Accommodating Navigation within an Information Model
Because the objects in your information model are associated through a network of relationships, you can navigate to each part of an information model through the relationships you define.
To support programming against the information model, you must build in navigation support by way of relationships.
The first relationship must be between the repository root object and an object in your information model. To enable this first navigation step, include in your information model a relationship type whose instances will associate the root object with objects stored in your information model.
Create a relationship type with these characteristics:
- The origin collection type of the relationship type is a member of an interface implemented by the ReposRoot class.
- The destination collection type of the relationship type is a member of an interface implemented by a class of the information model.
To create this relationship type
- Create a new interface and add it to the set of interfaces implemented by the ReposRoot class.
- Create a relationship type associating the newly created interface with some interface implemented by a class of your information model. Choose an interface implemented by a fundamental class, a class whose instances are good objects from which to begin moving to other objects of the information model.
For more information about moving through a repository, see Navigating a Repository.