Using Sets to avoid key tables

Key tables are used to associate data where those associations can be quite complex. They sometimes can be quite awkward to build and difficult to maintain. It can be useful to have a strategy to avoid using them, especially if you need to get something delivered quickly.

Here, we will learn how to use an implicit set to achieve this.

Getting ready

Load the following script:

// Load some sales
Sales:
Load * INLINE [
Date, Item, Store, Quantity, Price, NetValue
2009-01-01, 1, 1, 1, 2.00, 2.00
2009-01-01, 1, 2, 2, 2.00, 4.00
2009-01-01, 2, 1, 1, 2.00, 2.00
2009-02-01, 2, 2, 1, 3.00, 3.00
2009-02-01, 1, 1, 3, 3.00, 9.00
2009-02-01, 2, 2, 1, 3.00, 3.00
];
// Load the products
Product:
Load * INLINE [
Item, Description
1, Product A
2, Product B
];

// Load the stores
Store:
Load * INLINE [
Store, Name
1, Store 1A
2, Store 2B
] ;

// Load stock
Stock:
Load * INLINE [
StockStore, Item, OnHand
1, 1, 55
1, 2, 33
2, 1, 23
2, 2, 12
];

How to do it...

Perform the following steps...