future annotation are mandated to be static and can solely return void. They cannot invoke another future method and are incompatible with Visualforce controllers in getMethodName or setMethodName methods, or the constructor.
4. Keep in mind, invoking a method inscribed with the @future annotation from another method that carries the same @future annotation is prohibited. Similarly, invoking a trigger from an annotated method that calls another annotated method is also not allowed.
5. The getContent and getContentAsPDFPageReference methods are incompatible with methods having the @future annotation.

Salesforce offers a Future Methods with Higher Limits pilot that caters to escalated limits for future methods, which includes the provision to invoke a future method from another future method.

It’s important to note that all future methods and batch classes are asynchronous, which explains why you can’t call an asynchronous method from another asynchronous method.

An alternative exists though: one can call a Queueable class method (which operates like a future method) solely from the finish method of a batch class. Then, you can implement a Queueable class that performs as a future method, which in turn can call another future method. This technique paves the way for an indirect mode of invoking a future method from another future method (assuming a Queueable class method as a future method). Nevertheless, this workaround is also subject to a governor limit, allowing a maximum of two future methods to be called.

Best Practices When Using Future Methods in Batch Classes

In Salesforce, both future methods and batch classes offer powerful ways to handle long-running processes and large data sets. However, given the restrictions around calling future methods directly from batch classes, it’s crucial to follow some best practices to ensure optimal performance and to abide by the platform’s governor limits:

1. Be Aware of the Limitations

   Understanding the restrictions around future methods and batch classes is essential. For instance, one should recall that one cannot directly call a future method from a batch class and vice versa. Future methods can’t trigger another future method and have to be static methods with a void return type.

2. Use Queueable Apex for Chaining Asynchronous Calls

   As a workaround, you can use Queueable Apex to chain asynchronous calls. Queueable Apex can be used in place of future methods when you need to chain jobs (call another job from a job), and they can also be called from batch classes.

3. Optimize Batch Size

   The batch size in batch Apex has an impact on the total number of future method invocations. To stay within limits, consider reducing the batch size if your operations involve multiple future method calls.

4. Manage Governor Limits

   Be cautious about the number of future method invocations to avoid exceeding the Salesforce governor limits for asynchronous executions.

5. Handle Exceptions

   Ensure you have adequate exception handling in place. Because future methods run asynchronously, an unhandled exception won’t appear until the method executes. Consequently, it can be challenging to understand what led to the error.

6. Testing Asynchronous Code

   Remember, asynchronous methods, such as future method, don’t run immediately in test methods. To test such methods, use the Test.startTest() and Test.stopTest() test methods.

7. Design for Idempotency

   Asynchronous processes can run more than once in certain situations, such as after a server failure. To avoid incorrect results or operations being performed multiple times, design your future methods to be idempotent, i.e., they can be safely repeated.

8. Avoid Long-Running Future Methods

   As a best practice, avoid long-running future methods because they can tie up resources. If you have a long-running operation, consider breaking it up into smaller parts and using batch Apex.

9. Use Future Methods for Non-Urgent Operations

   Considering their asynchronous behavior, future methods are best utilized for operations that don’t require immediate results, like callouts to external web services or processing that can take place in the background.

By adhering to these best practices, you can ensure that you use future methods and batch classes effectively in Salesforce, balancing performance and efficiency while staying within the platform’s boundaries and constraints.

Summing Up

Navigating through Salesforce’s powerful features, such as batch classes and future method, can seem intricate at first. However, with an understanding of their operations and constraints, as well as employing best practices, developers can leverage these asynchronous processing mechanisms to their full potential. 

As we draw this discussion to a close, it’s essential to acknowledge that your learning journey doesn’t end here. Salesforce, just like any evolving tech platform, consistently upgrades and enhances its features. To become a skilled Salesforce developer, you’ve got to keep pace with these exciting changes.

If you’re looking for comprehensive training to prepare for the migration or simply to enhance your Salesforce skills, consider enrolling for saasguru’s Salesforce Training Bootcamp Program. It’s designed to provide in-depth knowledge and practical experience to ensure you’re well-prepared to handle the complexities of Salesforce.