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Association types and details

type of association

There are the following types of relationships between entities that can be used in metamodel definitions:

Change Shape TypeDescriptionExample of use
EmbeddedAssociation representing parent-child relationship or aggregationCan be added as a child model
ReferenceRelations representing usage and dependencyYou will be able to connect relationship lines on the diagram
DerivationAn association that represents a trace relationship with originIt becomes possible to connect a trace relationship between models
GeneralizationAssociation representing inheritance of characteristicsEntities will be generalized to inherit field definitions

The table below shows whether you can edit related items on the edit screen.

Edit ScreenOwnershipReferenceDerivationGeneralization
ER DiagramYesYesYesNo
Tree DiagramYesYesYesNo
FormYesYesYesNo
Tree GridYesYesYesNo
Model NavigatorYesNoNoNo
InspectorYesYesYesNo

You can define setting items according to the type of relationship for each relationship between entities in the meta model. For more information, see the reference profile settings and modeling changes.