298 Introduction to the New Mainframe: z/VSE Basics
many-to-many (many occurrences of one entity have a relationship with many
occurrences of another entity).
Relationships can also be
recursive, that is, an entity can have a relationship with
other occurrences of the same entity. For example, a part (for example, fastener)
may consist of several other parts (bolt, nut, and washer).
12.5.4 Application functions
Data itself is not the ultimate goal of a database management system. It is the
application processing performed on the data that is important. The best way to
represent that processing is to take the smallest application unit representing a
user interacting with the database. For example, one single order, one part’s
inventory status. ...