diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 18bd16f4f..423bdda5c 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ Imports:
     shinyjs,
     stats,
     teal.logger (>= 0.1.1),
+    teal.code (>= 0.4.1.9003),
     utils,
     yaml (>= 1.1.0)
 Suggests:
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ Config/Needs/verdepcheck: rstudio/shiny, mllg/checkmate,
     yaml=vubiostat/r-yaml, rstudio/bslib, tidyverse/dplyr, yihui/knitr,
     tidyverse/magrittr, bioc::MultiAssayExperiment, tidyverse/readr,
     rstudio/reticulate, rstudio/rmarkdown, bioc::SummarizedExperiment,
-    r-lib/testthat, r-lib/withr
+    insightsengineering/teal.code, r-lib/testthat, r-lib/withr
 Config/Needs/website: insightsengineering/nesttemplate
 Encoding: UTF-8
 Language: en-US
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 9ac8192cd..52a6ca514 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
 
+S3method("[",JoinKeys)
+S3method("[<-",JoinKeys)
+S3method("get_join_keys<-",JoinKeys)
+S3method("get_join_keys<-",teal_data)
 S3method(as_cdisc,TealDataset)
 S3method(as_cdisc,TealDatasetConnector)
 S3method(dataset,MultiAssayExperiment)
@@ -12,6 +16,7 @@ S3method(get_code,default)
 S3method(get_dataname,TealDataAbstract)
 S3method(get_dataname,TealDataset)
 S3method(get_dataname,TealDatasetConnector)
+S3method(get_dataname,teal_data)
 S3method(get_dataset,TealDataAbstract)
 S3method(get_dataset,TealDataset)
 S3method(get_dataset,TealDatasetConnector)
@@ -20,6 +25,11 @@ S3method(get_dataset_label,TealDatasetConnector)
 S3method(get_datasets,TealDataAbstract)
 S3method(get_datasets,TealDataset)
 S3method(get_datasets,TealDatasetConnector)
+S3method(get_datasets,teal_data)
+S3method(get_join_keys,JoinKeys)
+S3method(get_join_keys,TealData)
+S3method(get_join_keys,default)
+S3method(get_join_keys,teal_data)
 S3method(get_key_duplicates,TealDataset)
 S3method(get_key_duplicates,data.frame)
 S3method(get_keys,TealDataAbstract)
@@ -50,13 +60,14 @@ S3method(set_keys,TealDataAbstract)
 S3method(set_keys,TealDataset)
 S3method(set_keys,TealDatasetConnector)
 S3method(to_relational_data,MultiAssayExperiment)
-S3method(to_relational_data,TealData)
 S3method(to_relational_data,TealDataset)
 S3method(to_relational_data,TealDatasetConnector)
 S3method(to_relational_data,data.frame)
 S3method(to_relational_data,list)
 export("col_labels<-")
 export("data_label<-")
+export("datanames<-")
+export("get_join_keys<-")
 export(as_cdisc)
 export(callable_code)
 export(callable_function)
@@ -67,6 +78,7 @@ export(cdisc_dataset)
 export(cdisc_dataset_connector)
 export(cdisc_dataset_connector_file)
 export(cdisc_dataset_file)
+export(cdisc_join_keys)
 export(code_cdisc_dataset_connector)
 export(code_dataset_connector)
 export(col_labels)
@@ -75,6 +87,7 @@ export(csv_cdisc_dataset_connector)
 export(csv_dataset_connector)
 export(data_connection)
 export(data_label)
+export(datanames)
 export(dataset)
 export(dataset_connector)
 export(dataset_connector_file)
@@ -89,6 +102,7 @@ export(get_dataname)
 export(get_dataset)
 export(get_dataset_label)
 export(get_datasets)
+export(get_join_keys)
 export(get_key_duplicates)
 export(get_keys)
 export(get_labels)
@@ -118,7 +132,8 @@ export(teal_data_file)
 export(to_relational_data)
 export(validate_metadata)
 import(shiny)
+import(teal.code)
 importFrom(digest,digest)
 importFrom(logger,log_trace)
-importFrom(shinyjs,show)
+importFrom(shinyjs,useShinyjs)
 importFrom(stats,setNames)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 12849888b..f593bc560 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # teal.data 0.3.0.9007
 
+### Enhancements
+* Simplified `join_key` to better support primary keys.
+* Added subset and subset-assignment to `JoinKeySet` class to manipulate relationship pair keys _(`[` and `[<-`)_.
+
+### Breaking changes
+
+* Introduced new data class (`teal_data`) which replaces deprecated `TealData`. New data class becomes a standard input for whole `teal` framework.
+* Deprecated `teal_data` constructor when `TealDataset`, `TealDatasetConnector` or `TealDataConnector` objects are provided. New delayed data loading functions introduced in `teal` package.
 ### Miscellaneous
 * Specified minimal version of package dependencies.
 
diff --git a/R/CallableFunction.R b/R/CallableFunction.R
index 4eb87c68f..5eb20a5c7 100644
--- a/R/CallableFunction.R
+++ b/R/CallableFunction.R
@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ CallableFunction <- R6::R6Class( # nolint
     # @return nothing
     refresh = function() {
       if (!is.null(private$fun_name) || !identical(private$fun_name, character(0))) {
-
         # replaced str2lang found at:
         # https://rlang.r-lib.org/reference/call2.html
         private$call <- as.call(
diff --git a/R/JoinKeys.R b/R/JoinKeys.R
index 241eaa1e9..0b9255fb2 100644
--- a/R/JoinKeys.R
+++ b/R/JoinKeys.R
@@ -301,8 +301,10 @@ JoinKeys <- R6::R6Class( # nolint
           return(TRUE)
         }
 
-        if (xor(length(join_key_1$keys) == 0, length(join_key_2$keys) == 0) ||
-          !identical(sort(join_key_1$keys), sort(setNames(names(join_key_2$keys), join_key_2$keys)))) {
+        if (
+          xor(length(join_key_1$keys) == 0, length(join_key_2$keys) == 0) ||
+            !identical(sort(join_key_1$keys), sort(setNames(names(join_key_2$keys), join_key_2$keys)))
+        ) {
           error_message(join_key_1$dataset_1, join_key_1$dataset_2)
         }
       }
@@ -351,17 +353,18 @@ JoinKeys <- R6::R6Class( # nolint
 #' @export
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' join_keys()
+#' # setting join keys
 #' join_keys(
 #'   join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_B", c("col_1" = "col_a")),
 #'   join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_C", c("col_2" = "col_x", "col_3" = "col_y"))
 #' )
-#' join_keys(
-#'   join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_B", c("col_1" = "col_a"))
-#' )
+#' # or
+#' jk <- join_keys()
+#' jk["dataset_A", "dataset_B"] <- c("col_1" = "col_a")
+#' jk["dataset_A", "dataset_C"] <- c("col_2" = "col_x", "col_3" = "col_y")
+#'
 join_keys <- function(...) {
-  x <- list(...)
-
+  x <- rlang::list2(...)
   res <- JoinKeys$new()
   if (length(x) > 0) {
     res$set(x)
@@ -370,6 +373,75 @@ join_keys <- function(...) {
   res
 }
 
+#' @title Getter for JoinKeys that returns the relationship between pairs of datasets
+#' @param x JoinKeys object to extract the join keys
+#' @param dataset_1 (`character`) name of first dataset.
+#' @param dataset_2 (`character`) name of second dataset.
+#' @export
+#' @keywords internal
+`[.JoinKeys` <- function(x, dataset_1, dataset_2 = dataset_1) {
+  checkmate::assert_string(dataset_1)
+  checkmate::assert_string(dataset_2)
+  x$get(dataset_1, dataset_2)
+}
+
+#' @rdname sub-.JoinKeys
+#' @param value value to assign
+#' @export
+#' @keywords internal
+`[<-.JoinKeys` <- function(x, dataset_1, dataset_2 = dataset_1, value) {
+  checkmate::assert_string(dataset_1)
+  checkmate::assert_string(dataset_2)
+  x$mutate(dataset_1, dataset_2, value)
+  x
+}
+
+#' @rdname join_keys
+#' @details
+#' `cdisc_join_keys` is a wrapper around `join_keys` that sets the default
+#' join keys for CDISC datasets. It is used internally by `cdisc_data` to
+#' set the default join keys for CDISC datasets.
+#'
+#' @export
+#' @examples
+#'
+#' # default CDISC join keys
+#' cdisc_join_keys(join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_B", c("col_1" = "col_a")), "ADTTE")
+#'
+cdisc_join_keys <- function(...) {
+  data_objects <- rlang::list2(...)
+
+  join_keys <- join_keys()
+  lapply(seq_along(data_objects), function(ix) {
+    item <- data_objects[[ix]]
+    name <- names(data_objects)[ix]
+
+    if (checkmate::test_class(item, "JoinKeySet")) {
+      join_keys$set(item)
+      return(NULL)
+    } else if (
+      checkmate::test_multi_class(item, c("TealDataConnector", "TealDataset", "TealDatasetConnector"))
+    ) {
+      return(NULL)
+    } else {
+      if ((is.null(name) || identical(trimws(name), "")) && is.character(item)) {
+        name <- item
+      }
+      if (name %in% names(default_cdisc_keys)) {
+        # Set default primary keys
+        keys_list <- default_cdisc_keys[[name]]
+        join_keys[name] <- keys_list$primary
+
+        if (!is.null(keys_list$parent) && !is.null(keys_list$foreign)) {
+          join_keys[name, keys_list$parent] <- keys_list$foreign
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  })
+
+  join_keys
+}
+
 # wrappers ====
 #' Mutate `JoinKeys` with a new values
 #'
@@ -425,12 +497,16 @@ mutate_join_keys.TealData <- function(x, dataset_1, dataset_2, val) { # nolint
   x$mutate_join_keys(dataset_1, dataset_2, val)
 }
 
