CA 2E Relation Types Charts

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CA 2E Relation Types Charts

Use your conceptual model's ERD as a guide to determine the types of relations needed for your model's files, or consult the CA 2E Relation Types charts that follow. The first chart describes the file-to-file relation types and the second chart describes the file-to-field relation types.

The following table contains file-to-file relations.

Relation	Description
Defined as	Declares that the file exists
Owned by	Specifies that the keys of the owning file are to become major key fields of the owned by file
Extended by	Declares the file to have a one-to-one or one-to-none relationship with another file
Refers to	Causes the key fields of the referenced file to be included as non-key fields on the referring file
Includes	Causes fields from the referenced file or included structures to be included as attributes in the referencing file

The following table contains file-to-field relations.

Relation	Description
Known by	Declares the field to be present as a key field on the file
Qualified by	Declares a field to be present on a file as a key field; is used with continuous variables
Has	Declares the field as a data field on the file

To enter relationships, use the Edit Database Relations panel:

Enter the object name. The object name is always a file name.
In the relation column, enter the relationship.
Enter the referenced object name:
- For a file-to-file relation, enter a file name.
- For a file-to-field relation, you must enter a field name.

WARNING! Do not use CA 2E shipped fields, those beginning with '*', for defining file-to-field relations.

Define all objects and referenced objects. If you do not define an object or referenced object, CA 2E highlights the name and sends a message letting you know that it needs to be defined.

To define these objects, access the Define Objects panel by pressing F10. The Define Objects panel displays with some information already entered.

For undefined objects, the object type is FIL and the file name is the object name. In the Object attr column, enter the file type (CPT, REF, STR).

For undefined referenced objects:

The object type is based on the relation. If the relation is file-to-file, the type is FIL. If the relation is file-to-field, the type is FIL or FLD.
The object name is the referenced object name.
If the object type is FLD and the relation is a Known by relation, the field usage is CDE. If the relation is a Qualified by or Has relation, the field usage is ATR.

For the object attribute:

If the object type is FLD, enter the field type in the Object attr column.
If the object type is FIL, enter the file type (CPT, REF, STR) in the Object attr column.

You can use this method for defining files, fields, and relations in combination with other described methods. If you enter all information on the Edit Database Relations panel, CA 2E defaults the values to the Define Objects panel. Complete the definition for the objects on the Define Objects panel.

See the chapter "Understanding Your Data Model" for more information on CA 2E relations and examples.

This topic provides detailed information for working with file entries.

File entries are resolved from CA 2E relations that you use to describe file relationships in your model. An entry indicates the presence of a field on a file. A relation may imply that one or more fields are to be created for your file.

The entries, excluding virtual field entries, indicate the fields to be present in a physical file.

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