3 Working with the ETL Project

3.1 The Example Environment

The ETL project is an example to help you understand how to transform and check the integrity of the data in your information systems.

The examples in this getting started guide track sales from various heterogeneous data sources issued from the production systems. Figure 3-1 shows the example environment.

Figure 3-1 Example Environment

The example environment uses the following elements:

• The Repository: The Repository contains all of the metadata required for the training examples. It is hosted, for these evaluation purposes, in a supplied database.

• Orders Application: An application for tracking customer orders, hosted in a supplied database (the "srcdemo" sample database).

• Parameters (File): Flat files (ASCII) issued from the production system containing a list of sales representatives and the segmentation of ages into age ranges.

• Sales Administration: The administration or tracking of sales, hosted in another supplied database (the "trgdemo" sample database). This data warehouse is populated with our transformations.

3.2 The Data Models

The demonstration environment includes three ODI data models:

• Orders Application - HSQL

• Parameters - FILE

• Sales Administration - HSQL

This section provides the schema diagrams for these data models.

3.2.1 Orders Application - HSQL

The Orders Application data model is based on the HSQL technology and includes five datastores:

• SRC_CITY

• SRC_CUSTOMER

• SRC_ORDERS

• SRC_ORDER_LINES

• SRC_PRODUCT

• SRC_REGION

Figure 3-2 shows the schema diagram of this data model.

Note that this data model does not enforce any foreign key constraints, even if some functional relations exist between the data.

Figure 3-2 Orders Application Schema Diagram

3.2.2 Parameters - FILE

The Parameters data model is based on the File technology and includes two datastores:

• SRC_SALES _PERSON

• SRC_AGE_GROUP

Figure 3-3 shows the schema diagram of this data model.

Figure 3-3 Parameters Schema Diagram

3.2.3 Sales Administration - HSQL

The Sales Administration data model is based on the HSQL technology and includes six datastores:

• TRG_CITY

• TRG_COUNTRY

• TRG_CUSTOMER

• TRG_PRODUCT

• TRG_PROD_FAMILY

• TRG_REGION

• TRG_SALES

Figure 3-4 shows the schema diagram of this data model.

Figure 3-4 Sales Administration Schema Diagram

3.3 Integration Challenges

The challenges common to all data integration and transformation projects are:

• Checking and improving the quality of your application data

• Accurately and easily exchanging data between your applications while respecting the business rules of your information system

The examples used in this guide illustrate how to address these issues. During this getting started guide, you will learn how to:

• Implement Data Quality Control to check data in a database

  By implementing two examples, you will learn how Oracle Data Integrator enables you to ensure the quality of the data in your applications while segregating invalid rows. The Orders Application tables contain a number of data inconsistencies that you will detect.

• Create integration interfaces to move and transform data

  Two simple examples will show you how to improve productivity by loading the data from the Orders Application and Parameters (File) applications into the Sales Administration data warehouse.

• Automate the execution of these interfaces into packages

  This part of the Getting Started guide will show you how to automate your Oracle Data Integrator processes. The aim of this exercise is to load the entire Sales Administration data warehouse with a single click.

• Execute the package and review the execution results

  You will learn how to execute the Load Sales Administration Package and the integration interfaces Pop. TRG_CUSTOMER and Pop. TRG_SALES you have created and how to review the results of these executions.

• Prepare the developed components for deployment

  You will learn how to run the Load Sales Administration Package automatically in a production environment.

Now that you have been introduced to the concepts of the ETL-Project and its components, you can move on to Starting Oracle Data Integrator.