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I have a point Feature Class and a polyline Feature class which I connected in a geometric network. I also need to connect them logically. In my theoretical model, an edge is defined by the two points at its end. So I need a Many-to Many relationship. An edge can have two points and a point can have two edges. Connecting them in a relationship requires the maintenance of unique ID's etc...

So I was wondering is there a possibility that based on their geographical relationship of points and line to create as well a logical relationship in the database, and save me from the whole process of giving them ID's, connecting them, etc?

It's probably a rather general and abstract question, but I guess some of you might understand what I mean.

I use ArcGIS 10.0.

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Short answer to the question "Can we create relationship classes based on a geometric network?"

Relationships yes, relationship classes no.

Long answer:

A relationship class as defined by ESRI deals with how attributes inside fields relate to each other in two or more tables. A relationship class can be one to one, one to many or many to many. It can be restricted to a one-way relationship or not. Geometric networks describe how features connect to each other. What's connected to what via what. Connectivity rules can be set up to determine what's allowed to connect to what via what.

There are ways to assign IDs based on how features are connected in a geometric network (for example, how far away each feature is from a certain point; by distance or number of points away). Building a geometric network can help in this regard.

The features in a geometric network must be snapped, or connected exactly. If they aren't snapped, you can specify a snapping tolerance when you first create the geometric network and features will be snapped automatically (edges to junctions, junctions to edges or they can meet half way).

Updated on 9/10:

This post deals with creating unique IDs: Creating unique IDs for file geodatabase using ArcGIS for Desktop?

I would recommend checking out Infrastructure Editing Tools as well, specifically the Attribute Assistant.

Once you have created your IDs, creating a relationship class should be relatively straightforward.

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  • ok. then to rephrase the question "what ways there are to assign ID's based on how features are connected in a geometric network, and then use the ID's to create relationship classes"?
    – Ligia
    Commented Sep 8, 2012 at 9:00
  • I updated my answer above. You can use Attribute Assistant to assign IDs based on where the feature is located within the geometric network. You can also use it to transfer IDs or any other attributes between your junction and edge layers.
    – Rayner
    Commented Sep 10, 2012 at 8:34
  • I've tested Attribute Assistant and it's exactly what I needed. Thank you!.
    – Ligia
    Commented Sep 12, 2012 at 11:02
  • If anyone still there,I have a question on Attribute Assistant:) Is it me, or Generate Identifier cannot be used in an enterprise geodatabase? I was able to use it in a Personal gdb, but when I moved to the database server, it doesn't work. Apparently according to ESRI Help," Generate Identifier increments a row in an unversioned table", but in an enterprise geodatabase you cannot edit an unversioned table, so what's the deal? Thank you for help.
    – Ligia
    Commented Sep 14, 2012 at 8:28

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