Bookshelf: Querying and Managing Repository Metadata

Querying and Managing Repository Metadata

You can use repository queries to help manage the repository metadata in the following ways:

Examine and update the internal structure of the repository. For example, you can query a repository for objects in the repository based on name, type (such as Catalog, Complex Join, Key, and LDAP Server), or on a combination of name and type. You can then edit or delete objects that appear in the Results list. You can also create new objects, and view parent hierarchies.

Query a repository and view reports that show such items as all tables mapped to a logical source, all references to a particular physical column, content filters for logical sources, initialization blocks, and security and user permissions.

For example, you might want to run a report prior to making any physical changes in a database that might affect the repository. You can save the report to a file in comma-separated value (.csv) or tab-delimited format.

When you save results, the encoding options are ANSI, Unicode, and UTF-8.

To query a repository

From the Administration Tool menu bar, choose Tools > Query Repository.

In the Query Repository dialog box, complete the field on which you want to search.

For descriptions of each field and button in the Query Repository dialog box, see Table 19.

Click Query.

To save a repository query to an external file, click Save.

In the Save As dialog box, choose a type of file and an Encoding value.

To add additional columns of information to the results, click Add Columns.

In the Select information to add to the report dialog box, select the columns you want from the list and click OK.

You can re-order the columns by selecting a checked column and clicking Up or Down.

In the Save as dialog box, type a file name and select a Save as type.

Click Save.

To create a new object

From the Administration Tool menu bar, choose Tools > Query Repository.

In the Query Repository dialog box, in the Type drop-down list, select the type of object you want to create.

Click New.

The dialog boxes that appear depend on the object type that you select. For more information see the section of this documentation that pertains to creating that object.

To create and copy a UDML report

From the Administration Tool menu bar, choose Tools > Query Repository.

In the Query Repository dialog box, complete the field on which you want to search.

For descriptions of each field and button in the Query Repository dialog box, see Table 19.

Click Query.

Select one or more objects, and then click UDML.

To copy the results to the Windows clipboard, on the UDML window, click Copy.

Open a program such as Windows Notepad and paste the clipboard information.

For more information about using a UDML report, see Execute UDML.

Table 19. Query Repository Fields
Field or Button	Description
Name	Type name, to search by object name. You can use an asterisk ( * ) wildcard character to specify any characters. The wildcard character can represent the first or last characters in the search string. Searches are not case sensitive.
Show Qualified Name	Use this check box to display the fully qualified name of the object(s) found by the query. For example, if you query for logical tables, the default value in the Name list is the table name. However, if you select the Show Qualified Names check box, the value in the Name list changes to businessmodelname.logicaltablename.columnname.
Type	Select a type from the drop-down list to narrow your search to a particular type of object.
Query	Use this button when you are ready to submit your query.
Filter	Use this button to create or edit a filter for your query. After you create a filter, the filter criteria appear in the text box on the left of the button. For more information, see Constructing a Filter for Query Results.
Edit	After executing a query, use this button to edit an object in the list of query results. Not all repository objects can be edited from the results list. For example privilege objects and user database sign on objects. If an object cannot be edited from the results list, the Edit button will not be available.
Delete	After executing a query, use this button to delete an object in the list of query results.
Parent	After executing a query, use this button to view the parent hierarchy of an object. If the object does not have a parent, a message appears. In the Parent Hierarchy dialog box, you can edit or delete objects. However, if you delete an object, any child objects of the selected object will also be deleted.
UDML	Universal Data Modeling Language. The internal language of the Siebel Analytics metadata. After executing a query, use this button to display the UDML for one or more selected object.
Mark	After executing a query, use this button to mark the selected objects. To unmark an object click the button again. You can mark objects to make them easier to visually identify as you develop metadata.
Set Icon	After executing a query, use this button to select a different icon for an object. To change the icon back to this original icon, use this button and select Remove associated icon. You can set special icons for objects to make it easier to visually identify them as having common characteristics. You may, for example, want to pick a special icon to identify columns that will be used only by a certain user group.
GoTo	After executing a query, use this button to go to the object in the Administration Tool view of the repository.