Guided pattern selection

Answer a few questions about how the application uses a relationship, and NoER suggests a pattern with its advantages and drawbacks.

1. Open the tutor. Select a binary relationship, click Fix and then Tutor.
2. Pick a direction. Choose which entity would go inside the other, for example CATEGORY into PRODUCT.
3. Answer. The questions depend on the cardinalities: how many fields are needed, how often the data changes, how many related documents each container needs.
4. Apply. Read the suggested pattern and its trade-offs, then apply it or go back and choose differently.

The rules behind the suggestions are listed in Choosing a pattern.

Two tutors

• Tutor, for relationships without a time entity: questions on how many fields and documents are needed and how often the data changes. It suggests embedding, referencing, extended referencing or subset, with advantages and drawbacks.
• Bucket, for relationships with a time entity: it asks whether data arrives at regular intervals or irregularly. It suggests closing each bucket by a time interval (month, day, hour, minute) or by a maximum number of events (from 50 to 5000), with advantages and drawbacks, and applies the choice with Submit. See Time entities and buckets.