Data Transformation Engine Type Designer Reference Guide

Chapter 1 - Introduction Data Objects
Data Objects
A data object is a complete unit that exists in your input or is built on output. A
data object may be simple (such as a date) or complex (such as a purchase
order). A data object is some portion of data in a data stream that can be
recognized as belonging to a specific type. When you create types, identify all the
objects that make up the data: input objects and output objects.
Types
A type defines a set of data objects that have the same characteristics. For
example, the type Date may be defined as representing data objects in the form
MM-DD-YY. The type CustomerRecord may be defined as representing data
objects, each of which consists of a Company, Address, and Phone data object.
Note The maximum number of types allowed for a type tree is 65,535.
Classes
A type is classified according to whether or not it consists of other objects. The
color of the type icon indicates the class of the type. Each type in a type tree must
be defined in one of three classes: item, group, or category.
Item
An item type represents a simple data object that does NOT consist of other
objects and is identified in the Type Designer by a blue icon
.
In the following example, the FirstName type does not consist of other data
objects; therefore, FirstName is an item type.
Samuel J.Adams
Joseph E.Jones
Sue B.Smith