-
 #' Create a relationship between a pair of datasets
 #'
 #' @description `r lifecycle::badge("stable")`
 #'
+#' @details `join_key()` will create a relationship for the variables on a pair
+#' of datasets.
+#'
 #' @inheritParams mutate_join_keys
+#' @param dataset_2 (optional `character`) other dataset name. In case it is omitted, then it
+#' will create a primary key for `dataset_1`.
 #' @param keys (optionally named `character`) where `names(keys)` are columns in `dataset_1`
 #' with relationship to columns of `dataset_2` given by the elements in `keys`.
 #' If `names(keys)` is `NULL` then the same column names are used for both `dataset_1`
@@ -441,7 +517,7 @@ mutate_join_keys.TealData <- function(x, dataset_1, dataset_2, val) { # nolint
 #' @seealso [join_keys()]
 #'
 #' @export
-join_key <- function(dataset_1, dataset_2, keys) {
+join_key <- function(dataset_1, dataset_2 = dataset_1, keys) {
   checkmate::assert_string(dataset_1)
   checkmate::assert_string(dataset_2)
   checkmate::assert_character(keys, any.missing = FALSE)
diff --git a/R/cdisc_data.R b/R/cdisc_data.R
index 63562afea..f44f8721f 100644
--- a/R/cdisc_data.R
+++ b/R/cdisc_data.R
@@ -1,105 +1,85 @@
 #' Data input for teal app
 #'
 #' @description `r lifecycle::badge("stable")`
-#' Function takes datasets and creates `TealData` object which can be used in `teal` applications.
-#'
-#' @note This function does not automatically assign keys to `TealDataset`
-#' and `TealDatasetConnector` objects passed to it. If the keys are needed
-#' they should be assigned before calling `cdisc_data`. See example:
-#' ```
-#' test_dataset <- dataset("ADAE", teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADAE")) # does not have keys
-#' test_adsl <- cdisc_dataset("ADSL", teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL"))
-#' test_data <- cdisc_data(test_dataset, test_adsl)
-#' get_keys(test_data, "ADAE") # returns character(0)
-#'
-#' test_dataset <- cdisc_dataset("ADAE", teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADAE"))
-#' test_data <- cdisc_data(test_dataset, test_adsl)
-#' get_keys(test_data, "ADAE") # returns [1] "STUDYID" "USUBJID" "ASTDTM"  "AETERM"  "AESEQ"
-#' ```
+#' Function is a wrapper around [teal_data()] and guesses `join_keys`
+#' for given datasets whose names match ADAM datasets names.
+#'
 #' @inheritParams teal_data
-#' @param ... (`TealDataConnector`, `TealDataset` or
-#'   `TealDatasetConnector`) elements to include.
 #' @param join_keys (`JoinKeys`) or a single (`JoinKeySet`)\cr
 #'   (optional) object with datasets column names used for joining.
-#'   If empty then it would be automatically derived basing on intersection of datasets primary keys
+#'   If empty then it would be automatically derived basing on intersection of datasets primary keys.
+#'   For ADAM datasets it would be automatically derived.
 #'
-#' @return a `TealData` object
+#' @return
+#' - a `TealData` object when `TealDataset` `TealDatasetConnector`, `TealDataConnector` is provided,
+#' - a `teal_data` object otherwise.
 #'
 #' @details This function checks if there were keys added to all data sets
 #'
 #' @export
 #'
 #' @examples
-#'
-#' ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL")
-#' ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADTTE")
-#'
-#' # basic example
-#' cdisc_data(
-#'   cdisc_dataset("ADSL", ADSL),
-#'   cdisc_dataset("ADTTE", ADTTE),
-#'   code = "ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADSL\")
-#'           ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADTTE\")",
-#'   check = TRUE
-#' )
-#'
-#' # Example with keys
-#' cdisc_data(
-#'   cdisc_dataset("ADSL", ADSL,
-#'     keys = c("STUDYID", "USUBJID")
-#'   ),
-#'   cdisc_dataset("ADTTE", ADTTE,
-#'     keys = c("STUDYID", "USUBJID", "PARAMCD"),
-#'     parent = "ADSL"
-#'   ),
+#' data <- cdisc_data(
 #'   join_keys = join_keys(
-#'     join_key(
-#'       "ADSL",
-#'       "ADTTE",
-#'       c("STUDYID" = "STUDYID", "USUBJID" = "USUBJID")
-#'     )
-#'   ),
-#'   code = "ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADSL\")
-#'           ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADTTE\")",
-#'   check = TRUE
+#'     join_key("ADSL", "ADTTE", c("STUDYID" = "STUDYID", "USUBJID" = "USUBJID"))
+#'   )
 #' )
+#'
+#' data <- within(data, {
+#'   ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL")
+#'   ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADTTE")
+#' })
+#'
 cdisc_data <- function(...,
-                       join_keys = teal.data::join_keys(),
-                       code = "",
+                       join_keys = teal.data::cdisc_join_keys(...),
+                       code = character(0),
                        check = FALSE) {
-  data_objects <- list(...)
-  checkmate::assert_list(
-    data_objects,
-    types = c("TealDataset", "TealDatasetConnector", "TealDataConnector")
-  )
-  if (inherits(join_keys, "JoinKeySet")) {
-    join_keys <- teal.data::join_keys(join_keys)
-  }
-
-  update_join_keys_to_primary(data_objects, join_keys)
+  teal_data(..., join_keys = join_keys, code = code, check = check)
+}
 
-  retrieve_parents <- function(x) {
-    tryCatch(
-      x$get_parent(),
-      error = function(cond) rep(character(0), length(x$get_datanames()))
+#' Extrapolate parents from `TealData` classes
+#'
+#' `r lifecycle::badge("deprecated")`
+#'
+#' note: This function will be removed once the following classes are defunct:
+#'  `TealDataConnector`, `TealDataset`, `TealDatasetConnector`
+#'
+#' @keywords internal
+deprecated_join_keys_extract <- function(data_objects, join_keys) {
+  if (
+    !checkmate::test_list(
+      data_objects,
+      types = c("TealDataConnector", "TealDataset", "TealDatasetConnector")
     )
+  ) {
+    return(join_keys)
   }
+  # TODO: check if redundant with same call in teal_data body
+  update_join_keys_to_primary(data_objects, join_keys)
 
   new_parents_fun <- function(data_objects) {
-    lapply(data_objects, function(x) {
-      if (inherits(x, "TealDataConnector")) {
-        unlist(new_parents_fun(x$get_items()), recursive = FALSE)
-      } else {
-        list(retrieve_parents(x))
+    lapply(
+      data_objects,
+      function(x) {
+        if (inherits(x, "TealDataConnector")) {
+          unlist(new_parents_fun(x$get_items()), recursive = FALSE)
+        } else {
+          list(
+            tryCatch(
+              x$get_parent(),
+              error = function(cond) rep(character(0), length(x$get_datanames()))
+            )
+          )
+        }
       }
-    })
+    )
   }
 
   new_parents <- unlist(new_parents_fun(data_objects), recursive = FALSE)
 
   names(new_parents) <- unlist(lapply(data_objects, function(x) {
     if (inherits(x, "TealDataConnector")) {
-      lapply(x$get_items(), function(z) z$get_dataname())
+      lapply(x$get_items(), function(y) y$get_dataname())
     } else {
       x$get_datanames()
     }
@@ -111,15 +91,7 @@ cdisc_data <- function(...,
   join_keys$set_parents(new_parents)
   join_keys$update_keys_given_parents()
 
-  x <- TealData$new(..., check = check, join_keys = join_keys)
-
-  if (length(code) > 0 && !identical(code, "")) {
-    x$set_pull_code(code = code)
-  }
-
-  x$check_reproducibility()
-  x$check_metadata()
-  return(x)
+  join_keys
 }
 
 #' Load `TealData` object from a file
diff --git a/R/datanames.R b/R/datanames.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..932c40a3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/datanames.R
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#' Names of Data Sets in `teal_data` Object
+#'
+#' Get or set the value of the `datanames` slot.
+#'
+#' The `@datanames` slot in a `teal_data` object specifies which of the variables stored in its environment
+#' (the `@env` slot) are data sets to be taken into consideration.
+#' The contents of `@datanames` can be specified upon creation and default to all variables in `@env`.
+#' Variables created later, which may well be data sets, are not automatically considered such.
+#' Use this function to update the slot.
+#'
+#' @param x (`teal_data`) object to access or modify
+#' @param value (`character`) new value for `@datanames`; all elements must be names of variables existing in `@env`
+#'
+#' @return The contents of `@datanames` or `teal_data` with updated `@datanames`.
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' td <- teal_data(iris = iris)
+#' td <- within(td, mtcars <- mtcars)
+#' datanames(td)
+#' datanames(td) <- c("iris", "mtcars")
+#'
+#' @name datanames
+#' @aliases datanames,teal_data-method
+#' @aliases datanames<-,teal_data,character-method
+
+#' @rdname datanames
+#' @export
+setGeneric("datanames", function(x) standardGeneric("datanames"))
+setMethod("datanames", "teal_data", definition = function(x) {
+  x@datanames
+})
+
+#' @rdname datanames
+#' @export
+setGeneric("datanames<-", function(x, value) standardGeneric("datanames<-"))
+setMethod("datanames<-", c("teal_data", "character"), definition = function(x, value) {
+  if (!all(is.element(value, ls(x@env, all.names = TRUE)))) {
+    stop("invalid name")
+  }
+  x@datanames <- value
+  methods::validObject(x)
+  x
+})
diff --git a/R/get_dataname.R b/R/get_dataname.R
index 3418c9087..9ac544a37 100644
--- a/R/get_dataname.R
+++ b/R/get_dataname.R
@@ -32,3 +32,9 @@ get_dataname.TealDatasetConnector <- function(x) { # nolint
 get_dataname.TealDataset <- function(x) { # nolint
   return(x$get_dataname())
 }
+
+#' @rdname get_dataname
+#' @export
+get_dataname.teal_data <- function(x) { # nolint
+  return(x@datanames)
+}
diff --git a/R/get_datasets.R b/R/get_datasets.R
index e72595725..48414bcef 100644
--- a/R/get_datasets.R
+++ b/R/get_datasets.R
@@ -133,3 +133,9 @@ get_datasets.TealDatasetConnector <- function(x) { # nolint
 get_datasets.TealDataset <- function(x) {
   x
 }
+
+#' @rdname get_datasets
+#' @export
+get_datasets.teal_data <- function(x) {
+  as.list(x@env)[teal.data::get_dataname(x)]
+}
diff --git a/R/get_join_keys.R b/R/get_join_keys.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a73a3e12f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/get_join_keys.R
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+#' Function to get join keys from a `` object
+#' @param data `` - object to extract the join keys
+#' @return Either `JoinKeys` object or `NULL` if no join keys
+#' @export
+get_join_keys <- function(data) {
+  UseMethod("get_join_keys", data)
+}
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @export
+get_join_keys.default <- function(data) {
+  stop("get_join_keys function not implemented for object of class ", toString(class(data)))
+}
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @export
+get_join_keys.teal_data <- function(data) {
+  data@join_keys
+}
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @export
+get_join_keys.JoinKeys <- function(data) {
+  data
+}
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @export
+get_join_keys.TealData <- function(data) {
+  data$get_join_keys()
+}
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @inheritParams mutate_join_keys
+#' @param value value to assign
+#' @export
+`get_join_keys<-` <- function(data, dataset_1, dataset_2 = NULL, value) {
+  UseMethod("get_join_keys<-", data)
+}
+
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @inheritParams mutate_join_keys
+#' @export
+`get_join_keys<-.JoinKeys` <- function(data, dataset_1, dataset_2 = NULL, value) {
+  # The reason this passthrough method is defined is to prevent a warning message
+  # The assignment is performed by `get_join_keys.JoinKeys` and `[<-.JoinKeys` combination
+  #  as well as `JoinKeys` being an R6 class
+  data
+}
+
+#' @rdname get_join_keys
+#' @export
+`get_join_keys<-.teal_data` <- function(data, dataset_1, dataset_2 = NULL, value) {
+  # The reason this passthrough method is defined is to prevent a warning message
+  # The assignment is performed by `get_join_keys.teal_data` and `[<-.JoinKeys` combination
+  #  as well as `JoinKeys` being an R6 class
+  data
+}
diff --git a/R/teal.data.R b/R/teal.data.R
index 83037785d..70bd1af1a 100644
--- a/R/teal.data.R
+++ b/R/teal.data.R
@@ -13,6 +13,6 @@
 #' @import shiny
 #' @importFrom digest digest
 #' @importFrom stats setNames
-#' @importFrom shinyjs show
+#' @importFrom shinyjs useShinyjs
 #' @importFrom logger log_trace
 NULL
diff --git a/R/teal_data-class.R b/R/teal_data-class.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1506b1d7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/teal_data-class.R
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+setOldClass("JoinKeys")
+
+#' Reproducible data.
+#'
+#' Reproducible data container class. Inherits code tracking behavior from [`teal.code::qenv-class`].
+#'
+#' This class provides an isolated environment in which to store and process data with all code being recorded.
+#' The environment, code, data set names, and data joining keys are stored in their respective slots.
+#' These slots should never be accessed directly, use the provided get/set functions.
+#'
+#' As code is evaluated in `teal_data`, messages and warnings are stored in their respective slots.
+#' If errors are raised, a `qenv.error` object is returned.
+#'
+#' @name teal_data-class
+#' @rdname teal_data-class
+#'
+#' @slot env (`environment`) environment containing data sets and possibly auxiliary variables
+#'  Access variables with [get_var()] or [`[[`].
+#'  No setter provided. Evaluate code to add variables into `@env`.
+#' @slot code (`character`) representing code necessary to reproduce the contents of `@env`.
+#'  Access with [get_code()].
+#'  No setter provided. Evaluate code to append code to the slot.
+#' @slot id (`integer`) random identifier assigned to each line of code in `@code`. Used internally.
+#' @slot warnings (`character`) the warnings output when evaluating the code.
+#' @slot warnings (`character`) warnings raised when evaluating code.
+#'  Access with [get_warnings()].
+#' @slot messages (`character`) messages raised when evaluating code.
+#' @slot join_keys (`JoinKeys`) object specifying joining keys for data sets in `@env`.
+#'  Access or modify with [get_join_keys()].
+#' @slot datanames (`character`) vector of names of data sets in `@env`.
+#'  Used internally to distinguish them from auxiliary variables.
+#'  Access or modify with [datanames()].
+#'
+#' @import teal.code
+#' @keywords internal
+setClass(
+  Class = "teal_data",
+  contains = "qenv",
+  slots = c(join_keys = "JoinKeys", datanames = "character"),
+  prototype = list(
+    join_keys = join_keys(),
+    datanames = character(0)
+  )
+)
+
+#' Initialize `teal_data` object
+#'
+#' Initialize `teal_data` object.
+#' @name new_teal_data
+#'
+#' @param data (`named list`) List of data.
+#' @param code (`character` or `language`) code to reproduce the `data`.
+#'   Accepts and stores comments also.
+#' @param join_keys (`JoinKeys`) object
+#' @param datanames (`character`) names of datasets passed to `data`.
+#'   Needed when non-dataset objects are needed in the `env` slot.
+#' @rdname new_teal_data
+#' @keywords internal
+new_teal_data <- function(data,
+                          code = character(0),
+                          join_keys = join_keys(),
+                          datanames = union(names(data), names(join_keys$get()))) {
+  checkmate::assert_list(data)
+  checkmate::assert_class(join_keys, "JoinKeys")
+  if (is.null(datanames)) datanames <- character(0) # todo: allow to specify
+  checkmate::assert_character(datanames)
+  if (!any(is.language(code), is.character(code))) {
+    stop("`code` must be a character or language object.")
+  }
+
+  if (is.language(code)) {
+    code <- format_expression(code)
+  }
+  if (length(code)) {
+    code <- paste(code, collapse = "\n")
+  }
+
+  id <- sample.int(.Machine$integer.max, size = length(code))
+
+  new_env <- rlang::env_clone(list2env(data), parent = parent.env(.GlobalEnv))
+  lockEnvironment(new_env, bindings = TRUE)
+
+  methods::new(
+    "teal_data",
+    env = new_env,
+    code = code,
+    warnings = rep("", length(code)),
+    messages = rep("", length(code)),
+    id = id,
+    join_keys = join_keys,
+    datanames = datanames
+  )
+}
diff --git a/R/teal_data.R b/R/teal_data.R
index 2aab2abdc..037fb2650 100644
--- a/R/teal_data.R
+++ b/R/teal_data.R
@@ -1,64 +1,71 @@
-#' Teal data
+#' Teal Data
 #'
 #' @description `r lifecycle::badge("stable")`
-#' Universal function to pass data to teal application
+#' Universal function to pass data to teal application.
 #'
-#' @param ... (`TealDataConnector`, `TealDataset`, `TealDatasetConnector`)\cr
-#'   objects
+#' @param ... (`TealDataConnector`, `TealDataset`, `TealDatasetConnector`, `any`)\cr
+#'  Either 1) an object of a `Teal*` class, which is deprecated and will be removed in next release,
+#'  or 2) any number of any objects provided as `name = value` pairs, which is available from version `0.4.0`.
 #' @param join_keys (`JoinKeys`) or a single (`JoinKeySet`)\cr
 #'   (optional) object with dataset column relationships used for joining.
 #'   If empty then no joins between pairs of objects
-#' @param code (`character`) code to reproduce the datasets.
+#' @param code (`character`, `language`) code to reproduce the datasets.
 #' @param check (`logical`) reproducibility check - whether to perform a check that the pre-processing
 #'  code included in the object definitions actually produces those objects.
 #'  If `check` is true and preprocessing code is empty an error will be thrown.
 #'
-#' @return (`TealData`)
+#' @return
+#' If old data classes are provided (`TealDataset` `TealDatasetConnector`, `TealDataConnector`), a `TealData` object.
+#' Otherwise a `teal_data` object.
 #'
 #' @export
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' x1 <- dataset(
-#'   "x1",
-#'   iris,
-#'   code = "x1 <- iris"
-#' )
-#'
-#' x2 <- dataset(
-#'   "x2",
-#'   mtcars,
-#'   code = "x2 <- mtcars"
-#' )
+#' teal_data(x1 = iris, x2 = mtcars)
 #'
-#' teal_data(x1, x2)
 teal_data <- function(...,
                       join_keys = teal.data::join_keys(),
-                      code = "",
+                      code = character(0),
                       check = FALSE) {
-  data_objects <- list(...)
-  checkmate::assert_list(
-    data_objects,
-    types = c("TealDataset", "TealDatasetConnector", "TealDataConnector")
-  )
+  data_objects <- rlang::list2(...)
   if (inherits(join_keys, "JoinKeySet")) {
     join_keys <- teal.data::join_keys(join_keys)
   }
+  if (
+    checkmate::test_list(
+      data_objects,
+      types = c("TealDataConnector", "TealDataset", "TealDatasetConnector"),
+      min.len = 1
+    )
+  ) {
+    lifecycle::deprecate_warn(
+      when = "0.3.1",
+      "teal_data(
+        data_objects = 'should use data directly. Using TealDatasetConnector and TealDataset is deprecated.
+        Find more information on https://github.com/insightsengineering/teal/discussions/945'
+      )"
+    )
+    deprecated_join_keys_extract(data_objects, join_keys)
 
