= Super-Entities =
[[TOC]]

== Introduction ==

Sometimes it is useful to link the same component to multiple master entities without introducing a separate foreign key constraint for each master.

   Example: both warehouses and offices have contact persons. Instead of creating separate warehouse_contact and office_contact components, you can make use of the super-entity concept to link a single site_contact component to both entities.

To achieve this, S3 supports a special type of key tables called ''Super-Entities'' (referring to the fact that they constitue a generalization concept):

[[Image(super_entity.png)]]

A super-entity stores (tablename, uuid) pairs which identify records across multiple tables, and the primary key of the super-entity (super-key) can then be used for foreign key constraints to link components. The primary key of the super-entity is usually referred to as ''super-key'', and the respective foreign key constraints are called ''super-link''.

The super-entity concept is implemented in S3Model, and supported by both S3CRUD and S3Import. Custom methods can make use of the current.s3db API to handle super-entities as described below.
== API ==

To simplify the handling of super-entities in the model, S3Model provides a unified API for super-entities:

=== Defining a Super-Entity ===

To define a super-entity, you can use the {{{super_entity()}}} function:

{{{
table = s3db.super_entity(tablename, "sit_id", situation_types,
                          Field("datetime", "datetime"), # shared field
                          location_id())                 # shared field

}}}

You can define so-called ''shared fields'' in the super-entity, which are mirrored from the respective resource record. This allows to easily access these data from the component without the need to involve the primay instance table in the backward-join:

In case the names of the shared fields in your instance table differ from those of the super-entity, you can define a field mapping:

=== Defining an Instance of a Super-Entity ===

To make a table an instance of a super-entity, you can use {{{s3db.configure()}}}:

{{{
s3db.configure(table, super_entity = db.sit_situation)
}}}

By default, all fields that the table and the super-entity have in common will be mirrored in the super-entity ("shared fields"). You can override this by specifying a list of fields to be mirrored by the super-entity.

{{{
s3db.configure(table,
               super_entity = db.sit_situation,
               sit_situation_fields = ["datetime"])
}}}

In case your table uses different names for the shared fields, you can use a dict instead to specify a mapping:

{{{
s3db.configure(table,
               super_entity = db.sit_situation,
               sit_situation_fields = dict(datetime="timestmp", location_id="location_id"))
}}}
=== Linking to a Super-Entity ===

Both, instance tables as well as shared components need to be linked to the super-entity. This can be done by inserting a ''super-key'' field into the instance/component table which must have the same name as the primary key of the super-entity. You can use the {{{super_link()}}} function as a DRY method for this:

{{{
tablename = "pr_presence"
table = db.define_table(tablename,
                        super_link("pe_id", "pr_pentity"),
                        super_link("sit_id", "sit_situation"), # sit_id
                        ...)
}}}

Note: {{{super_link}}} generates a {{{Field}}} instance - if you just need the name of the super-key field, you can use:

{{{
sk = s3db.super_key(db.pr_pentity) # returns the string "pe_id"
}}}
=== Updating a Super-Entity ===

If you use [wiki:S3XRC/RESTfulAPI/s3_rest_controller s3_rest_controller()] for CRUD, it will automatically create, update and delete super-entities as necessary.

Otherwise, or if you manipulate records outside s3_rest_controller, you have to update all super-entities which an instance table implements whenever you create, update or delete a record in that table.

To do this, you can use:
{{{
s3db.update_super(table, record)
}}}

where {{{table}}} is the instance table and {{{record}}} the newly created/updated record.

In case you're going to delete a record from an instance table, you may use:
{{{
s3db.delete_super(table, record)
}}}

before you delete the record, where {{{table}}} is the instance table and {{{record}}} the record to be deleted.

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