A relationship in the WebSphere business integration system is a two-part
entity:
- A relationship definition, stored in the repository, to define the
participants
- Code within a map to implement the relationship by accessing the
relationship tables
To define a relationship in the WebSphere business integration system, you
must perform the following basic steps:
- Determine the type of relationship you need.
- Within Relationship Designer Express, define a relationship definition and
define the composite participants.
- Within Map Designer Express, customize the transformation rule, if
necessary, to maintain the relationship.
- Recompile the affected maps.
- Deploy the relationships and maps to InterChange Server Express with the
Create Schema option.
- Ensure that the relationship database(s) exists and is defined correctly
within the relationship definition.
- Populate relationship tables for any lookup relationships.
- Optionally, populate other relationship tables with test data for the
testing phase.
- For each map, start all relationships in the map.
- Test the relationship with the Test Connector. Be sure to set the
appropriate calling context as part of each of the tests.
Figure 90 provides a visual overview of the relationship development
process and provides a quick reference to chapters where you can find
information on specific topics. Note that if a team of people is
available for map development, the major tasks of developing a map can be done
in parallel by different members of the development team.
Figure 90. Overview of the Relationship Development Task