-  update_join_keys_to_primary(data_objects, join_keys)
-
-  x <- TealData$new(..., check = check, join_keys = join_keys)
-
-  if (length(code) > 0 && !identical(code, "")) {
-    x$set_pull_code(code = code)
+    x <- TealData$new(..., check = check, join_keys = join_keys)
+    if (length(code) > 0 && !identical(code, "")) {
+      x$set_pull_code(code = code)
+    }
+    x$check_reproducibility()
+    x$check_metadata()
+    x
+  } else {
+    if (length(data_objects) > 0 && !checkmate::test_names(names(data_objects), type = "named")) {
+      stop("Dot (`...`) arguments on `teal_data()` must be named.")
+    }
+    new_teal_data(
+      data = data_objects,
+      code = code,
+      join_keys = join_keys
+    )
   }
-
-  x$check_reproducibility()
-  x$check_metadata()
-
-  return(x)
 }
 
-
 #' Load `TealData` object from a file
 #'
 #' @description `r lifecycle::badge("experimental")`
diff --git a/R/to_relational_data.R b/R/to_relational_data.R
index 3cb132b67..7cf7f5224 100644
--- a/R/to_relational_data.R
+++ b/R/to_relational_data.R
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@ to_relational_data <- function(data) {
 #' @export
 to_relational_data.data.frame <- function(data) { # nolint
   dataname <- deparse(substitute(data, parent.frame()), width.cutoff = 500L)
-
-  if (grepl("\\)$", dataname) && inherits(data, "data.frame")) {
+  if (grepl("\\)$", dataname)) {
     stop("Single data.frame shouldn't be provided as a result of a function call. Please name
          the object first or use a named list.")
   }
@@ -118,11 +117,10 @@ to_relational_data.list <- function(data) {
 #' @keywords internal
 #' @export
 to_relational_data.MultiAssayExperiment <- function(data) { # nolint
-  teal_data(dataset("MAE", data))
-}
-
-#' @keywords internal
-#' @export
-to_relational_data.TealData <- function(data) { # nolint
-  data
+  dataname <- deparse(substitute(data, parent.frame()), width.cutoff = 500L)
+  if (grepl("\\)$", dataname)) {
+    stop("Single data.frame shouldn't be provided as a result of a function call. Please name
+         the object first or use a named list.")
+  }
+  teal_data(dataset(dataname, data))
 }
diff --git a/R/zzz.R b/R/zzz.R
index a21f4485a..aa1402424 100644
--- a/R/zzz.R
+++ b/R/zzz.R
@@ -11,3 +11,6 @@
 
   invisible()
 }
+
+# use non-exported function from teal.code
+format_expression <- getFromNamespace("format_expression", "teal.code")
diff --git a/_pkgdown.yml b/_pkgdown.yml
index 7b3796d37..4684fe812 100644
--- a/_pkgdown.yml
+++ b/_pkgdown.yml
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ reference:
       - teal_data
       - teal_data_file
       - to_relational_data
+      - new_teal_data
   - title: Delayed Dataset Functions
     desc: For loading and modifying delayed data objects.
     contents:
@@ -94,6 +95,7 @@ reference:
       - get_dataset_label
       - get_datasets
       - get_keys
+      - get_join_keys
       - get_raw_data
       - is_pulled
       - load_dataset
@@ -106,6 +108,8 @@ reference:
   - title: Helpers
     desc: Other useful functions for users and developers.
     contents:
+      - datanames
+      - datanames<-
       - col_labels
       - col_labels<-
       - col_relabel
diff --git a/inst/WORDLIST b/inst/WORDLIST
index 9df28bd9e..c4aa9809b 100644
--- a/inst/WORDLIST
+++ b/inst/WORDLIST
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 CDISC
-Forkers
-Hoffmann
-Pre
-Reproducibility
-SCDA
-UI
 cloneable
+Forkers
 formatters
 funder
+Getter
+Hoffmann
 iteratively
+JoinKeys
+Pre
 pre
 repo
+Reproducibility
 reproducibility
+SCDA
+UI
diff --git a/man/cdisc_data.Rd b/man/cdisc_data.Rd
index 073157225..eea0b46b5 100644
--- a/man/cdisc_data.Rd
+++ b/man/cdisc_data.Rd
@@ -4,79 +4,53 @@
 \alias{cdisc_data}
 \title{Data input for teal app}
 \usage{
-cdisc_data(..., join_keys = teal.data::join_keys(), code = "", check = FALSE)
+cdisc_data(
+  ...,
+  join_keys = teal.data::cdisc_join_keys(...),
+  code = character(0),
+  check = FALSE
+)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{...}{(\code{TealDataConnector}, \code{TealDataset} or
-\code{TealDatasetConnector}) elements to include.}
+\item{...}{(\code{TealDataConnector}, \code{TealDataset}, \code{TealDatasetConnector}, \code{any})\cr
+Either 1) an object of a \verb{Teal*} class, which is deprecated and will be removed in next release,
+or 2) any number of any objects provided as \code{name = value} pairs, which is available from version \verb{0.4.0}.}
 
 \item{join_keys}{(\code{JoinKeys}) or a single (\code{JoinKeySet})\cr
 (optional) object with datasets column names used for joining.
-If empty then it would be automatically derived basing on intersection of datasets primary keys}
+If empty then it would be automatically derived basing on intersection of datasets primary keys.
+For ADAM datasets it would be automatically derived.}
 
-\item{code}{(\code{character}) code to reproduce the datasets.}
+\item{code}{(\code{character}, \code{language}) code to reproduce the datasets.}
 
