8.3.2 Relates be the A relate operation temporarily connects two is to of tables but keeps the tables physically separate. We can connect three or more tables simultaneously by first establishing relates between tables in pairs. A Windows-based GIS package is particularly useful for working with relates because it allows the viewing of multiple tables. One advantage of relates is that they are appropriate for all four types e can of relationships. This is important for data query f data because a relational database is likely to include three different types of relationships. But relates tend to slow down data access, especially if the data reside in a remote database.