1. Managing Metadata Repositories for Oracle Analytics Server
  2. Build Your Metadata Repository
  3. Merge Rules
  4. About the Merge Process

About the Merge Process

The repository allows three types of merges.

  • Full merges, sometimes called upgrade merges, are used during development processes, when there are two different repositories that need to be merged. The Model Administration Tool provides a three-way merge feature that lets you merge two repositories that have both been derived from a third, original repository. Full merges can also be used to import objects from one repository into another; see Perform Full Repository Merges.

  • Patch merges are used when you're applying the differential between two versions of the same repository. For example, you might want to use a patch merge to apply changes from the development version of a repository to your production repository, or to upgrade your Oracle BI Applications repository; see Perform Patch Merges.

  • Multiuser development merges are used when you're publishing changes to projects using a multiuser development environment; see About the Multiuser Development Merge Process.

The merge process involves three versions of a repository: the original repository, modified repository, and current repository. The original repository is the original unmodified file, the parent repository, while the modified and current repository are the two changed files you want to merge. The current repository is the one currently open in the Model Administration Tool.

The original, modified, and current repository may mean different things, depending on your situation. For example:

  • In a development-to-production scenario, you've an original parent file, a current file that contains the latest development changes, and a modified file that's the deployed copy of the original file.

  • In an Oracle BI Applications repository upgrade scenario, the current file is the latest version of the repository shipped by Oracle, and the original file is the original repository shipped by Oracle. The modified file is the file that contains the changes you made to the original file.

You can use patch merge with both of these situations. In a patch merge, you open the current file and select the original file, then generate the patch. To apply the patch, you open the modified file and select the original file, then apply the patch.