Managing C9 INC Metadata

FILE[NAME]=file, SUFFIX=SQLC9 [,$]

where:

file

Is the file name for the Master File. The file name should start with a letter and be representative of the table or view contents. The actual file must have a .mas extension, but the value for this attribute should not include the extension.

SQLC9

Is the value for the adapter.

The following list describes the synonym creation parameters for which you can supply values.

Restrict Object Type to

Restrict candidates for synonym creation based on the selected object type(s): Tables, Views, External SQL Scripts, and any other supported objects.

Choosing External SQL Scripts from the drop-down list enables you to represent an SQL Query as a synonym for read-only reporting. A Synonym candidate can be any file that contains one (and only one) valid SQL Query and does not contain end-of-statement delimiters (";" or "/") and comments.

Depending on the adapter, you can further restrict your search by choosing check boxes for listed objects.

Filter by Owner/Schema and Object name

Selecting this option adds the Owner/Schema and Object Name parameters to the screen.

• Owner/Schema. Type a string for filtering the selection, inserting the wildcard character (%) as needed at the beginning and/or end of the string. For example, enter: ABC% to select tables or views whose owner/schema begin with the letters ABC; %ABC to select tables or views whose owner/schema end with the letters ABC; %ABC% to select tables or views whose owner/schema contain the letters ABC at the beginning, middle, or end.
• Object name. Type a string for filtering the object names, inserting the wildcard character (%) as needed at the beginning and/or end of the string. For example, enter: ABC% to select all objects whose names begin with the letters ABC; %ABC to select all whose names end with the letters ABC; %ABC% to select all whose names contain the letters ABC at the beginning, middle, or end.

Location of External SQL Scripts

xIf you specify External SQL Scripts in the Restrict Object type to field, these additional fields are displayed.

The following standard naming conventions apply for UNIX:

• In the Base Location field, specify the physical directory location of the file that contains the SQL Query. You can type a directory name or click on the ellipsis. This opens the Select Base Location dialog box.
• In the Document Name field, enter the file name with or without wild card characters.
• In the Document Extension field, enter the extension of the script files to filter the list of candidates.

During synonym generation, the adapter issues native API calls to obtain a list of elements in the select list and builds the Master File with a field for each element. The generated Access File references the location of the SQL script in the DATASET attribute, which contains the full path, including the name and extension of the file containing the SQL Query. For example,

DATASET=/ul/home2/apps/report3.sql

When a WebFOCUS report is created, the SQL Query is used to access data.

Cardinality

Select the Cardinality check box to reflect the current cardinality (number of rows or tuples) in the table during metadata creation. Cardinality is used for equi-joins. The order of retrieval is based on the size (cardinality) of the table. Smaller tables are read first.

If the cardinality of the tables to be used in the application are dynamic, it may not be beneficial to choose this setting.

Dynamic columns

To specify that the Master File created for the synonym should not contain column information, select the Dynamic columns check box.

If this option is selected, column data is retrieved dynamically from the data source at the time of the request.

For Subquery

Only available when External SQL Scripts is selected from the Restrict objects type to drop-down menu. When selected, a SUBQUERY keyword is added to the Access File of the generated synonym. If the corresponding SQL string has valid syntax that can be used in the FROM statement of the generated SQL (what is known as a Derived Table), then the SQL SCRIPT will be processed as a subquery embedded into a FROM clause. This usage allows for more flexibility. For example, the synonym can be used as a target for a JOIN.

If the SQL SCRIPT has parameter markers, such as ? or :, or the syntax contains constructs that are invalid for a derived table, for example ORDER BY, then this keyword should not be selected. At runtime, if SUBQUERY=Y is present and it is determined that the SQL SCRIPT cannot be used in the FROM statement, the setting will be ignored, and a FOC1782 warning message will be issued. The default is selected (SUBQUERY=Y).

Application

Select an application directory. The default value is baseapp.

Prefix/Suffix

If you have tables with identical table names, assign a prefix or a suffix to distinguish them. For example, if you have identically named human resources and payroll tables, assign the prefix HR to distinguish the synonyms for the human resources tables. Note that the resulting synonym name cannot exceed 64 characters.

If all tables and views have unique names, leave the prefix and suffix fields blank.

Customize data type mappings

To change the data type mappings from their default settings, select this check box. The customizable mappings are displayed.

For information about customizable mappings, see Content reference to: Data Type Support Report.

Update or Create Metadata

Select Create to overwrite any existing synonym with the same fully-qualified name, or Update to synchronize the metadata with an existing synonym. If you select Update, the next screen will show a list of attributes from the DBMS catalog that you can check to allow attributes from the DBMS catalog to override attributes from the existing synonym.

Overwrite Existing Synonyms

To specify that this synonym should overwrite any earlier synonym with the same fully qualified name, select the Overwrite existing synonyms check box.

Note: The connected user must have operating system write privileges in order to recreate a synonym.

Default Synonym Name

This column displays the name that will be assigned to each synonym. To assign a different name, replace the displayed value.

