Description
When comparing models, I frequently see relationships flagged as "Different Definitions" even though the actual relationship definition appears identical.
For example, the comparison below reports a difference for:
However, the only difference shown in the definition is the relationship identifier, all other properties appear to be identical.
Why this is an issue
These relationship ID differences generate noise during comparisons and make it harder to identify meaningful schema changes.
In many cases, the relationship has not actually changed, but it is still reported as a difference because the relationship name/identifier was regenerated (we use tabular editor to deploy our models).
Expected behavior
Ideally, relationship comparisons should be based on the functional definition of the relationship, such as:
Source table/column
Target table/column
Cross-filter direction
Active/inactive state
Other relevant relationship properties
and ignore auto-generated relationship IDs/names when they are the only difference.
Description
When comparing models, I frequently see relationships flagged as "Different Definitions" even though the actual relationship definition appears identical.
For example, the comparison below reports a difference for:
However, the only difference shown in the definition is the relationship identifier, all other properties appear to be identical.
Why this is an issue
These relationship ID differences generate noise during comparisons and make it harder to identify meaningful schema changes.
In many cases, the relationship has not actually changed, but it is still reported as a difference because the relationship name/identifier was regenerated (we use tabular editor to deploy our models).
Expected behavior
Ideally, relationship comparisons should be based on the functional definition of the relationship, such as:
Source table/column
Target table/column
Cross-filter direction
Active/inactive state
Other relevant relationship properties
and ignore auto-generated relationship IDs/names when they are the only difference.