 \item{check}{(\code{logical}) reproducibility check - whether to perform a check that the pre-processing
 code included in the object definitions actually produces those objects.
 If \code{check} is true and preprocessing code is empty an error will be thrown.}
 }
 \value{
-a \code{TealData} object
+\itemize{
+\item a \code{TealData} object when \code{TealDataset} \code{TealDatasetConnector}, \code{TealDataConnector} is provided,
+\item a \code{teal_data} object otherwise.
+}
 }
 \description{
 \ifelse{html}{\href{https://lifecycle.r-lib.org/articles/stages.html#stable}{\figure{lifecycle-stable.svg}{options: alt='[Stable]'}}}{\strong{[Stable]}}
-Function takes datasets and creates \code{TealData} object which can be used in \code{teal} applications.
+Function is a wrapper around \code{\link[=teal_data]{teal_data()}} and guesses \code{join_keys}
+for given datasets whose names match ADAM datasets names.
 }
 \details{
 This function checks if there were keys added to all data sets
 }
-\note{
-This function does not automatically assign keys to \code{TealDataset}
-and \code{TealDatasetConnector} objects passed to it. If the keys are needed
-they should be assigned before calling \code{cdisc_data}. See example:
-
-\if{html}{\out{<div class="sourceCode">}}\preformatted{test_dataset <- dataset("ADAE", teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADAE")) # does not have keys
-test_adsl <- cdisc_dataset("ADSL", teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL"))
-test_data <- cdisc_data(test_dataset, test_adsl)
-get_keys(test_data, "ADAE") # returns character(0)
-
-test_dataset <- cdisc_dataset("ADAE", teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADAE"))
-test_data <- cdisc_data(test_dataset, test_adsl)
-get_keys(test_data, "ADAE") # returns [1] "STUDYID" "USUBJID" "ASTDTM"  "AETERM"  "AESEQ"
-}\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
-}
 \examples{
-
-ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL")
-ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADTTE")
-
-# basic example
-cdisc_data(
-  cdisc_dataset("ADSL", ADSL),
-  cdisc_dataset("ADTTE", ADTTE),
-  code = "ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADSL\")
-          ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADTTE\")",
-  check = TRUE
-)
-
-# Example with keys
-cdisc_data(
-  cdisc_dataset("ADSL", ADSL,
-    keys = c("STUDYID", "USUBJID")
-  ),
-  cdisc_dataset("ADTTE", ADTTE,
-    keys = c("STUDYID", "USUBJID", "PARAMCD"),
-    parent = "ADSL"
-  ),
+data <- cdisc_data(
   join_keys = join_keys(
-    join_key(
-      "ADSL",
-      "ADTTE",
-      c("STUDYID" = "STUDYID", "USUBJID" = "USUBJID")
-    )
-  ),
-  code = "ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADSL\")
-          ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data(\"ADTTE\")",
-  check = TRUE
+    join_key("ADSL", "ADTTE", c("STUDYID" = "STUDYID", "USUBJID" = "USUBJID"))
+  )
 )
+
+data <- within(data, {
+  ADSL <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL")
+  ADTTE <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADTTE")
+})
+
 }
diff --git a/man/datanames.Rd b/man/datanames.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3847538b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/datanames.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/datanames.R
+\name{datanames}
+\alias{datanames}
+\alias{datanames,teal_data-method}
+\alias{datanames<-,teal_data,character-method}
+\alias{datanames<-}
+\title{Names of Data Sets in \code{teal_data} Object}
+\usage{
+datanames(x)
+
+datanames(x) <- value
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{x}{(\code{teal_data}) object to access or modify}
+
+\item{value}{(\code{character}) new value for \verb{@datanames}; all elements must be names of variables existing in \verb{@env}}
+}
+\value{
+The contents of \verb{@datanames} or \code{teal_data} with updated \verb{@datanames}.
+}
+\description{
+Get or set the value of the \code{datanames} slot.
+}
+\details{
+The \verb{@datanames} slot in a \code{teal_data} object specifies which of the variables stored in its environment
+(the \verb{@env} slot) are data sets to be taken into consideration.
+The contents of \verb{@datanames} can be specified upon creation and default to all variables in \verb{@env}.
+Variables created later, which may well be data sets, are not automatically considered such.
+Use this function to update the slot.
+}
+\examples{
+td <- teal_data(iris = iris)
+td <- within(td, mtcars <- mtcars)
+datanames(td)
+datanames(td) <- c("iris", "mtcars")
+
+}
diff --git a/man/deprecated_join_keys_extract.Rd b/man/deprecated_join_keys_extract.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..beae3c4c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/deprecated_join_keys_extract.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/cdisc_data.R
+\name{deprecated_join_keys_extract}
+\alias{deprecated_join_keys_extract}
+\title{Extrapolate parents from \code{TealData} classes}
+\usage{
+deprecated_join_keys_extract(data_objects, join_keys)
+}
+\description{
+\ifelse{html}{\href{https://lifecycle.r-lib.org/articles/stages.html#deprecated}{\figure{lifecycle-deprecated.svg}{options: alt='[Deprecated]'}}}{\strong{[Deprecated]}}
+}
+\details{
+note: This function will be removed once the following classes are defunct:
+\code{TealDataConnector}, \code{TealDataset}, \code{TealDatasetConnector}
+}
+\keyword{internal}
diff --git a/man/get_dataname.Rd b/man/get_dataname.Rd
index 3c7ae2953..5c592b55c 100644
--- a/man/get_dataname.Rd
+++ b/man/get_dataname.Rd
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 \alias{get_dataname.TealDataAbstract}
 \alias{get_dataname.TealDatasetConnector}
 \alias{get_dataname.TealDataset}
+\alias{get_dataname.teal_data}
 \title{S3 method for getting a \code{dataname(s)} of
 (\code{TealDataAbstract}, (\code{TealDatasetConnector} or
 \code{TealDataset}) R6 object}
@@ -16,6 +17,8 @@ get_dataname(x)
 \method{get_dataname}{TealDatasetConnector}(x)
 
 \method{get_dataname}{TealDataset}(x)
+
+\method{get_dataname}{teal_data}(x)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{x}{(\code{TealDataAbstract}, \code{TealDatasetConnector} or
diff --git a/man/get_datasets.Rd b/man/get_datasets.Rd
index ea34069a8..82d3fe4b0 100644
--- a/man/get_datasets.Rd
+++ b/man/get_datasets.Rd
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 \alias{get_datasets.TealDataAbstract}
 \alias{get_datasets.TealDatasetConnector}
 \alias{get_datasets.TealDataset}
+\alias{get_datasets.teal_data}
 \title{Get a \code{\link{TealDataset}} objects.}
 \usage{
 get_datasets(x)
@@ -14,6 +15,8 @@ get_datasets(x)
 \method{get_datasets}{TealDatasetConnector}(x)
 
 \method{get_datasets}{TealDataset}(x)
+
+\method{get_datasets}{teal_data}(x)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{x}{(\code{\link{TealData}})\cr
diff --git a/man/get_join_keys.Rd b/man/get_join_keys.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ec725a21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/get_join_keys.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/get_join_keys.R
+\name{get_join_keys}
+\alias{get_join_keys}
+\alias{get_join_keys.default}
+\alias{get_join_keys.teal_data}
+\alias{get_join_keys.JoinKeys}
+\alias{get_join_keys.TealData}
+\alias{get_join_keys<-}
+\alias{get_join_keys<-.JoinKeys}
+\alias{get_join_keys<-.teal_data}
+\title{Function to get join keys from a `` object}
+\usage{
+get_join_keys(data)
+
+\method{get_join_keys}{default}(data)
+
+\method{get_join_keys}{teal_data}(data)
+
+\method{get_join_keys}{JoinKeys}(data)
+
+\method{get_join_keys}{TealData}(data)
+
+get_join_keys(data, dataset_1, dataset_2 = NULL) <- value
+
+\method{get_join_keys}{JoinKeys}(data, dataset_1, dataset_2 = NULL) <- value
+
+\method{get_join_keys}{teal_data}(data, dataset_1, dataset_2 = NULL) <- value
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{data}{`` - object to extract the join keys}
+
+\item{dataset_1}{(\code{character}) one dataset name}
+
+\item{dataset_2}{(\code{character}) other dataset name}
+
+\item{value}{value to assign}
+}
+\value{
+Either \code{JoinKeys} object or \code{NULL} if no join keys
+}
+\description{
+Function to get join keys from a `` object
+}
diff --git a/man/join_key.Rd b/man/join_key.Rd
index 89d073870..17f020099 100644
--- a/man/join_key.Rd
+++ b/man/join_key.Rd
@@ -4,12 +4,13 @@
 \alias{join_key}
 \title{Create a relationship between a pair of datasets}
 \usage{
-join_key(dataset_1, dataset_2, keys)
+join_key(dataset_1, dataset_2 = dataset_1, keys)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{dataset_1}{(\code{character}) one dataset name}
 
-\item{dataset_2}{(\code{character}) other dataset name}
+\item{dataset_2}{(optional \code{character}) other dataset name. In case it is omitted, then it
+will create a primary key for \code{dataset_1}.}
 
 \item{keys}{(optionally named \code{character}) where \code{names(keys)} are columns in \code{dataset_1}
 with relationship to columns of \code{dataset_2} given by the elements in \code{keys}.
@@ -22,6 +23,10 @@ object of class \code{JoinKeySet} to be passed into \code{join_keys} function.
 \description{
 \ifelse{html}{\href{https://lifecycle.r-lib.org/articles/stages.html#stable}{\figure{lifecycle-stable.svg}{options: alt='[Stable]'}}}{\strong{[Stable]}}
 }
+\details{
+\code{join_key()} will create a relationship for the variables on a pair
+of datasets.
+}
 \seealso{
 \code{\link[=join_keys]{join_keys()}}
 }
diff --git a/man/join_keys.Rd b/man/join_keys.Rd
index b0d10e1e4..535d8585f 100644
--- a/man/join_keys.Rd
+++ b/man/join_keys.Rd
@@ -2,9 +2,12 @@
 % Please edit documentation in R/JoinKeys.R
 \name{join_keys}
 \alias{join_keys}
+\alias{cdisc_join_keys}
 \title{Create a \code{JoinKeys} out of a list of \code{JoinKeySet} objects}
 \usage{
 join_keys(...)
+
+cdisc_join_keys(...)
 }
 \arguments{
 \item{...}{optional, a \code{JoinKeySet} objects created using the \code{join_key} function.}
@@ -18,14 +21,24 @@ join_keys(...)
 \details{
 Note that join keys are symmetric although the relationship only needs
 to be specified once.
+
+\code{cdisc_join_keys} is a wrapper around \code{join_keys} that sets the default
+join keys for CDISC datasets. It is used internally by \code{cdisc_data} to
+set the default join keys for CDISC datasets.
 }
 \examples{
-join_keys()
+# setting join keys
 join_keys(
   join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_B", c("col_1" = "col_a")),
   join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_C", c("col_2" = "col_x", "col_3" = "col_y"))
 )
-join_keys(
-  join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_B", c("col_1" = "col_a"))
-)
+# or
+jk <- join_keys()
+jk["dataset_A", "dataset_B"] <- c("col_1" = "col_a")
+jk["dataset_A", "dataset_C"] <- c("col_2" = "col_x", "col_3" = "col_y")
+
+
+# default CDISC join keys
+cdisc_join_keys(join_key("dataset_A", "dataset_B", c("col_1" = "col_a")), "ADTTE")
+
 }
diff --git a/man/new_teal_data.Rd b/man/new_teal_data.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1191cebc5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/new_teal_data.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/teal_data-class.R
+\name{new_teal_data}
+\alias{new_teal_data}
+\title{Initialize \code{teal_data} object}
+\usage{
+new_teal_data(
+  data,
+  code = character(0),
+  join_keys = join_keys(),
+  datanames = union(names(data), names(join_keys$get()))
+)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{data}{(\verb{named list}) List of data.}
+
+\item{code}{(\code{character} or \code{language}) code to reproduce the \code{data}.
+Accepts and stores comments also.}
+
+\item{join_keys}{(\code{JoinKeys}) object}
+
+\item{datanames}{(\code{character}) names of datasets passed to \code{data}.
+Needed when non-dataset objects are needed in the \code{env} slot.}
+}
+\description{
+Initialize \code{teal_data} object.
+}
+\keyword{internal}
diff --git a/man/sub-.JoinKeys.Rd b/man/sub-.JoinKeys.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1fac6de0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/sub-.JoinKeys.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/JoinKeys.R
+\name{[.JoinKeys}
+\alias{[.JoinKeys}
+\alias{[<-.JoinKeys}
+\title{Getter for JoinKeys that returns the relationship between pairs of datasets}
+\usage{
+\method{[}{JoinKeys}(x, dataset_1, dataset_2 = dataset_1)
+
+\method{[}{JoinKeys}(x, dataset_1, dataset_2 = dataset_1) <- value
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{x}{JoinKeys object to extract the join keys}
+
+\item{dataset_1}{(\code{character}) name of first dataset.}
+
+\item{dataset_2}{(\code{character}) name of second dataset.}
+
+\item{value}{value to assign}
+}
+\description{
+Getter for JoinKeys that returns the relationship between pairs of datasets
+}
+\keyword{internal}
diff --git a/man/teal_data-class.Rd b/man/teal_data-class.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e3fcad4c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/teal_data-class.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/teal_data-class.R
+\docType{class}
+\name{teal_data-class}
+\alias{teal_data-class}
+\title{Reproducible data.}
+\description{
+Reproducible data container class. Inherits code tracking behavior from \code{\link[teal.code:qenv-class]{teal.code::qenv}}.
+}
+\details{
+This class provides an isolated environment in which to store and process data with all code being recorded.
+The environment, code, data set names, and data joining keys are stored in their respective slots.
+These slots should never be accessed directly, use the provided get/set functions.
+
+As code is evaluated in \code{teal_data}, messages and warnings are stored in their respective slots.
+If errors are raised, a \code{qenv.error} object is returned.
+}
+\section{Slots}{
+
+\describe{
+\item{\code{env}}{(\code{environment}) environment containing data sets and possibly auxiliary variables
+Access variables with \code{\link[=get_var]{get_var()}} or [\code{[[}].
+No setter provided. Evaluate code to add variables into \verb{@env}.}
+
+\item{\code{code}}{(\code{character}) representing code necessary to reproduce the contents of \verb{@env}.
+Access with \code{\link[=get_code]{get_code()}}.
+No setter provided. Evaluate code to append code to the slot.}
+
+\item{\code{id}}{(\code{integer}) random identifier assigned to each line of code in \verb{@code}. Used internally.}
+
+\item{\code{warnings}}{(\code{character}) the warnings output when evaluating the code.}
+
+\item{\code{warnings}}{(\code{character}) warnings raised when evaluating code.
+Access with \code{\link[=get_warnings]{get_warnings()}}.}
+
+\item{\code{messages}}{(\code{character}) messages raised when evaluating code.}
+
+\item{\code{join_keys}}{(\code{JoinKeys}) object specifying joining keys for data sets in \verb{@env}.
+Access or modify with \code{\link[=get_join_keys]{get_join_keys()}}.}
+
+\item{\code{datanames}}{(\code{character}) vector of names of data sets in \verb{@env}.
+Used internally to distinguish them from auxiliary variables.
+Access or modify with \code{\link[=datanames]{datanames()}}.}
+}}
+
+\keyword{internal}
diff --git a/man/teal_data.Rd b/man/teal_data.Rd
index 9aa287038..5b556fe54 100644
--- a/man/teal_data.Rd
+++ b/man/teal_data.Rd
@@ -2,43 +2,39 @@
 % Please edit documentation in R/teal_data.R
 \name{teal_data}
 \alias{teal_data}
-\title{Teal data}
+\title{Teal Data}
 \usage{
-teal_data(..., join_keys = teal.data::join_keys(), code = "", check = FALSE)
+teal_data(
+  ...,
+  join_keys = teal.data::join_keys(),
+  code = character(0),
+  check = FALSE
+)
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{...}{(\code{TealDataConnector}, \code{TealDataset}, \code{TealDatasetConnector})\cr
-objects}
+\item{...}{(\code{TealDataConnector}, \code{TealDataset}, \code{TealDatasetConnector}, \code{any})\cr
+Either 1) an object of a \verb{Teal*} class, which is deprecated and will be removed in next release,
+or 2) any number of any objects provided as \code{name = value} pairs, which is available from version \verb{0.4.0}.}
 
