BiLog: ROS and Cardinality

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The previous BiLog entry discussed the key items to consider when defining maxrelationships in your ROS.   One of its major components is cardinality, which is used to define the type of the database relationship.  In the case of reporting, there are two types:  One-to-one (1:1) or single relationships, or One-to-many (1:N) or  Multiple Relationships.

 To highlight the differences in cardinality, let’s use an example from the Purchase Requisition application.

The relationship between a Purchase Requisition and a Company is a single relationship, as only a single Company can be associated to a single PR. 

 However, the relationship between a Purchase Requisition and Purchase Requisition Lines is a multiple relationship, because for each PR (single) there can be multiple PR Line records (multiple).

 When creating or modifying Report Object Structures (ROS) for your QBR reports, you will need to evaluate and define the cardinality of the relationship as either single, multiple or undefined.  If you use the values of undefined or multiple, the relationship will be treated as a 1:N relationship.

 So why is cardinality so important to the ROS definition?   As your users begin adding fields to their own QBR reports, the relationships of those fields are evaluated to determine if they are single or multiple relationships.   Depending on whether your user has selected a Summary or Detail Style report, will determine if they can add their selected fields.

 For summary reports

- You can select any number of 1:1 relationships

- You can select only one 1:N relationship

For detail reports

 - You can select any number of 1:1 relationships

 - You can select any number of 1:N relationships

Therefore, you may want to recommend your users select Detail Report Styles for maximum ‘cardinality’ flexibility in QBR Report creation.