Defining Table Descriptors

Load Sets have only target Table Descriptors. They must be compatible with the structure of the external tables or data sets from which you are loading data and with the Table instances into which you are loading data.

For all Load Set types, Oracle LSH can create the Table Descriptors based on data structures you specify in the source system. You can then create Table instances based on those Table Descriptors, or create Table instances based on standard (or any other compatible Table definitions) and map the two. See Mapping Columns of Different Data Types and Lengths for an explanation of compatibility; for example, a source column or variable is compatible with a target column of a longer length, but not with a target column of a shorter length.

The target Table instance must have one of the following process types: For information on the first three processing types, see Data Processing Types.

• Staging with Audit (the default)

• Staging Without Audit

• Reload

• Pass-Through View For Oracle-technology Load Sets, you also have the option to create the target Table instances as pass-through views so that the physical source data remains in the external Oracle system. This approach allows you to minimize data storage space. After you map the Table instance to an Oracle-type Load Set, the system adds this option to the Processing Type drop-down list of the Table instance.

  It is not necessary to run Load Sets whose target Table instances are defined as pass-through views. As soon as you install the Load Set, the data in the external Oracle system is available to Oracle LSH.

  Programs can use Table instances defined as pass-through views as sources just as they can Table instances that contain data. When you run the Program, it reads data in the source system and can write data to Oracle LSH Table instances.

Mapping Table Descriptors to Table Instances: You can do either of the following:

• Run the Table Instances from Existing Table Descriptors job from the Actions drop-down list to create a Table instance of the same structure as the Table Descriptor and automatically map the two. See Creating Table Instances from Table Descriptors and Simultaneously Mapping Them for instructions.

• Create a Table instance—for example, create an instance of a standard CDISC Table definition—and map the Table Descriptor to the Table instance. If they have the same name, you can run the Automatic Mapping by Name job from the Actions drop-down list and it will map any Columns that have the same name. If not, you can map them manually. See Mapping Table Descriptors to Table Instances.

Enforced Compatibility at Runtime: At runtime a user can specify a remote data source with a different structure from the Table Descriptor you defined. If the structure are incompatible—the differences are such that they would cause data corruption— the load fails with an error.

The following types of differences cause a failure:

• The target Oracle LSH Table Column of a character data type is shorter than the source table column or data set variable.

• For number data types, the length and precision combined are smaller in the target than in the source.

• The target Table Column has a data type that is incompatible with the source data type. See Mapping Columns for information on compatible data types.

• The source table or data set includes a column or variable that is not included in the Table Descriptor.

See the section on each type of Load Set for details:

• Oracle Load Set Table Descriptors

• SAS Load Set Table Descriptors

• Text Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC Stable Interface Tables Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC DX SAS Views Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC Data Extract Views Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC Design and Definition Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC Global Metadata Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC Labs Load Set Table Descriptors

• OC Randomization Load Set Table Descriptor

• OC Study Data Load Set Table Descriptors

For general instructions see Defining and Mapping Table Descriptors.