Relationships in a catalog

Last updated: Dec 13, 2024

Relationships help other users better understand the assets, governance artifacts, and columns in a catalog.

Predefined relationships

Predefined relationships include relationship labels on the source and target. These relationships appear in the Related items section of the asset's Overview page. The following table lists the predefined relationships available in a catalog.

Types of relationships
Label on source	Label on target	Description
Is same as	Is same as	The source is the same as the target. For example, a CSV file that was uploaded twice to create two data assets that are identical.
Is related to	Is related to	The source is related to the target. For example, two data assets that have a primary key relationship.
Is parent of	Is child of	The source is a parent of the target.
Is context parent of	Is context child of	The source provides higher-level context for the target. The source asset can have zero or more context children, but the target asset can have at most one context parent. For example, a schema asset can provide the context for a table asset that belongs to that schema.
Contains	Is contained in	The source contains the target. For example, a connected folder asset can contain data assets.
Has part	Is part of	The source has one or more targets that are a part of it. For example, a domain asset can have multiple data assets within it.
Implements	Is implemented by	The source implements the target. For example, a data asset can implement a logical model asset.
Uses	Is used by	The source uses the target. For example, a model asset can use a data asset.
Governs	Is governed by	The source is governed by the target. For example, an asset is governed by the rule "age must be over 18".

Asset relationship

Assets can have relationships with:

Governance artifacts
Columns
Other assets

For information specific to asset relationships, see Asset relationships in catalogs.

To learn how to manage asset relationships, see Managing relationships in a catalog.

Column relationships

Columns can have relationships with:

Assets
Governance artifacts
Other columns

To learn how to manage column relationships, see Managing relationships in a catalog.

Artifact relationships

Governance artifacts can have relationships with:

Assets
Columns
Other Governance artifacts

You can create two different types of relationships between assets and governance artifacts that vary in method, scope, and effect. For more information, see Governance artifact properties and relationships.

To learn how to manage artifact relationships, see Managing relationships in a catalog.

Custom relationship types

You can assign the custom relationships in the catalog once they are created by an admin. See Custom properties and relationships for governance artifacts and catalog assets.

Learn more

Parent topic: Catalog assets