Work With Sources Overview

Source types in the DSP® are:

  • Add Row Source
  • Update Row Source
  • Full Construction Source
  • External Source

An Add Row Source is the Source table where records are migrated from and inserted into the Target table. Records in an Add Row Source table are used for reconciliation. An Add Row Source is added in Target Design. Refer to Assign a Source to a Target for more information.

As an example, if an Add Row Source has 1000 records, 1000 records load into the Target system. Add Row Sources must have a unique identifier, which can be the legacy key field or a combination of legacy key fields (also called a multipart key).

Update Row Sources, added in Map, have a number of uses, most commonly attributes from an Update Row Source are used in the Add Row Source. For example, in the SAP Target system, the Telephone2 field is on the same table (LFA1) as all the other address fields. But the Source system Northwind has a Supplier Add Row table and the 2nd Telephone number is stored on the SupplierTelephone table. SupplierTelephone is an Update Row Source, as it will update a field on the Supplier table. If applied to the Northwind Source system, it follows the naming conventions:

stLFA1_Northwind_Supplier.zTELF2 copies from stNorthwind_SupplierTelephone.Telephone.

An Update Row Source can also be used for relevancy. The Add Row Source may have a series of filters that must be applied. If the requirement is to migrate vendors with only open purchase orders, then the table that contains the purchase order status serves as an Update Row Source. If applied to the Northwind Source system it follows the naming conventions:

stLFA1_Northwind_Supplier.zOpenPO joins to stNorthwind_POHeader where Status=Open.

Refer to Update Row Sources Overview for more information.

NOTE: The joins between Source systems must be defined if Map cannot auto derive them. The logic to automatically derive the join is based on the key fields on the Add Row Source. For example, SupplierID is a key on stLFA1_Northwind_Supplier. If SupplierID exists on the Update Row Source, Map builds the join. If Map cannot find a matching field, a relationship is still created and the user is notified during a mapping that the joins must be established. Refer to Add Relationship Joins to Sources for more information.

The system adds a Source of Full Construction in Target Design when the user adds a Source with a Source data source of {Full Construction}. Refer to Full Construction for more information.

An External Source is an Update Row Source that is external to the system used in the Add Row Source when establishing a relationship. Refer to Add an External Source for more information.

This section contains the following topics: