Association definition

In general, the platform allows the creation of an association between records only if there is an association definition that allows it. Exceptions to this rule are discussed later.

Association definitions are connected to two business objects. Association definitions also have an association name connected with each end of the association definition. These are often referred to as the forward association and reverse association strings.

If you create an association definition named Belongs To from the Course Section business object to the Course business object and an association named Has in the other direction, you will then be able to create corresponding associations between Course Section records and Course records.

There are two steps to creating an association definition:

  1. Ensure that the list of association types includes the names you need for the association.
  2. Tell the platform to create the association definitions.

To ensure that the names needed to describe the associations are in the list of association types, navigate to the List Manager by clicking Tools > Administration > Lists.

To see the list of association types in the List Manager, set Manage By to Name and then select the radio button next to Association Types. The Association Types list is large, so you may notice a delay while it loads.

Review the list of association types to see if it contains names suitable for describing the associations. Some of the more common association types, such as Has, Belongs To, Uses, and Is Used By, are already in the list. If you want to use names that are not in the list, you can handle such names in one of two ways:
  • If a name with a similar meaning is already in the list, you can choose to use it. Using a name that is already in the list may result in more consistent names for associations.
  • You can add names to the list. The details of how to add new names to a list are explained in "List management".

Once all the names you want to use for describing associations are in the list, you are ready to define the associations. You can define an association with either of the following tools:

  • Data Modeler
  • Association Manager

With either tool, you define the association in the Associate Business Object panel. Regardless of which tool you use to access the Associate Business Object panel, the data to be entered is the same.

Exceptions to defining associations

There are some exceptions to the general rule of defining an association between records. For example, exceptions include Associate Record tasks in workflows described in "Associate records task"; temporary associations for the section actions of forms described in "Section actions"; field and button actions described in "Field and button actions"; and Data Integrator for single-direction record-level associations described in Application Building for the IBM TRIRIGA Application Platform: Data Management. Unless the association only is used temporarily for custom logic, it is best practice to explicitly define the association.