Converting data with Optim on distributed platforms

You may want to convert data to assure data privacy or to systematically transform data to meet your application testing requirements. You can import converted data into a spreadsheet program, insert it into a testing database, or restore it to a reporting database.

Use the Convert Process to transform data in an Extract File. Specifications for the Convert Process can be stored as a Convert Request.

When you convert data in an Extract File, you can save the converted data to the same file or as a different Extract File. Depending upon circumstances, it may be useful to retain the original file to maintain a consistent starting point. For example, you can create a set of Extract Files that contain the same data, aged to different dates, by saving the output of each conversion as a separate Extract File. Conversely, you can overwrite the original Extract File in order to mask sensitive data. .

Comma Separated Values File

Additionally, you can convert an Extract (or an Archive) File into a Comma Separated Values (*.csv) file, which you can then import into a spreadsheet program or a database. The Convert Request Editor allows you to select the columns from each joined table that are to be included in the file.

Note: Rows in the Comma Separated Values file are not grouped by table name. Instead, the rows are presented as a joined view with all selected columns listed as a single ‘table'. Thus, a parent row is repeated for each child row.

Table Maps

Specify a Table Map in a Convert Request to match tables in the Source File to tables in the Destination File or to exclude tables from the process. For detailed information on using Table Maps, see the Common Elements Manual.

Column Maps

Use Column Maps in the Table Map to specify which data to convert and how it is to be converted. For complete details on using Column Maps, see the Common Elements Manual.