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How can I specify columns for foreign key relationships in Oracle Designer?

From: Ally <afirenze95_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 21:48:26 GMT
Message-ID: <e7f9ce51.0106011119.189dc6b9@posting.google.com>

Hi, would you readers out there know how I can specify which columns are used in establishing foreign key relationships in Oracle Designer?

I am using Designer 6i, Oracle server 8.1.7 on Win2K. I created some entities in ERD, and after I ran it through the Database Design Transformer and view the entities again in Design Editor, Designer has created a new column in one of the entities for it to refer to the primary key in the other entity. I can view the properties of that new column, but I can't seem to change any of its properties, including its name.

Here is some info about my situation and what I am trying to accomplish --
-> I have a table named Addresses, with a primary key column named
Address_id.
-> I have another table named Employees, with a primary key column
named Employee_id. This table also has a column called "Home_Address" which contains an Address_id. This table has another column called "Business_Adsress" which contains another Address_id.

-> I want to have 2 foreign key relationships in the Employees table,
columns "Home_Address" and "Business_Address", both referring to the primary key column in the Addresses table.

-> I have run into 2 problems with Designer in trying to accomplish my
task:
1) Because each employee can have more than one address, it is a one to many relationship in the ERD. From the documentation that I have read, it's always the "many" side of the relationship that gets a foreign key column created. Therefore, Oracle Designer decides that the Addresses table that should have a foreign key column referring to the Employees table. So it generates a foreign key column in the Addresses table refering to the primary key in the Employees table. But that is the opposite of what I want to do.

2) I have already specified the "Home_Address" and "Business_Address" columns in my Employees table, and I would like these 2 columns to be the foreign key columns. But I cannot find a way to specify that using these columns' Property Palette, or the Foreign Key Column Property Palette.

I am new to Designer, so maybe the more experienced users could give me some pointers in how they approach an issue like this. I don't understand how this is suppposed to work, I mean, if you accept the foreign key column Designer creates for you, but you are not allowed to modify the name or any other properties of that column, then it's not doing you any good, is it?

Anyway, any insight would be appreciated. I've pulled way too much of my hair out over this!

Thanks!
Ally Received on Sat Jul 21 2001 - 16:48:26 CDT

Original text of this message

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