 \item{join_keys}{(\code{JoinKeys}) or a single (\code{JoinKeySet})\cr
 (optional) object with dataset column relationships used for joining.
 If empty then no joins between pairs of objects}
 
-\item{code}{(\code{character}) code to reproduce the datasets.}
+\item{code}{(\code{character}, \code{language}) code to reproduce the datasets.}
 
 \item{check}{(\code{logical}) reproducibility check - whether to perform a check that the pre-processing
 code included in the object definitions actually produces those objects.
 If \code{check} is true and preprocessing code is empty an error will be thrown.}
 }
 \value{
-(\code{TealData})
+If old data classes are provided (\code{TealDataset} \code{TealDatasetConnector}, \code{TealDataConnector}), a \code{TealData} object.
+Otherwise a \code{teal_data} object.
 }
 \description{
 \ifelse{html}{\href{https://lifecycle.r-lib.org/articles/stages.html#stable}{\figure{lifecycle-stable.svg}{options: alt='[Stable]'}}}{\strong{[Stable]}}
-Universal function to pass data to teal application
+Universal function to pass data to teal application.
 }
 \examples{
-x1 <- dataset(
-  "x1",
-  iris,
-  code = "x1 <- iris"
-)
-
-x2 <- dataset(
-  "x2",
-  mtcars,
-  code = "x2 <- mtcars"
-)
+teal_data(x1 = iris, x2 = mtcars)
 
-teal_data(x1, x2)
 }
diff --git a/staged_dependencies.yaml b/staged_dependencies.yaml
index 4cdc94883..e57163180 100644
--- a/staged_dependencies.yaml
+++ b/staged_dependencies.yaml
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ current_repo:
   repo: insightsengineering/teal.data
   host: https://github.com
 upstream_repos:
+  insightsengineering/teal.code:
+    repo: insightsengineering/teal.code
+    host: https://github.com
   insightsengineering/teal.logger:
     repo: insightsengineering/teal.logger
     host: https://github.com
diff --git a/tests/testthat/helper-get_join_keys.R b/tests/testthat/helper-get_join_keys.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..34bca8a9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/helper-get_join_keys.R
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#' Generate a teal_data dataset with sample data and JoinKeys
+helper_generator_teal_data <- function() {
+  iris2 <- iris
+  iris2$id <- rnorm(NROW(iris2))
+  iris2$id <- apply(iris2, 1, rlang::hash)
+  new_teal_data(
+    list(
+      ds1 = iris2,
+      ds2 = iris2
+    ),
+    code = "ds1 <- iris2; ds2 <- iris2",
+    join_keys = helper_generator_JoinKeys("ds1", keys = c("id"))
+  )
+}
+
+#' Generate a JoinKeys
+helper_generator_JoinKeys <- function(dataset_1 = "ds1", keys = c("id")) { # nolint
+  join_keys(
+    join_key(dataset_1, keys = keys)
+  )
+}
+
+#' Test suite for default get_join generated by helper
+helper_test_get_join_keys <- function(obj, dataset_1 = "ds1") {
+  jk <- get_join_keys(obj)
+
+  expect_s3_class(jk, c("JoinKey", "R6"))
+  expect_length(jk$get(), 1)
+  expect_length(jk$get(dataset_1), 1)
+
+  obj
+}
+
+#' Test suite for JoinKeys after manual adding a primary key
+helper_test_get_join_keys_add <- function(obj, dataset_1 = "ds1", new_dataset_1 = "ds2", new_keys = c("id")) {
+  obj <- helper_test_get_join_keys(obj, dataset_1)
+  get_join_keys(obj)[new_dataset_1] <- c(new_keys)
+
+  jk <- get_join_keys(obj)
+
+  checkmate::expect_r6(jk, c("JoinKeys"))
+  expect_length(jk$get(), 2)
+  expect_length(jk$get(dataset_1), 1)
+  expect_length(jk$get(new_dataset_1), 1)
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-JoinKeys.R b/tests/testthat/test-JoinKeys.R
index f3e9c80c4..72b300ae4 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-JoinKeys.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-JoinKeys.R
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ test_that("join_key throws error with invalid keys arguments", {
 
   # names(keys)!= keys if datasets are the same
   expect_error(join_key("d1", "d1", keys = c("B" = "A", "A" = "B")))
+  expect_error(join_key("d1", keys = c("B" = "A", "A" = "B")))
 })
 
 test_that("key empty name is changed to the key value", {
@@ -42,7 +43,6 @@ test_that("join_key throws error with invalid dataset arguments", {
   expect_error(join_key("d1", c("d1", "d2"), keys = c("A" = "B", "C" = "D")))
 })
 
-
 test_that("join_key does not throw error with valid arguments", {
   # keys of length 0
   expect_silent(join_key("d1", "d2", keys = character(0)))
@@ -52,8 +52,9 @@ test_that("join_key does not throw error with valid arguments", {
   expect_silent(join_key("d1", "d2", keys = c("A" = "B", "C" = "D")))
   # dataset_1 and dataset_2 can be the same if keys match
   expect_silent(join_key("d1", "d1", keys = c("A" = "A", "B" = "B")))
-})
 
+  expect_silent(join_key("d1", keys = c("A" = "A", "B" = "B")))
+})
 
 test_that("cannot set join_keys with incompatible keys", {
   # different keys
@@ -257,33 +258,35 @@ testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$split method returns a named list of JoinKeys obje
   testthat::expect_equal(names(res$Y$get()), c("Y", "Z"))
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$split method returns an updated list after
-  the state of the object is modified by JoinKeys$mutate()", {
-  x <- JoinKeys$new()
-  x$set(
-    list(
-      join_key("A", "B", c("a" = "b")),
-      join_key("A", "C", c("a" = "c", "aa" = "cc")),
-      join_key("Z", "Y", c("z" = "y"))
+testthat::test_that(
+  "JoinKeys$split method returns an updated list after the state of the object is modified by JoinKeys$mutate()",
+  {
+    x <- JoinKeys$new()
+    x$set(
+      list(
+        join_key("A", "B", c("a" = "b")),
+        join_key("A", "C", c("a" = "c", "aa" = "cc")),
+        join_key("Z", "Y", c("z" = "y"))
+      )
     )
-  )
-  res <- x$split()
+    res <- x$split()
 
-  x$mutate("A", "B", c("a" = "b", "aa" = "bb"))
-  res2 <- x$split()
+    x$mutate("A", "B", c("a" = "b", "aa" = "bb"))
+    res2 <- x$split()
 
-  testthat::expect_false(identical(res, res2))
-  testthat::expect_identical(res2$A$get()$A$B, c("a" = "b", "aa" = "bb"))
+    testthat::expect_false(identical(res, res2))
+    testthat::expect_identical(res2$A$get()$A$B, c("a" = "b", "aa" = "bb"))
 
-  # adding new datasets
-  x$mutate("D", "G", c("d" = "g"))
-  res3 <- x$split()
-  testthat::expect_false(identical(res, res3))
-  testthat::expect_false(identical(res2, res3))
-  testthat::expect_identical(res3$D$get()$D$G, c("d" = "g"))
-  testthat::expect_identical(res3$D$get()$G$D, c("g" = "d"))
-  testthat::expect_identical(names(res3$D$get()), c("D", "G"))
-})
+    # adding new datasets
+    x$mutate("D", "G", c("d" = "g"))
+    res3 <- x$split()
+    testthat::expect_false(identical(res, res3))
+    testthat::expect_false(identical(res2, res3))
+    testthat::expect_identical(res3$D$get()$D$G, c("d" = "g"))
+    testthat::expect_identical(res3$D$get()$G$D, c("g" = "d"))
+    testthat::expect_identical(names(res3$D$get()), c("D", "G"))
+  }
+)
 
 testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$split method does not modify self", {
   x <- JoinKeys$new()
@@ -347,35 +350,37 @@ testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$merge can handle edge case: argument is a list of
   testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$merge throws error when improper argument is
-  passed in without modifying the caller", {
-  y <- JoinKeys$new()
-  y$set(
-    list(
-      join_key("A", "B", c("a" = "b")),
-      join_key("A", "C", c("a" = "c", "aa" = "cc")),
-      join_key("Z", "Y", c("z" = "y"))
+testthat::test_that(
+  "JoinKeys$merge throws error when improper argument is passed in without modifying the caller",
+  {
+    y <- JoinKeys$new()
+    y$set(
+      list(
+        join_key("A", "B", c("a" = "b")),
+        join_key("A", "C", c("a" = "c", "aa" = "cc")),
+        join_key("Z", "Y", c("z" = "y"))
+      )
     )
-  )
-  previous_output <- y$get()
-  testthat::expect_error(y$merge())
-  testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
+    previous_output <- y$get()
+    testthat::expect_error(y$merge())
+    testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
 
-  testthat::expect_error(y$merge(1))
-  testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
+    testthat::expect_error(y$merge(1))
+    testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
 
-  testthat::expect_error(y$merge("A"))
-  testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
+    testthat::expect_error(y$merge("A"))
+    testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
 
-  testthat::expect_error(y$merge(list()))
-  testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
+    testthat::expect_error(y$merge(list()))
+    testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
 
-  testthat::expect_error(y$merge(list(1)))
-  testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
+    testthat::expect_error(y$merge(list(1)))
+    testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
 
-  testthat::expect_error(y$merge(list("A")))
-  testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
-})
+    testthat::expect_error(y$merge(list("A")))
+    testthat::expect_identical(previous_output, y$get())
+  }
+)
 
 testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$merge does nothing when argument is a JoinKeys object with identical data", {
   x <- JoinKeys$new()
@@ -645,3 +650,122 @@ testthat::test_that("JoinKeys$check_parent_child throws error if no join_keys ex
     "No join keys from df2 to its parent \\(df1\\) and vice versa"
   )
 })
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys will generate JoinKeys for named list with non-named elements", {
+  new_dataset <- cdisc_join_keys("ADSL", ADTTE = rADTTE)
+  jk <- get_join_keys(new_dataset)
+
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADSL", "ADSL")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADSL"]]$primary)
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADTTE")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$primary)
+
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADSL", "ADTTE")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$foreign)
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADSL")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$foreign)
+})
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys will generate JoinKeys for character list", {
+  new_dataset <- cdisc_join_keys("ADSL", "ADTTE")
+  jk <- get_join_keys(new_dataset)
+
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADSL", "ADSL")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADSL"]]$primary)
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADTTE")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$primary)
+
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADSL", "ADTTE")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$foreign)
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADSL")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$foreign)
+})
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys will generate JoinKeys for named list", {
+  new_dataset <- cdisc_join_keys(ADSL = rADSL, ADTTE = rADTTE)
+  jk <- get_join_keys(new_dataset)
+
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADSL", "ADSL")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADSL"]]$primary)
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADTTE")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$primary)
+
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADSL", "ADTTE")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$foreign)
+  expect_identical(unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADSL")), default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]$foreign)
+})
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys will retrieve ADTTE primary and foreign keys", {
+  datasets <- names(default_cdisc_keys)
+
+  internal_keys <- default_cdisc_keys[["ADTTE"]]
+  jk <- cdisc_join_keys("ADTTE")
+  primary_keys <- unname(jk$get("ADTTE", "ADTTE"))
+
+  expect_equal(primary_keys, internal_keys$primary)
+
+  foreign_keys <- unname(jk$get("ADTTE", internal_keys$parent))
+  expect_equal(foreign_keys, internal_keys$foreign)
+})
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys will retrieve known primary and foreign keys", {
+  datasets <- names(default_cdisc_keys)
+
+  vapply(
+    datasets,
+    function(.x) {
+      internal_keys <- default_cdisc_keys[[.x]]
+      jk <- cdisc_join_keys(.x)
+      primary_keys <- unname(jk$get(.x, .x))
+      expect_equal(primary_keys, internal_keys$primary)
+      if (!is.null(internal_keys$foreign)) {
+        foreign_keys <- unname(jk$get(.x, internal_keys$parent))
+        expect_equal(foreign_keys, internal_keys$foreign)
+      }
+      character(0)
+    },
+    character(0)
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys will retrieve known primary keys", {
+  datasets <- names(default_cdisc_keys)
+
+  vapply(
+    datasets,
+    function(.x) {
+      jk <- cdisc_join_keys(.x)
+      expect_equal(unname(jk[.x]), get_cdisc_keys(.x))
+      character(0)
+    },
+    character(0)
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("cdisc_join_keys does nothing with TealDataset", {
+  adae_cf <- callable_function(
+    function() as.data.frame(as.list(setNames(nm = get_cdisc_keys("ADAE"))))
+  )
+  adae_cdc <- cdisc_dataset_connector("ADAE", adae_cf, keys = get_cdisc_keys("ADAE"))
+  expect_length(get_join_keys(cdisc_join_keys(adae_cdc))$get(), 0)
+})
+
+test_that("[.JoinKeys returns the primary key if arguments only have 1 dataset", {
+  jk <- join_keys(join_key("ds1", keys = c("id")))
+
+  expect_failure(expect_identical(jk$get("ds1"), jk["ds1"]))
+  checkmate::expect_character(jk["ds1"])
+})
+
+test_that("[.JoinKeys subsets relationship pair successfully", {
+  jk <- join_keys(join_key("ds1", keys = c("id")))
+
+  expect_identical(jk$get("ds1", "ds1"), jk["ds1"])
+})
+
+test_that("[<-.JoinKeys assigns new relationship pair", {
+  jk <- join_keys(join_key("ds1", keys = c("id")))
+
+  expect_length(jk$get("ds1", "ds2"), 0)
+
+  jk["ds1", "ds2"] <- c("id")
+  expect_identical(jk$get("ds1", "ds2"), c(id = "id"))
+  expect_identical(jk$get("ds1", "ds2"), jk["ds1", "ds2"])
+})
+
+test_that("[<-.JoinKeys modifies existing relationship pair", {
+  jk <- join_keys(join_key("ds1", keys = c("id")))
+
+  jk["ds1", "ds1"] <- c("Species")
+  expect_failure(expect_identical(jk$get("ds1", "ds1"), c(id = "id")))
+  expect_identical(jk$get("ds1", "ds1"), c(Species = "Species"))
+})
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-TealDatasetConnector.R b/tests/testthat/test-TealDatasetConnector.R
index c26744e02..aa8a18888 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-TealDatasetConnector.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-TealDatasetConnector.R
@@ -564,7 +564,7 @@ testthat::test_that("code_dataset_connector - library calls", {
     label = "ADRS dataset"
   )
 
-  data <- cdisc_data(adsl, adtte, adrs, check = TRUE)
+  lifecycle::expect_deprecated(data <- cdisc_data(adsl, adtte, adrs, check = TRUE))
   expect_silent(
     lapply(
       data$get_items(),
@@ -704,8 +704,10 @@ testthat::test_that("TealDatasetConnector mutate method with delayed logic", {
   testthat::expect_true(t_dc$is_mutate_delayed())
 
   testthat::expect_true(
-    all(c("test_dc2$neg_integers <- t_dc3$neg_integers", "test_dc$six <- test_dc$five + 1") %in%
-      pretty_code_string(t_dc$get_code()))
+    all(
+      c("test_dc2$neg_integers <- t_dc3$neg_integers", "test_dc$six <- test_dc$five + 1") %in%
+        pretty_code_string(t_dc$get_code())
+    )
   )
   testthat::expect_true(t_dc$is_mutate_delayed())
 
@@ -889,34 +891,40 @@ testthat::test_that("TealDatasetConnector returns the correct code when mutated
   testthat::expect_equal(dc$get_code_class()$get_code(), "mtcars <- (function() head(mtcars))()\n1")
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("Pulling an already pulled TealDatasetConnector after mutating it with a delayed object
-  undoes any eager pre-pull mutations", {
-  cf <- CallableFunction$new(function() head(mtcars))
-  dc <- TealDatasetConnector$new("mtcars", cf)
-  dc$pull()
-  dc$mutate(code = "mtcars[1] <- NULL")
-  dc$mutate(
-    code = "",
-    vars = list(delayed = TealDatasetConnector$new("iris", CallableFunction$new(function() head(iris))))
-  )
-  dc$pull()
-  testthat::expect_equal(dc$get_raw_data(), head(mtcars))
-})
-
-testthat::test_that("Pulling an already pulled TealDatasetConnector after mutating it with a delayed object
-  does not change the returned code", {
-  cf <- CallableFunction$new(function() head(mtcars))
-  dc <- TealDatasetConnector$new("mtcars", cf)
-  dc$pull()
-  dc$mutate(code = "mtcars[1] <- NULL")
-  dc$mutate(
-    code = "",
-    vars = list(delayed = TealDatasetConnector$new("iris", CallableFunction$new(function() head(iris))))
-  )
-  pre_pull_code <- dc$get_code()
-  dc$pull()
-  testthat::expect_equal(dc$get_code(), pre_pull_code)
-})
+testthat::test_that(
+  "Pulling an already pulled TealDatasetConnector after mutating it with a delayed object
+  undoes any eager pre-pull mutations",
+  {
+    cf <- CallableFunction$new(function() head(mtcars))
+    dc <- TealDatasetConnector$new("mtcars", cf)
+    dc$pull()
+    dc$mutate(code = "mtcars[1] <- NULL")
+    dc$mutate(
+      code = "",
+      vars = list(delayed = TealDatasetConnector$new("iris", CallableFunction$new(function() head(iris))))
+    )
+    dc$pull()
+    testthat::expect_equal(dc$get_raw_data(), head(mtcars))
+  }
+)
+
+testthat::test_that(
+  "Pulling an already pulled TealDatasetConnector after mutating it with a delayed object
+  does not change the returned code",
+  {
+    cf <- CallableFunction$new(function() head(mtcars))
+    dc <- TealDatasetConnector$new("mtcars", cf)
+    dc$pull()
+    dc$mutate(code = "mtcars[1] <- NULL")
+    dc$mutate(
+      code = "",
+      vars = list(delayed = TealDatasetConnector$new("iris", CallableFunction$new(function() head(iris))))
+    )
+    pre_pull_code <- dc$get_code()
+    dc$pull()
+    testthat::expect_equal(dc$get_code(), pre_pull_code)
+  }
+)
 
 testthat::test_that("Initializing TealDatasetConnector with code argument works", {
   test_ds1 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
@@ -995,18 +1003,20 @@ testthat::test_that("TealDatasetConnector$print prints dataset when it is pulled
   )
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("get_var_r6 returns identical objects as these passed to the vars argument in
-                    the constructor", {
-  test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
-  test_ds1 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
-    dataname = "test_dc",
-    pull_callable = CallableFunction$new(data.frame),
-    vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0)
-  )
+testthat::test_that(
+  "get_var_r6 returns identical objects as these passed to the vars argument in the constructor",
+  {
+    test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
+    test_ds1 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
+      dataname = "test_dc",
+      pull_callable = CallableFunction$new(data.frame),
+      vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0)
+    )
 
-  vars <- test_ds1$get_var_r6()
-  testthat::expect_identical(vars$test_ds0, test_ds0)
-})
+    vars <- test_ds1$get_var_r6()
+    testthat::expect_identical(vars$test_ds0, test_ds0)
+  }
+)
 
 testthat::test_that("clone(deep = TRUE) deep clones dependencies, which are TealDataset objects", {
   test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
@@ -1021,78 +1031,87 @@ testthat::test_that("clone(deep = TRUE) deep clones dependencies, which are Teal
   )
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("reassign_datasets_vars updates the references of the vars to
-                    addresses of passed objects", {
-  test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
-  test_ds1 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
-    dataname = "test_dc",
-    pull_callable = CallableFunction$new(data.frame),
-    vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0)
-  )
-
-  # after reassignment vars_r6, vars and muatate_vars match new reference
-  test_ds0_cloned <- test_ds0$clone(deep = TRUE)
-  test_ds1$reassign_datasets_vars(datasets = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0_cloned))
-
-  vars <- test_ds1$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars
-  testthat::expect_identical(vars$test_ds0, test_ds0_cloned)
-})
-
-testthat::test_that("reassign_datasets_vars updates the references of the vars_r6 to
-                    addresses of passed objects", {
-  test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
-  test_ds1 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
-    dataname = "test_dc",
-    pull_callable = CallableFunction$new(data.frame),
-    vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0)
-  )
+testthat::test_that(
+  "reassign_datasets_vars updates the references of the vars to addresses of passed objects",
+  {
+    test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
+    test_ds1 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
+      dataname = "test_dc",
+      pull_callable = CallableFunction$new(data.frame),
+      vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0)
+    )
 
-  # after reassignment vars_r6, vars and muatate_vars match new reference
-  test_ds0_cloned <- test_ds0$clone(deep = TRUE)
-  test_ds1$reassign_datasets_vars(datasets = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0_cloned))
+    # after reassignment vars_r6, vars and muatate_vars match new reference
+    test_ds0_cloned <- test_ds0$clone(deep = TRUE)
+    test_ds1$reassign_datasets_vars(datasets = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0_cloned))
 
-  vars_r6 <- test_ds1$get_var_r6()
-  testthat::expect_identical(vars_r6$test_ds0, test_ds0_cloned)
-})
+    vars <- test_ds1$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars
+    testthat::expect_identical(vars$test_ds0, test_ds0_cloned)
+  }
+)
+
+testthat::test_that(
+  "reassign_datasets_vars updates the references of the vars_r6 to addresses of passed objects",
+  {
+    test_ds0 <- TealDataset$new("head_mtcars", head(mtcars), code = "head_mtcars <- head(mtcars)")
+    test_ds1 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
+      dataname = "test_dc",
+      pull_callable = CallableFunction$new(data.frame),
+      vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0)
+    )
 
-testthat::test_that("reassign_datasets_vars does not change `vars` elements of
-                    class different than TealDataset and TealDatasetConnector", {
-  test_ds0 <- mtcars
-  test_ds1 <- TealDataset$new("mtcars", mtcars)
-  test_ds2 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
-    dataname = "iris",
-    pull_callable = callable_function(data.frame),
-    vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0, test_ds1 = test_ds1)
-  )
+    # after reassignment vars_r6, vars and muatate_vars match new reference
+    test_ds0_cloned <- test_ds0$clone(deep = TRUE)
+    test_ds1$reassign_datasets_vars(datasets = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0_cloned))
 