Owner/Schema

The user account that created the object or a collection of objects owned by a user.

Table name

Is the name of the underlying object.

Type

The object type (Table, View, and so on).

Select tables

Select tables for which you wish to create synonyms:

• To select all tables in the list, select the Select All check box.
• To select specific tables, select the corresponding check boxes.

This chart describes the keywords in the Access File.

SEGNAME

TABLENAME

TABLENAME=[owner.]table 

CONNECTION

CONNECTION=connection

KEY

KEY=ID

WRITE

KEYFLD
IXFLD

The adapter supports C9 Temporal Analysis by generating fields with temporal properties in the Master File.

For example, by default, CREATE SYNONYM adds the following five fields to the Master File that enable the use of Temporal Analysis supported by C9:

DEFINE DAILY_TREND/YYMD WITH ID TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND = DB_EXPR(INTERVAL '1' DAY); TITLE='Daily Trend', $
DEFINE WEEKLY_TREND/YYMD WITH ID TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND = DB_EXPR(INTERVAL '1' WEEK); TITLE='Weekly Trend', $
DEFINE MONTHLY_TREND/YYMD WITH ID TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND = DB_EXPR(INTERVAL '1' MONH); TITLE='Monthly Trend', $
DEFINE QUARTERLY_TREND/YYMD WITH ID TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND = DB_EXPR(INTERVAL '1' QUARTER); TITLE='Quarterly Trend', $
DEFINE YEARLY_TREND/YYMD WITH ID TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND = DB_EXPR(INTERVAL '1' YEAR); TITLE='Yearly Trend', $

By using one of these fields the user can perform temporal queries against the base tables. For example:

• Querying data as of a certain moment in the history of the table. The moment is specified using a WHERE equality test on any of the above fields.

  The AS OF time itself can be added to the resulting report by referencing the same field in a BY clause. For example:

  TABLE FILE OPPORTUNITY 
  WRITE AMOUNT WHERE DAILY_TREND EQ '2014-01-01'.

  The resulting SQL query is the following:

  AS OF DATE '2014-01-01' SELECT SUM(T1."Amount") FROM ads.Opportunity T1.

• Issuing a series of temporal queries within a specified range of dates with a specified interval, and plotting the results in a single report, thus obtaining the temporal trend of desired business performance indicators. For example:

  TABLE FILE ibisamp/OPPORTUNITY WRITE AMOUNT BY QUARTERLY_TREND
  WHERE QUARTERLY_TREND FROM '2013-02-01' TO '2015-03-31'

  The resulting SQL query is the following:

  TREND FROM DATE '2013-02-01' TO DATE '2015-03-31' BY INTERVAL '1' QUARTER
  SELECT CAST(TrendDate() AS DATE), SUM(T1."Amount") FROM ads.Opportunity T1 GROUP BY CAST(TrendDate() AS DATE) ORDER BY CAST(TrendDate() AS DATE)

Please note that instead of DATE constants in the WHERE clause above, you can use DATE expressions based on Dialogue Manager variables such &DATEYYMD, and simplified functions such as DTRUNC and DTADD.

You can specify a trend interval that is different from the five predefined in the synonym, and use it as in the following sample code:

DEFINE FILE ibisamp/OPPORTUNITY
BIWEEKLY_TREND/YYMD WITH ID TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND = DB_EXPR(INTERVAL 2 WEEK);
END
TABLE FILE ibisamp/OPPORTUNITY
COUNT ID BY BIWEEKLY_TREND ... 

The following is an example of a Direct SQL Passthru temporal query:

SQL SQLC9   /*QUERY*/
 TREND FROM DATE '2013-01-01' TO CURRENT_DATE BY INTERVAL '1' QUARTER  
   SELECT   
  CAST(TrendDate() AS DATE),  
   SUM(T1."Amount")  
   FROM   
  ads.Opportunity T1  
   GROUP BY   
  CAST(AsOfDate() AS DATE)  
   ORDER BY   
  CAST(AsOfDate() AS DATE); 
END

Note: In order for a query against a C9 synonym with a temporal field (a field with TEMPORAL_PROPERTY TREND) to make business sense the following restrictions apply.

• Only one temporal field should be mentioned in a TABLE query.
• The field should be used in a sort phrase (BY or ACROSS).
• Temporal fields should not be objects of the WRITE or PRINT commands.
• Temporal fields should not be used in DEFINE or COMPUTE commands.
• If no temporal fields are referenced in a query, the results are returned as of the current date.
• It is recommended that the query contain a WHERE test on a temporal field. The following tests are allowed:
  • Single-point EQ,
  • Single-interval FROM-TO, GE, LE.

    Boundaries assumed by default, if not specified by a single-point EQ or FROM-TO test, are as follows:

    The lower boundary is the start of the UNIX epoch, that is, 01/01/1970.

    The upper boundary is the current date.

Once you have created a synonym, you can right-click the synonym name in the Adapter navigation pane of either the Web Console or the Data Management Console to access the following options.