A link is used to define a navigation pathway between two GUI components. For example, defining a link between a "Customer List" and a "Customer Detail" GUI component will let users of your application navigate from the "Customer List" to the "Customer Detail".
A link provides a context to the GUI component it is linked to. For example, a "Purchase List" that has been linked to by a "Customer Detail" would list only those purchases for the customer in "Customer Detail".
A link can be internal or external. An internal link represents a navigation pathway between two GUI components on the same page. An external link represents a navigation pathway between two GUI components on different pages.
In some cases it does not make sense to have a link between two GUI components. This may be because the entities for the GUI components are unrelated, or the GUI components are for the same entity.
Following is a list of valid links:
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Lp -> Dp |
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Lp -> Lc * |
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Lp -> Dc |
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Dp -> Lc * |
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Dp -> Dc |
Where:
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L - is a list GUI component |
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D - is a detail GUI component |
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p - is a parent entity in an identifying relationship with child entity c |
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c - is a child entity in an identifying relationship with parent entity p |
* Only when the relationship between p and c is one-to-many.