-  test_ds2$reassign_datasets_vars(list(test_ds1 = test_ds1))
-  testthat::expect_identical(
-    test_ds2$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars$test_ds0,
-    test_ds0
-  )
-})
+    vars_r6 <- test_ds1$get_var_r6()
+    testthat::expect_identical(vars_r6$test_ds0, test_ds0_cloned)
+  }
+)
+
+testthat::test_that(
+  "reassign_datasets_vars does not change `vars` elements of class different than
+    TealDataset and TealDatasetConnector",
+  {
+    test_ds0 <- mtcars
+    test_ds1 <- TealDataset$new("mtcars", mtcars)
+    test_ds2 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
+      dataname = "iris",
+      pull_callable = callable_function(data.frame),
+      vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0, test_ds1 = test_ds1)
+    )
 
-testthat::test_that("reassign_datasets_vars does not change any `vars` while
-                    empty list is provided", {
-  test_ds0 <- mtcars
-  test_ds1 <- TealDataset$new("mtcars", mtcars)
-  test_ds2 <- TealDataset$new("iris", iris)
-  test_ds2 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
-    dataname = "iris",
-    pull_callable = callable_function(data.frame),
-    vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0, test_ds1 = test_ds1)
-  )
+    test_ds2$reassign_datasets_vars(list(test_ds1 = test_ds1))
+    testthat::expect_identical(
+      test_ds2$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars$test_ds0,
+      test_ds0
+    )
+  }
+)
+
+testthat::test_that(
+  "reassign_datasets_vars does not change any `vars` while empty list is provided",
+  {
+    test_ds0 <- mtcars
+    test_ds1 <- TealDataset$new("mtcars", mtcars)
+    test_ds2 <- TealDataset$new("iris", iris)
+    test_ds2 <- TealDatasetConnector$new(
+      dataname = "iris",
+      pull_callable = callable_function(data.frame),
+      vars = list(test_ds0 = test_ds0, test_ds1 = test_ds1)
+    )
 
-  test_ds2$reassign_datasets_vars(list())
-  testthat::expect_identical(
-    test_ds2$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars$test_ds0,
-    test_ds0
-  )
-  testthat::expect_identical(
-    test_ds2$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars$test_ds1,
-    test_ds1
-  )
-})
+    test_ds2$reassign_datasets_vars(list())
+    testthat::expect_identical(
+      test_ds2$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars$test_ds0,
+      test_ds0
+    )
+    testthat::expect_identical(
+      test_ds2$.__enclos_env__$private$pull_vars$test_ds1,
+      test_ds1
+    )
+  }
+)
 
 
 testthat::test_that("Callable metadata is pulled when data is pulled", {
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-cdisc_data.R b/tests/testthat/test-cdisc_data.R
index c7f8c8539..50340eca9 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-cdisc_data.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-cdisc_data.R
@@ -33,15 +33,15 @@ cdisc_data_mixed_call <- function(check = TRUE, join_keys1 = join_keys()) {
 }
 
 testthat::test_that("cdisc_data accepts TealDataset, TealDatasetConnector, TealDataConnector objects", {
-  testthat::expect_silent(data <- cdisc_data_mixed_call())
+  lifecycle::expect_deprecated(data <- cdisc_data_mixed_call(), "should use data directly")
   testthat::expect_identical(data$get_datanames(), c("ADSL", "ADTTE", "ADAE"))
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("cdisc_data throws error if it receives undesired objects", {
+testthat::test_that("cdisc_data returns teal_data object for objects different than old api", {
   adsl_raw <- as.data.frame(as.list(setNames(nm = get_cdisc_keys("ADSL"))))
-  testthat::expect_error(
-    teal_data(adsl_raw, check = TRUE),
-    "May only contain the following types: \\{TealDataset,TealDatasetConnector,TealDataConnector\\}"
+  testthat::expect_s4_class(
+    teal_data(adsl = adsl_raw, check = TRUE),
+    "teal_data"
   )
 })
 
@@ -61,24 +61,26 @@ testthat::test_that("cdisc_data sets the join_keys internally", {
 })
 
 testthat::test_that(
-  "cdisc_data sets the join_keys internally based on parents relations when primary keys are altered", {
-  jks <- join_keys(join_key("ADSL", "ADSL", c("STUDYID")))
-  data <- cdisc_data_mixed_call(join_keys1 = jks)
-
-  jks <- join_keys(
-    join_key("ADSL", "ADSL", c("STUDYID")),
-    join_key("ADTTE", "ADTTE", c("STUDYID", "USUBJID", "PARAMCD")),
-    join_key("ADAE", "ADAE", c("STUDYID", "USUBJID", "ASTDTM", "AETERM", "AESEQ")),
-    join_key("ADSL", "ADTTE", c("STUDYID")),
-    join_key("ADSL", "ADAE", c("STUDYID")),
-    join_key("ADTTE", "ADAE", c("STUDYID"))
-  )
-  jks$set_parents(list(ADSL = character(0), ADTTE = "ADSL", ADAE = "ADSL"))
-  testthat::expect_equal(
-    data$get_join_keys(),
-    jks
-  )
-})
+  "cdisc_data sets the join_keys internally based on parents relations when primary keys are altered",
+  {
+    jks <- join_keys(join_key("ADSL", "ADSL", c("STUDYID")))
+    data <- cdisc_data_mixed_call(join_keys1 = jks)
+
+    jks <- join_keys(
+      join_key("ADSL", "ADSL", c("STUDYID")),
+      join_key("ADTTE", "ADTTE", c("STUDYID", "USUBJID", "PARAMCD")),
+      join_key("ADAE", "ADAE", c("STUDYID", "USUBJID", "ASTDTM", "AETERM", "AESEQ")),
+      join_key("ADSL", "ADTTE", c("STUDYID")),
+      join_key("ADSL", "ADAE", c("STUDYID")),
+      join_key("ADTTE", "ADAE", c("STUDYID"))
+    )
+    jks$set_parents(list(ADSL = character(0), ADTTE = "ADSL", ADAE = "ADSL"))
+    testthat::expect_equal(
+      data$get_join_keys(),
+      jks
+    )
+  }
+)
 
 testthat::test_that("cdisc_data sets primary keys as join_keys when no join_keys are present", {
   df1 <- data.frame(id = c("A", "B"), a = c(1L, 2L))
@@ -226,8 +228,9 @@ testthat::test_that("cdisc_data_file loads the TealData object", {
   rlang::local_options(lifecycle_verbosity = "quiet")
 
   tmp_file <- tempfile(fileext = ".R")
-  writeLines(text = c(
-    "adsl_raw <- as.data.frame(as.list(setNames(nm = get_cdisc_keys('ADSL'))))
+  writeLines(
+    text = c(
+      "adsl_raw <- as.data.frame(as.list(setNames(nm = get_cdisc_keys('ADSL'))))
     adsl <- cdisc_dataset(
       dataname = 'ADSL',
       x = adsl_raw,
@@ -235,8 +238,8 @@ testthat::test_that("cdisc_data_file loads the TealData object", {
     )
     cdisc_data(adsl)
     "
-  ),
-  con = tmp_file
+    ),
+    con = tmp_file
   )
   tdf <- cdisc_data_file(tmp_file)
   file.remove(tmp_file)
@@ -257,8 +260,9 @@ testthat::test_that("cdisc_data_file uses the code input to mutate the code of t
   rlang::local_options(lifecycle_verbosity = "quiet")
 
   tmp_file <- tempfile(fileext = ".R")
-  writeLines(text = c(
-    "adsl_raw <- as.data.frame(as.list(setNames(nm = get_cdisc_keys('ADSL'))))
+  writeLines(
+    text = c(
+      "adsl_raw <- as.data.frame(as.list(setNames(nm = get_cdisc_keys('ADSL'))))
     adsl <- cdisc_dataset(
       dataname = 'ADSL',
       x = adsl_raw,
@@ -266,8 +270,8 @@ testthat::test_that("cdisc_data_file uses the code input to mutate the code of t
     )
     cdisc_data(adsl)
     "
-  ),
-  con = tmp_file
+    ),
+    con = tmp_file
   )
   tdf <- cdisc_data_file(tmp_file, "# MUTATE code")
   file.remove(tmp_file)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-datanames.R b/tests/testthat/test-datanames.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e9b157258
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-datanames.R
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# get ----
+testthat::test_that("datanames returns contents of @datanames slot", {
+  td <- teal_data(i = iris, m = mtcars)
+  testthat::expect_identical(datanames(td), c("i", "m"))
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("variables not in @datanames are omitted", {
+  td <- teal_data(i = iris, m = mtcars)
+  td <- within(td, f <- faithful)
+  testthat::expect_identical(datanames(td), c("i", "m"))
+})
+
+# set ----
+testthat::test_that("datanames can set value of @datanames", {
+  td <- teal_data(i = iris, m = mtcars)
+  testthat::expect_identical(datanames(td), c("i", "m"))
+  datanames(td) <- "i"
+  testthat::expect_identical(datanames(td), "i")
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("only names of existing variables are accepted", {
+  td <- teal_data(i = iris, m = mtcars)
+  testthat::expect_no_error(datanames(td) <- "i")
+  testthat::expect_error(datanames(td) <- "f", "invalid name")
+})
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-get_join_keys.R b/tests/testthat/test-get_join_keys.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7a693a5e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-get_join_keys.R
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+test_that("get_join_keys.teal_data will successfully obtain object from teal_data", {
+  obj <- helper_generator_teal_data()
+
+  expect_identical(obj@join_keys, get_join_keys(obj))
+  helper_test_get_join_keys(obj, "ds1")
+})
+
+test_that("get_join_keys.JoinKeys will return itself", {
+  obj <- helper_generator_JoinKeys()
+
+  expect_identical(obj, get_join_keys(obj))
+  helper_test_get_join_keys(obj, "ds1")
+})
+
+test_that("get_join_keys<-.teal_data", {
+  obj <- helper_generator_teal_data()
+  helper_test_get_join_keys_add(obj, "ds1", "ds2")
+})
+
+test_that("get_join_keys<-.JoinKeys", {
+  obj <- helper_generator_JoinKeys()
+  helper_test_get_join_keys_add(obj, "ds1", "ds2")
+})
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-teal_data.R b/tests/testthat/test-teal_data.R
index 2da57165c..747d2378a 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-teal_data.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-teal_data.R
@@ -34,20 +34,101 @@ teal_data_mixed_call <- function(check = TRUE, join_keys1 = join_keys()) {
   teal_data(df1_ds, df2_dc, df3_rdc, check = check, join_keys = join_keys1)
 }
 
+testthat::test_that("teal_data allows to initialize empty teal_data object", {
+  testthat::expect_s4_class(teal_data(), "teal_data")
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("empty teal_data returns empty code, id, wartnings and messages", {
+  testthat::expect_identical(teal_data()@code, character(0))
+  testthat::expect_identical(teal_data()@id, integer(0))
+  testthat::expect_identical(teal_data()@messages, character(0))
+  testthat::expect_identical(teal_data()@warnings, character(0))
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data allows to initialize empty teal_data with join_keys", {
+  testthat::expect_equal(
+    teal_data(join_keys = join_keys(join_key("data1", "data2", "id")))@join_keys,
+    join_keys(join_key("data1", "data2", "id"))
+  )
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data initializes teal_data object with @datanames taken from passed objects", {
+  testthat::expect_identical(
+    teal_data(iris = iris, mtcars = mtcars)@datanames,
+    c("iris", "mtcars")
+  )
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data initializes teal_data object with @datanames taken from passed join_keys", {
+  testthat::expect_identical(
+    teal_data(join_keys = join_keys(join_key("parent", "child", "id")))@datanames,
+    c("parent", "child")
+  )
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data initializes teal_data object with @datanames taken from join_keys and passed objects", {
+  testthat::expect_identical(
+    teal_data(iris = iris, join_keys = join_keys(join_key("parent", "child", "id")))@datanames,
+    c("iris", "parent", "child")
+  )
+})
+
 testthat::test_that("teal_data accepts TealDataset, TealDatasetConnector, TealDataConnector objects", {
   testthat::expect_silent(data <- teal_data_mixed_call())
   testthat::expect_identical(data$get_datanames(), c("df1", "df2", "df3"))
 })
 
