Defining IBM Optim relationships from the UI

Creating a relationship from the Access Definition pane

You can create an IBM Optim relationship directly from the Base Table pane in the Access Definition flow builder. When you create a relationship this way, the parent and child tables are prepopulated in the Create Relationship tearsheet based on your selection order.

To create a relationship from the Base Table pane:

1. Open the Access Definition flow builder and navigate to the Base Table pane.
2. Select the Parent table by selecting its row checkbox. The first table you select becomes the parent. A banner message confirms: "{parentTable} is selected as the parent table. Select a child table."
3. Select the Child table by selecting its row checkbox. The second table you select becomes the child. The banner message updates to: "Parent ({parentTable}) and child ({childTable}) tables are selected. Unselecting one will make the remaining table the parent."
   Tip: You can select a maximum of two tables. The Select All option is not available. After two tables are selected, the checkboxes for all other tables are disabled. To change your selection, clear one or both selected tables.

   An information notification is also displayed: "Select two tables to create a relationship. Select the parent table first, and then select the child table. The child table will be shown in the parent table's related tables. Any related tables that the child previously had will be cleared."

4. Click Create Optim Relationship. This button is visible only when exactly two tables are selected.
5. In the Create Relationship tearsheet, provide a relationship name and a description, then click Next. The tearsheet skips directly to the expression sets step because the parent and child tables are already determined from your selection.
6. Define one or more expression sets. An expression set is made up of a pair of table columns that you want to relate to each other: one column from the parent table and one column from the child table. Hover over the information icon (ℹ) next to a table name to see its fully qualified name in the format <connection>.<schema>.<table>. To add more expression sets to this relationship, click Add set.

   Both columns in an expression set must share the same data type. For example, you cannot relate a column that contains integer data with a column that contains varchar or string data.

7. Review the relationship that you have defined, then click Create.

After the relationship is created, the child table is automatically removed from the base table list and reappears as a related table under the parent table. Any column exclusions that were configured for the child table are preserved. Any related tables previously associated with the child table, including both physical and IBM Optim relationships, are cleared.

Creating a relationship from the Relationships tool

To define a new IBM Optim relationship from the main navigation:

1. From the navigation menu, click Workflow > Relationships.
2. Click New relationship.
3. Provide a relationship name and a description, then click Next.
4. Select a connection to use for this relationship. For information about defining a new connection, see Exploring and defining connections.
5. Select the parent and child database tables that you want to relate to each other. Both tables must contain data. Click Next.
6. Define one or more expression sets. An expression set is made up of a pair of table columns that you want to relate to each other: one column from the parent table and one column from the child table. Hover over the information icon (ℹ) next to a table name to see its fully qualified name in the format <connection>.<schema>.<table>. To add more expression sets to this relationship, click Add set.

   Both columns in an expression set must share the same data type. For example, you cannot relate a column that contains integer data with a column that contains varchar or string data.

7. Review the relationship that you have defined, then click Create.

Managing existing relationships

You can view or delete existing relationship definitions. To manage IBM Optim relationships:

1. From the navigation menu, click Workflow > Relationships.
2. Locate the relationship that you want to manage. Use the search bar if necessary.
   • To view relationship details, click the name of the relationship. You can see a summary of the relationship, and can also view details of the parent and child table, including:
     • Table columns
     • Sample data
   • To delete a relationship, click the action menu and select Delete. Deleted relationships cannot be recovered.