Data Transformation Engine Introduction to the Design Studio

Introduction to the Design Studio
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Chapter 3 - Type Designer
The Type Designer is the design component used to specify, define, and manage
type definitions in the form of type trees. A type tree is a data dictionary that
defines how types are classified. The type tree files you create in the Type
Designer are data definition files. Each object identified in your data is defined as
a type in your type tree.
The Type Designer is used to create and maintain type trees, although type trees
can also be created using the Type Tree Maker, the Importer Wizard, and the
Database Interface Designer.
Use the Type Designer to define:
♦ Properties for data structures.
♦ Data validation rules.
♦ Data as text or binary.
♦ Different character sets.
A type tree describes the syntax, structure, and semantics of your data. The
syntax of data refers to its format. The format of data includes tags, delimiters,
terminators, and other characters that separate or identify data breaks. The
structure of data refers to its composition, including repeating sub-structures,
nested groupings, sequences, and choices. The semantics of data refer to the
meaning of the data, including rules for data values, relationships among parts of
a large data object, and error detection and recovery.
The Type Designer includes an importer tool for automatically generating Mercator
type trees for data described in XML, COBOL, SAP R/3, Tuxedo, and PeopleSoft
formats or application data structures.