-testthat::test_that("teal_data throws error if it receives undesired objects", {
+testthat::test_that("teal_data returns teal_data when data passed as named list", {
   df1 <- data.frame(id = c("A", "B"), a = c(1L, 2L))
+  testthat::expect_s4_class(teal_data(df1 = df1), "teal_data")
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data accepts any data provided as named list", {
+  df1 <- structure(1L, class = "anyclass")
+  testthat::expect_no_error(teal_data(df1 = df1))
+})
 
-  testthat::expect_error(
-    teal_data(df1, check = TRUE),
-    "May only contain the following types: \\{TealDataset,TealDatasetConnector,TealDataConnector\\}"
+testthat::test_that("teal_data accepts code as character", {
+  testthat::expect_no_error(
+    teal_data(
+      iris1 = iris,
+      code = "iris1 <- iris"
+    )
   )
 })
 
+testthat::test_that("teal_data accepts code as language", {
+  testthat::expect_no_error(
+    teal_data(
+      iris1 = iris,
+      code = quote(iris1 <- iris)
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data code unfolds code-block wrapped in '{'", {
+  testthat::expect_identical(
+    teal_data(iris1 = iris, code = quote({
+      iris1 <- iris
+    }))@code,
+    "iris1 <- iris"
+  )
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data code is concatenated into single string", {
+  testthat::expect_identical(
+    teal_data(iris1 = iris, code = c("iris1 <- iris", "iris2 <- iris1"))@code,
+    "iris1 <- iris\niris2 <- iris1"
+  )
+})
+
+testthat::test_that("teal_data@env is locked. Not able to modify, add or remove bindings", {
+  data <- teal_data(iris = iris)
+  testthat::expect_error(data@env$iris <- iris, "cannot change value of locked binding for 'iris'")
+  testthat::expect_error(data@env$iris2 <- iris, "cannot add bindings to a locked environment")
+  testthat::expect_error(rm("iris", envir = data@env), "cannot remove bindings from a locked environment")
+})
+
 testthat::test_that("teal_data sets passed join_keys to datasets correctly", {
   df1 <- data.frame(id = c("A", "B"), a = c(1L, 2L))
   df2 <- data.frame(df2_id = c("A", "B"), id = c("A", "B"), b = c(1L, 2L))
@@ -58,14 +139,14 @@ testthat::test_that("teal_data sets passed join_keys to datasets correctly", {
   jk <- join_keys(join_key("df1", "df2", "id"))
   data <- teal_data(df1, df2, join_keys = jk, check = FALSE)
 
-  testthat::expect_equal(
-    data$get_join_keys(),
-    join_keys(
-      join_key("df1", "df2", "id"),
-      join_key("df1", "df1", "id"),
-      join_key("df2", "df2", "df2_id")
-    )
+  jk_expected <- join_keys(
+    join_key("df1", "df2", "id"),
+    join_key("df1", "df1", "id"),
+    join_key("df2", "df2", "df2_id")
   )
+  jk_expected$set_parents(list(df1 = character(0), df2 = character(0)))
+
+  testthat::expect_equal(data$get_join_keys(), jk_expected)
 })
 
 testthat::test_that("teal_data sets passed JoinKeys to datasets correctly when key names differ", {
@@ -76,15 +157,15 @@ testthat::test_that("teal_data sets passed JoinKeys to datasets correctly when k
   jk <- join_keys(join_key("df1", "df2", c(id = "fk")))
   data <- teal_data(df1, df2, join_keys = jk, check = FALSE)
 
-  testthat::expect_equal(
-    data$get_join_keys(),
-    join_keys(
-      join_key("df1", "df2", c(id = "fk")),
-      join_key("df1", "df1", "id"),
-      join_key("df2", "df1", c(fk = "id")),
-      join_key("df2", "df2", "df2_id")
-    )
+  jk_expected <- join_keys(
+    join_key("df1", "df2", c(id = "fk")),
+    join_key("df1", "df1", "id"),
+    join_key("df2", "df1", c(fk = "id")),
+    join_key("df2", "df2", "df2_id")
   )
+  jk_expected$set_parents(list(df1 = character(0), df2 = character(0)))
+
+  testthat::expect_equal(data$get_join_keys(), jk_expected)
 })
 
 testthat::test_that("teal_data sets passes JoinKeys to datasets correctly when key names differ (multiple keys)", {
@@ -95,14 +176,13 @@ testthat::test_that("teal_data sets passes JoinKeys to datasets correctly when k
   data <- teal_data(df1, df2, check = FALSE)
   data$mutate_join_keys("df1", "df2", c(id = "fk", id2 = "fk2"))
 
-  testthat::expect_equal(
-    data$get_join_keys(),
-    join_keys(
-      join_key("df1", "df1", "id"),
-      join_key("df2", "df2", "df2_id"),
-      join_key("df1", "df2", c(id = "fk", id2 = "fk2"))
-    )
+  jk_expected <- join_keys(
+    join_key("df1", "df1", "id"),
+    join_key("df2", "df2", "df2_id"),
+    join_key("df1", "df2", c(id = "fk", id2 = "fk2"))
   )
+  jk_expected$set_parents(list(df1 = character(0), df2 = character(0)))
+  testthat::expect_equal(data$get_join_keys(), jk_expected)
 })
 
 testthat::test_that("teal_data returns TealData object with cdisc_dataset input", {
@@ -131,21 +211,18 @@ testthat::test_that("teal_data returns TealData object with cdisc_dataset input"
 
   cdisc_only <- teal_data(adsl, adtte)
   testthat::expect_equal(class(cdisc_only), c("TealData", "TealDataAbstract", "R6"))
-
-  testthat::expect_error(
-    teal_data()
-  )
 })
 
 testthat::test_that("teal_data_file loads the TealData object", {
   tmp_file <- tempfile(fileext = ".R")
-  writeLines(text = c(
-    "df <- data.frame(A = c(1, 2, 3))
+  writeLines(
+    text = c(
+      "df <- data.frame(A = c(1, 2, 3))
     df1_ds <- dataset('df', df, code = 'df <- data.frame(A = c(1, 2, 3))')
     teal_data(df1_ds)
     "
-  ),
-  con = tmp_file
+    ),
+    con = tmp_file
   )
   tdf <- teal_data_file(tmp_file)
   file.remove(tmp_file)
@@ -162,8 +239,9 @@ testthat::test_that("teal_data_file loads the TealData object", {
 
 testthat::test_that("teal_data_file uses the code input to mutate the code of the loaded TealData object", {
   tmp_file <- tempfile(fileext = ".R")
-  writeLines(text = c(
-    "df <- data.frame(A = c(1, 2, 3))
+  writeLines(
+    text = c(
+      "df <- data.frame(A = c(1, 2, 3))
     df1_ds <- dataset('df', df, code = 'df <- data.frame(A = c(1, 2, 3))')
     teal_data(df1_ds)
     "
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-to_relational_data.R b/tests/testthat/test-to_relational_data.R
index 3e93bd13c..432c4acd3 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-to_relational_data.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-to_relational_data.R
@@ -105,9 +105,9 @@ test_that("to_relational_data accepts a function returning a TealDataset as inpu
 test_that("to_relational_data accepts a MultiAssayExperiment as input", {
   utils::data(miniACC, package = "MultiAssayExperiment")
   mae <- miniACC
-  output_dataset <- to_relational_data(mae)
+  output_dataset <- to_relational_data_wrapper(mae)
   testthat::expect_is(output_dataset, "TealData")
-  testthat::expect_identical(output_dataset$get_datanames(), "MAE")
+  testthat::expect_identical(output_dataset$get_datanames(), "mae")
 })
 
 
diff --git a/vignettes/join-keys.Rmd b/vignettes/join-keys.Rmd
index 8972efb4b..0ee134bc2 100644
--- a/vignettes/join-keys.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/join-keys.Rmd
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ vignette: >
 ---
 
 ## Overview
+
 `teal.data` gives the possibility to define individual keys per dataset and to define the relations to other datasets.
 
 Each table can have a set of keys that inform its structure and relation to other tables by specifying:
@@ -16,14 +17,12 @@ Each table can have a set of keys that inform its structure and relation to othe
 - columns consisting the primary key
 - merge keys, a concept similar to `SQL`'s foreign key.
 
-Usually, an application developer needs to specify the keys manually, but in case of datasets named according
-to the `ADaM` standard, `teal` can assign the keys on its own. 
+Usually, an application developer needs to specify the keys manually, but in case of datasets named according to the `ADaM` standard, `teal` can assign the keys on its own. 
 Refer to `vignette("including-adam-data-in-teal", package = "teal")` for more information.
 
 ### Primary key
 
-Using the `keys` argument to the `dataset` function (or for `DDL` a `dataset_connector`), we can specify the column(s) 
-of the dataset that (together) uniquely identify rows in the dataset. 
+Using the `keys` argument to the `dataset` function (or for `DDL` a `dataset_connector`), we can specify the column(s) of the dataset that (together) uniquely identify rows in the dataset. 
 
 ```{r, message=FALSE}
 library(teal.data)
@@ -41,6 +40,26 @@ ds <- dataset(
 ds$get_keys()
 ```
 
+Alternatively, the primary keys can be defined in the `join_keys` parameter by using the `join_key` functions by omitting the second dataset (or define it with the same value as the first.
+
+```{r, message=FALSE}
+library(teal.data)
+
+data_1 <- data.frame(X = factor(1:10), Y = 21:30, Z = 1:10)
+data_2 <- data.frame(W = factor(10:1), V = factor(5:14), M = rep(1:5, 2))
+
+data <- teal_data(
+  dataset("D1", data_1, code = "D1 <- data.frame(X = factor(1:10), Y = 21:30, Z = 1:10)"),
+  dataset("D2", data_2, code = "D2 <- data.frame(W = factor(10:1), V = factor(5:14), M = rep(1:5, 2))"),
+  join_keys = join_keys(
+    join_key("D1", keys = c("X")),
+    join_key("D2", keys = c("V", "W"))
+    # join_key("D2", "D2", keys = c("V", "W")), # equivalent to using primary_key
+  )
+)
+data$get_join_keys()
+```
+
 ### Merge keys
 
 When passing multiple datasets to the `cdisc_data` function, dataset relationship are set using
diff --git a/vignettes/preprocessing-data.Rmd b/vignettes/preprocessing-data.Rmd
index af624df8e..8a4d8ce37 100644
--- a/vignettes/preprocessing-data.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/preprocessing-data.Rmd
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ saveRDS(example_cdisc_data("ADSL"), "adsl.rds")
 ## preprocessing -------------------
 adsl <- readRDS("adsl.rds")
 ## -------------------
-data <- cdisc_data(cdisc_dataset("ADSL", adsl))
-data$get_code()
+data <- cdisc_data(ADSL = adsl)
+teal.code::get_code(data)
 ```
 
 When executing the example above, the `get_code` function will return an empty string reflecting that _"Pre-processing is empty"_. In order to show the pre-processing code correctly the `code` argument of the `cdisc_data` function needs to be specified. For the example above this would be:
@@ -42,10 +42,10 @@ unlink("adsl.rds")
 
 
 data <- cdisc_data(
-  cdisc_dataset("ADSL", adsl),
+  ADSL = adsl,
   code = 'ADSL <- readRDS("adsl.rds")'
 )
-data$get_code() %>% cat()
+teal.code::get_code(data)
 ```
 
 The code used to get the `ADSL` dataset is returned as expected. This can be used as input to the `data` argument of `teal::init`
diff --git a/vignettes/teal-data.Rmd b/vignettes/teal-data.Rmd
index 32429a78d..70ec4243f 100644
--- a/vignettes/teal-data.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/teal-data.Rmd
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ adsl <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADSL")
 adtte <- teal.data::example_cdisc_data("ADTTE")
 
 my_data <- cdisc_data(
-  cdisc_dataset("ADSL", adsl),
-  cdisc_dataset("ADTTE", adtte)
+  ADSL = adsl,
+  ADTTE = adtte
 )
 ```
 
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ For more general data use the `teal_data` and `dataset` functions:
 
 ```{r}
 my_general_data <- teal_data(
-  dataset("iris", iris),
-  dataset("mtcars", mtcars)
+  iris = iris,
+  mtcars = mtcars
 )
 ```