Alternate Keys; Required Fields - IBM BJ0NJML - Service And Asset Management Integration Manual

Alternate Keys

Specifying an alternate
key

Required Fields

Persistent Fields
Nonpersistent Fields
Integration Component Additions and Modifications
3
Repeat the preceding steps for the remaining required objects. Indicate the
relationship between those two objects. Define PERSON as the parent to
EMAIL and as the parent to SMS.
An inbound message normally uses the primary key of an object to look up and
process records in the system. However, sometimes a primary key is an internally
generated value that is not available to an external system. In such cases, the
external system passes an alternate key, and the system uses that value to process
the object.
To specify an alternate key for your object:
1
Identify the fields that comprise the alternate key and create a unique index
on the object.
2
Specify the new index as the alternate key of your object.
When you use an alternate key, inbound messages can fail if you change or drop
the alternate key index.
For example, the primary key of the PERSON object consists of PHONE and
EMAIL. The system normally tries to find the PERSON object by using the
PHONE and EMAIL values on an inbound message. If the object structure
indicates an alternate key, the system uses that value, instead of the primary key,
to access the object.
The integration framework and the external system exchange a subset of the data
columns in the objects within the object structure. Subject to certain restrictions,
you can add nonpersistent object structure columns and exclude persistent object
structure columns.
By default, the system includes in object structures all persistent columns in the
component objects. A persistent column is a data field that an object uses to write
data to a database table after processing. You can exclude persistent columns that
you are not mapping.
Only the included persistent columns are written to the XML message for
outbound messages. For inbound messages, only the object columns that are
included in the object structure are updated.
Do not exclude any column that is part of a primary or alternate key.
By default, the system excludes most nonpersistent columns in the component
objects. A nonpersistent column is a temporary data field that an object uses for
calculations or temporary storage. You can include additional nonpersistent
columns in the object structure.
For example, objects that contain the persistent column DESCRIPTION also
contain the nonpersistent column DESCRIPTION_LONGDESCRIPTION. The
object structure includes the former persistent column and excludes the latter
nonpersistent column.
Object Structure Creations
231