Salesforce Platform Developer Practice Exam

Which option allows for the most flexible relationship between records while maintaining a separation of entities?

1. Master-Detail Relationship

2. Lookup Relationship

3. One-to-Many Relationship

4. Many-to-Many Relationship

The correct answer is: Lookup Relationship

The lookup relationship is designed to create a flexible association between two records while allowing for a clear separation between those records. This type of relationship enables you to link records without the constraints imposed by a master-detail relationship, such as automatically deleting child records when a parent record is deleted. With a lookup relationship, you can establish a connection between two objects where the child record can exist independently of the parent. This means that both records can have their own life cycle, and the existence of one does not directly affect the existence of the other. Thus, you can create more complex data structures without enforcing strict ownership. In contrast, options like the master-detail relationship create a tighter coupling between records, where the child record is strongly tied to the parent. The one-to-many and many-to-many relationships also have specific behaviors and constraints that can limit flexibility and independence between the records involved. Therefore, the lookup relationship is the best choice for scenarios requiring flexibility in record connections while maintaining an independent entity structure.