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How to: Define and Modify a Join Filter Between Merge Articles (Replication Transact-SQL Programming)

Merge replication supports join filters, which are typically used in conjunction with parameterized filters to extend table partitioning to other related table articles. This topic shows a parameterized filter on a parent article with join filters between this article and related child articles. Join filters can be defined and modified programmatically using replication stored procedures.

To define a join filter to extend an article filter to related articles in a merge publication

  1. Define the filtering for the article being joined to, which is also known as the parent article.

  2. At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_addmergearticle (Transact-SQL) to define one or more related articles, which are also known as child articles, for the publication. For more information, see How to: Define an Article (Replication Transact-SQL Programming).

  3. At the Publisher on the publication database, execute sp_addmergefilter (Transact-SQL). Specify @publication, a unique name for this filter for @filtername, the name of the child article created in step 2 for @article, the name of the parent article being joined to for @join_articlename, and one of the following values for @join_unique_key:

    • 0 - indicates a many-to-one or many-to-many join between the parent and child articles.

    • 1 - indicates a one-to-one or one-to-many join between the parent and child articles.

    This defines a join filter between the two articles.

    Warning

    Only set @join_unique_key to 1 if you have a constraint on the joining column in the underlying table for the parent article that guarantees uniqueness. If @join_unique_key is set to 1 incorrectly, non-convergence of data may occur.

Example

This example defines an article for a merge publication, where the SalesOrderDetail table article is filtered against the SalesOrderHeader table that is itself filtered using a static row filter. For more information, see How to: Define and Modify a Static Row Filter (Replication Transact-SQL Programming).

DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
DECLARE @table1 AS sysname;
DECLARE @table2 AS sysname;
DECLARE @table3 AS sysname;
DECLARE @salesschema AS sysname;
DECLARE @hrschema AS sysname;
DECLARE @filterclause AS nvarchar(1000);
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksSalesOrdersMerge'; 
SET @table1 = N'Employee'; 
SET @table2 = N'SalesOrderHeader'; 
SET @table3 = N'SalesOrderDetail'; 
SET @salesschema = N'Sales';
SET @hrschema = N'HumanResources';
SET @filterclause = N'Employee.LoginID = HOST_NAME()';

-- Add a filtered article for the Employee table.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table1, 
  @source_object = @table1, 
  @type = N'table', 
  @source_owner = @hrschema,
  @schema_option = 0x0004CF1,
  @description = N'article for the Employee table',
  @subset_filterclause = @filterclause;

-- Add an article for the SalesOrderHeader table that is filtered
-- based on Employee and horizontally filtered.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @source_object = @table2, 
  @type = N'table', 
  @source_owner = @salesschema, 
  @vertical_partition = N'true',
  @schema_option = 0x0034EF1,
  @description = N'article for the SalesOrderDetail table';

-- Add an article for the SalesOrderDetail table that is filtered
-- based on SaledOrderHeader.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table3, 
  @source_object = @table3, 
  @source_owner = @salesschema,
  @description = 'article for the SalesOrderHeader table', 
  @identityrangemanagementoption = N'auto', 
  @pub_identity_range = 100000, 
  @identity_range = 100, 
  @threshold = 80,
  @schema_option = 0x0004EF1;

-- Add all columns to the SalesOrderHeader article.
EXEC sp_mergearticlecolumn 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Remove the credit card Approval Code column.
EXEC sp_mergearticlecolumn 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @column = N'CreditCardApprovalCode', 
  @operation = N'drop', 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Add a merge join filter between Employee and SalesOrderHeader.
EXEC sp_addmergefilter 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @filtername = N'SalesOrderHeader_Employee', 
  @join_articlename = @table1, 
  @join_filterclause = N'Employee.BusinessEntityID = SalesOrderHeader.SalesPersonID', 
  @join_unique_key = 1, 
  @filter_type = 1, 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;

-- Add a merge join filter between SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail.
EXEC sp_addmergefilter 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table3, 
  @filtername = N'SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderHeader', 
  @join_articlename = @table2, 
  @join_filterclause = N'SalesOrderHeader.SalesOrderID = SalesOrderDetail.SalesOrderID', 
  @join_unique_key = 1, 
  @filter_type = 1, 
  @force_invalidate_snapshot = 1, 
  @force_reinit_subscription = 1;
GO

This example defines a group of articles in a merge publication where the articles are filtered with a series of join filters against the Employee table that is itself filtered using a parameterized row filter on the value of HOST_NAME in the LoginID column. For more information, see How to: Define and Modify a Parameterized Row Filter for a Merge Article (Replication Transact-SQL Programming).

-- To avoid storing the login and password in the script file, the value 
-- is passed into SQLCMD as a scripting variable. For information about 
-- how to use scripting variables on the command line and in SQL Server
-- Management Studio, see the "Executing Replication Scripts" section in
-- the topic "Programming Replication Using System Stored Procedures".

--Add a new merge publication.
DECLARE @publicationdb AS sysname;
DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
DECLARE @table1 AS sysname;
DECLARE @table2 AS sysname;
DECLARE @filter AS sysname;
DECLARE @schema_hr AS sysname;
DECLARE @schema_sales AS sysname;

SET @publicationdb = N'AdventureWorks2008R2';
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksSalesPersonMerge';
SET @table1 = N'Employee';
SET @table2 = N'SalesPerson';
SET @filter = N'SalesPerson_Employee';
SET @schema_hr = N'HumanResources';
SET @schema_sales = N'Sales';

USE [AdventureWorks2008R2];

-- Enable AdventureWorks2008R2 for merge replication.
EXEC sp_replicationdboption
  @dbname = @publicationdb,
  @optname = N'merge publish',
  @value = N'true';  

-- Create new merge publication with Subscriber requested snapshot
-- and using the default agent schedule. 
EXEC sp_addmergepublication 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @description = N'Merge publication of AdventureWorks2008R2.', 
  @allow_subscriber_initiated_snapshot = N'true',
  @publication_compatibility_level = N'90RTM';

-- Create a new snapshot job for the publication, using the default schedule.
-- Pass credentials at runtime using sqlcmd scripting variables.
EXEC sp_addpublication_snapshot 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @job_login = $(login), 
  @job_password = $(password);

-- Add an article for the Employee table, 
-- which is horizontally partitioned using 
-- a parameterized row filter.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table1, 
  @source_owner = @schema_hr, 
  @source_object = @table1, 
  @type = N'table', 
  @description = 'contains employee information', 
  @subset_filterclause = N'[LoginID] = HOST_NAME()';

-- Add an article for the SalesPerson table, 
-- which is partitioned based on a join filter.
EXEC sp_addmergearticle 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table2, 
  @source_owner = @schema_sales, 
  @source_object = @table2, 
  @type = N'table', 
  @description = 'contains salesperson information';

-- Add a join filter between the two articles.
EXEC sp_addmergefilter 
  @publication = @publication, 
  @article = @table1, 
  @filtername = @filter, 
  @join_articlename = @table2, 
  @join_filterclause = N'[Employee].[BusinessEntityID] = [SalesPerson].[SalesPersonID]', 
  @join_unique_key = 1, 
  @filter_type = 1;
GO

-- Start the agent job to generate the full snapshot for the publication.
-- The filtered data snapshot is generated automatically the first time 
-- the subscription is synchronized. 
DECLARE @publication AS sysname;
SET @publication = N'AdvWorksSalesPersonMerge';

EXEC sp_startpublication_snapshot 
  @publication = @publication;
GO