Database Relations Concepts

The Database Fields table in this workspace shows all the available fields in the selected table. You cannot change any information in this workspace, but you can select the Instance Keys Applied checkbox if it is not yet selected.

When the Instance Keys Applied checkbox is selected, the instance key registration is active for a relation. Maconomy assigns an instance key value to each existing entry in the table and every time a new entry is created.

An instance key value is a unique numerical identifier assigned to each entry in the Maconomy database. This ensures that no two entries, regardless of the relations, share the same instance key value. Unlike regular database relations keys, where multiple entries from different relations can have identical key values, and identification is made through several fields with different names and types. Instance keys make it easier to refer directly to an entry without the need to specify relation names and several key values.

Note: The functionality of regular database key fields is not affected by the activation of instance keys. Instance keys simple function as an optimal way of identifying entries across relations, instead of just within individual relations.

For example, instance keys are used in the Users workspace. As described in the User Types workspace, users can be based on information in other Maconomy workspaces, and an instance key is therefore used to refer to the database entry on which an individual the user was based.

However, to avoid unnecessary processing and system workload, instance key registration is by default only used on certain relations. For each relation for which you want to refer to instance keys, you must initiate the registration in this workspace.