Changing source file schemae and data definitions

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Clinton Jones
Clinton Jones Experian Elite
edited December 2023 in General

Legacy system files often come without a schema or data definition embedded in the file, and if there is one, it might not be one that you are particularly happy with.

One of the capabilities of Data Studio, is the support of using a Data Definition Language (DDL) file or COB file to accompany your file upload.

DDL and COB files are nothing more than a metadata description of a structure. The DDL for example may include label, datatype, length and whether the column is a primary key or nullable.

Data Studio will use the DDL or COB in a relatively simplistic way to manipulate the column labels. This is a fast and easy way to either add column identifiers or rename them.

CREATE TABLE employees (
    id            INTEGER       PRIMARY KEY,
    first_name    VARCHAR(50)   not null,
    last_name     VARCHAR(75)   not null,
    fname         VARCHAR(50)   not null,
    dateofbirth   DATE          not null
);

In this short clip I will show how I use a DDL for an SAP table (LFA1) to give the columns friendly descriptions instead of the more unfriendly technical column labels.

LFA1 with DDL.mp4


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