You can define an abstract entity or link type to be a collection of entity or link
types respectively. These abstract types can be useful to an analyst when they want to
perform queries against items whose type they do not know.
For example, you might choose to define an abstract entity type Account with child
types of Savings Account, High Interest Account and Business Account. This would be
useful to an analyst if they know an account number but do not know the account type
because it would allow them to perform a query on the Account abstract type.
Note: There are certain restrictions that apply when defining
abstract types and their fields.
To define or edit an abstract type:
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Move to the Hierarchy Page.
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If you are defining a new abstract type, select all of the entity types or link
types you wish to include in the abstract type using the Ctrl key to add
additional types to the selection, right-click on one of the selected types and
select New Abstract Entity Type or New
Abstract Link Type as required.
Note: When defining an abstract link type, the sets of
ends for each child belonging to an abstract link type must be the
same.
If you are editing an existing abstract type, right-click on it and select
Properties.
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Enter the name of the abstract type.
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Enter any comments you wish to add for the abstract type. These are for your
benefit and will not be seen by the analysts in the Analyst's Notebook.
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If you are defining an abstract entity type, select an icon for the type.
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Click Next.
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Ensure that the correct child types are listed in the Child types box.
- To add another child type, select it and click on the right arrow
button.
- To remove a child type, select it and click on the left arrow
button.
Note: The Available types list only
includes types that could be added to the current Child
types list without making the abstract type invalid.
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Click Next.
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You must now add fields to the abstract type.
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When you have added all of the fields you require, click
Finish.
