Method:Classic General Q&A

Re: Multi-fielded Relationships (Possible?)

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:09:20 GMT

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the scenario it helped me understand better what you are trying to achieve. Yes, you are capable of grouping fields to create that "uniqueness" in Method by using the Record ID. When configuring your dropdown in step 4 you'll be able to specify the columns you want to appear in the multi-column dropdown. Ensure that you select Record ID for the first column; this will then allow you to uniquely group the other fields. For instance, based on your example we can use first name and Department as the 2nd and 3rd fields. Since the record ID is always unique, the values in the other fields will be attached to the record ID for that line, making the entry unique. Hope this helps, let me know.

Re: Multi-fielded Relationships (Possible?)

Joe — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:31:53 GMT

" However, is it possible for you to give a real world example.... "

-- Lets say you are trying to identify employees and all you know about these employees is their DepartmentName, FirstName, LastName, and JobCode for what part of the department (this is obviously highly unlikely but i'm trying to create a small example). If you are to place these employees into an Employee table, you need 1 thing that seperates each one from the other "uniqueness". Since this example lacks the luxury of social security numbers or employee ID's .. it creates a dilemma. But through inspection you find that, DepartmentName / FirstName / and LastName together as a group is unique for each employee.

"Also how do you plan to group the fields, by using multi column dropdowns?"

-- I believe i would have to. It will take at least 3 fields (in the above example) to seperate each employee from the other. So, in order to relate the Employee table to another table such as an "Employee Info Table" or "Employee Jobs Table" , we would need to use all 3 fields together. I'm not sure if you're familiar with database design but this would be referred to as a "Multi-Fielded Primary Key" i believe in most database software. Specifically how I get teh fields grouped depends on the software, method uses dropdowns for relationships so I assume this is the only possibility, if the possibility exists.

"..have you decided which would be your child and parent tables"

-- I regret to say i'm not sure what you mean by the parent and child tables. I understand the relationship between two tables but have never seen them given such identifiers as "parent".

"...and how to link them?..."

-- If by 'link' you mean 'relate' then that should be made more clear above. If not, you will have to fill me in on what else 'link' could refer to.

_____________________________________________________

Thank you for your time on this,

~Joe

Re: Multi-fielded Relationships (Possible?)

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:41:14 GMT

Hi Joe,

Thanks for outlining the situation. However, is it possible for you to give a real world example so I can better understand what you are trying to accomplish? I have an idea but just to ensure I guide you in the right direction I would like more information. Also how do you plan to group the fields, by using multi column dropdowns? In addition, have you decided which would be your child and parent tables and how to link them?
We really appreciate your feedbacks and your questions. I'll wait to hear from you.

Multi-fielded Relationships (Possible?)

Joe — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:56:05 GMT

Given: a dropdown used to create a relationship must be based off a unique field in the corresponding table.

Situation: Values are not unique within a single field, but rather a combination of fields.

Goal: Create uniqueness to these fields as a group, and relate the corresponding table to another table.

Question: Is method capable of creating multi-fielded uniqueness and a relationship based off a group of fields?

--------

Sorry for having to be the user of a thousand points n' questions lol.

Thx for your time,

~Joe