A composite object is one that uses other objects. For example, a mapping may use a reusable source, reusable target, and several non-reusable transformations. Each of these objects is a child dependency of the mapping. You can copy the following composite objects to a deployment group:

When you create a deployment group, you can choose to include all dependencies, non-reusable dependencies, or no dependencies for composite objects. If you choose to copy no dependencies or non-reusable dependencies for a composite object, the wizard uses existing copies of objects in the target repository for all child dependencies not included in the deployment group. If the wizard cannot locate necessary dependencies in the target repository, it fails the copy operation.

You must ensure that the dependent objects are also included in the deployment group or exist in the target repository. The first time you deploy a group, you must include all dependencies of the composite object. To ensure that necessary dependencies exist in the target repository, you might want to copy the entire folder to the target repository the first time you copy the objects. You can then use deployment groups to update individual objects over time. After you initially deploy a group, you do not need to add all object dependencies to the deployment group.

For example, you edit a mapping variable in a mapping. You want to update the copy of the mapping currently stored in the production repository. You add the mapping to a deployment group with no dependencies because you do not want to update any non-reusable or reusable transformations in the mapping. When you copy the mapping to the production repository, the wizard replaces the current version of the mapping and associates all existing transformations with the new version.

When you deploy composite objects, the Repository Service treats the non-reusable objects in the composite object as part of the parent object. For example, if the parent object is deleted, the Repository Service treats associated non-reusable objects as deleted.

You can also add dependencies to the deployment group. Use one of the following methods to ensure that you include dependencies in the deployment group: