Reference back linking

Reference back-linking

ACMA provides the ability to provide automatic back-linking between two Object classes and a reference value.

If object A references object B on the attribute objectAInstance, ACMA can automatically populate a reference to object A on object B's objectBInstance attribute.

Back-links are defined on the object class that has the source reference attribute. The object class for the target must be specified (it can be the same object class), as well as the reference source and reference targets.

Once a relationship is defined, ACMA will automatically manage the back-linking process. It is important to note that management of back-links happens during an object's export. If there are existing objects in the database when a back-link is created, no automatic back-linking will take place for those objects, until the reference source attribute value is modified.

Configuration Requirements

Back-links are defined on the object class containing the source reference attribute:

Component	Description	Example
Source Object Class	Class containing the forward reference	person
Source Attribute	Forward reference attribute	manager
Target Object Class	Class receiving the back-reference	person
Target Attribute	Back-reference attribute	directReports

Common Implementation Examples

Organizational Hierarchy

Source Object Class: person
Source Attribute: manager (single-valued reference)
Target Object Class: person  
Target Attribute: directReports (multi-valued reference)

Result: When employee references manager, manager's directReports automatically includes employee

Group Membership

Source Object Class: person
Source Attribute: memberOf (multi-valued reference)
Target Object Class: group
Target Attribute: members (multi-valued reference)

Result: When user joins groups, group membership lists automatically include user