Reference Relationships

In a reference relationship, one concept instance references another concept instance.

A concept that is the target of a reference can itself refer to one or more other concepts. Reference relationships are not, however, hierarchical.

The relationship is defined by a ConceptReference property in the referring concept.

See Containment and Reference Concept Relationship Rules for rules governing the behavior of concepts linked by containment or reference. The table also helps you to choose which is the appropriate type of relationship for your needs.

Note: Properties of concept references cannot be used in a condition.

Reference Example: Order with SalesRep and Customer

To configure a concept Order to reference a concept SalesRep, you add a ConceptReference property, Rep for example, whose value is the ID of concept SalesRep. The Rep property provides the link between the referring and referenced concepts:

  • Order (Concept) — Rep (property) — SalesRep (Concept)

You can also define additional reference relationships such as:

  • Order (Concept) — BackupRep (property) — SalesRep (Concept)
  • Order (Concept) — Lines (property array) — LineItem (Concept)
  • Order (Concept) — Cust (property) — Customer (Concept)
  • Customer (Concept) — Orders (property) — SalesRep (Concept)

Reference Examples: Self Reference

A concept definition can have a reference relationship to itself. This is generally because the instances of one concept definition can have reference relationships to other instances of the same definition. For example:

  • A ListItem concept has a next property which is a reference to a ListItem concept.
  • A Person concept has a spouse property which is a reference to a Person concept.
  • A Person concept has a children property which is an array of references to Person concepts.