Business object structure

In most cases, the connector assumes that every individual business object is represented by one database table or view, and that each simple attribute (that is, an attribute that represents a single value, such as a String or Integer or Date) within the object is represented by a column in that table or view. Thus, attributes within the same individual business object cannot be stored in different database tables. However, the following situations are possible:

Note:
If a business object is based on a stored procedure, each simple attribute (other than the special SP attributes) may or may not have application-specific information. For more information, see "Stored procedures".

WebSphere Business Integration Adapter business objects can be flat or hierarchical. All the attributes of a flat business object are simple and represent a single value.

A hierarchical business object has attributes that represent a child business object, an array of child business objects, or a combination of both. In turn, each child business object can contain a child business object or an array of business objects, and so on. A single-cardinality relationship occurs when an attribute in a parent business object represents a single child business object. In this case, the attribute is of the same type as the child business object.

A multiple-cardinality relationship occurs when an attribute in the parent business object represents an array of child business objects. In this case, the attribute is an array of the same type as the child business objects.

Note:
The term hierarchical business object refers to a complete business object, including all the child business objects that it contains at any level. The term individual business object refers to a single business object, independent of any child business objects it might contain or that contain it. The term top-level business object refers to the individual business object at the top of the hierarchy that does not itself have a parent business object.

The connector supports the following relationships among business objects:

In each type of cardinality, the relationship between the parent and child business objects is described by the application-specific information of the key attribute of the business object storing the relationship. For more information on this application-specific information, see FK=[fk_object_name.]fk_attribute_name in Table 8.

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