Glossary
- administrator
-
the person who is responsible for maintaining
the technical attributes of an object such as a table or a library.
For example, an administrator might specify where a table is stored
and who can access the table.
- analysis data set
-
in SAS data quality, a SAS output data set that
provides information on the degree of divergence in specified character
values.
- business key
-
a property or set of properties that is drawn
from source data, and is used to uniquely identify a record. For example,
if customer records include a unique customer ID, the customer ID
might be selected for use as a business key.
- CDC
-
- change analysis
-
the process of comparing one set of metadata to
another set of metadata and identifying the differences between the
two sets of metadata. For example, in SAS Data Integration Studio,
you have the option of performing change analysis on imported metadata.
Imported metadata is compared to existing metadata. You can view any
changes in the Differences window and choose which changes to apply.
To help you understand the impact of a given change, you can run impact
analysis or reverse impact analysis on tables and columns in the Differences
window.
- change data capture (CDC)
-
the process of capturing changes that are made
to data, and making these changes available in a machine-readable
format. By capturing only the changes in the data, CDC reduces the
volume of information that is required for data integration.
- change management facility
-
in the SAS Open Metadata Architecture, a facility
for metadata source control, metadata promotion, and metadata replication.
- channel
-
- cluster
-
in SAS data quality, a set of character values
that have the same match code.
- comparison result
-
the output of change analysis. For example, in
SAS Data Integration Studio, the metadata for a comparison result
can be selected, and the results of that comparison can be viewed
in a Differences window and applied to a metadata repository.
See also change analysis.
- content channel (channel)
-
a virtual communication path for distributing
information. In SAS, a channel is identified with a particular topic.
Using the features of the Publishing Framework, authorized users or
applications can publish digital content to the channel, and authorized
users and applications can subscribe to the channel in order to receive
the content.
See also publish.
- cross-reference table
-
a table that contains only the current rows of
a larger dimension table. Columns generally include all business key
columns and a digest column. The business key column is used to determine
whether source rows are new dimensions or updates to existing dimensions.
The digest column is used to detect changes in source rows that might
update an existing dimension. During updates of the fact table that
is associated with the dimension table, the cross-reference table
can provide generated keys that replace the business key in new fact
table rows.
- custom repository
-
an optional metadata store for a SAS Metadata
Server that can be configured in addition to the foundation repository.
Custom repositories are useful for physically segregating metadata
for storage or security purposes.
- data analysis
-
in SAS data quality, the process of evaluating
input data sets in order to determine whether data cleansing is needed.
- data cleansing
-
the process of eliminating inaccuracies, irregularities,
and discrepancies from data.
- data integration
-
the process of consolidating data from a variety
of sources in order to produce a unified view of the data.
- data lineage (reverse impact analysis)
-
a search that seeks to identify the tables, columns,
and transformations that have an impact on a selected table or column.
See also impact analysis.
- data store
-
a table, view, or file that is registered in a
data warehouse environment. Data stores can contain either individual
data items or summary data that is derived from the data in a database.
- data transformation
-
in SAS data quality, a cleansing process that
applies a scheme to a specified character variable. The scheme creates
match codes internally to create clusters. All values in each cluster
are then transformed to the standardization value that is specified
in the scheme for each cluster.
- database library
-
a collection of one or more database management
system files that are recognized by SAS and that are referenced and
stored as a unit. Each file is a member of the library.
- database server
-
a server that provides relational database services
to a client. Oracle, DB/2, and Teradata are examples of relational
databases.
- delimiter
-
a character that serves as a boundary that separates
the elements of a text string.
- delivery transport (transport)
-
in the Publishing Framework, the method of delivering
a package to the consumer. Supported transports include email and
WebDAV. Although not a true transport, a channel also functions as
a delivery mechanism.
- derived mapping
-
a mapping between a source column and a target
column in which the value of the target column is a function of the
value of the source column. For example, if two tables contain a Price
column, the value of the target table's Price column might be
equal to the value of the source table's Price column multiplied
by 0.8.
- digest column
-
a column in a cross-reference table that contains
a concatenation of encrypted values for specified columns in a target
table. If a source row has a digest value that differs from the digest
value for that dimension, then changes are detected and the source
row becomes the new current row in the target. The old target row
is closed out and receives a new value in the end date/time column.
- dimension
-
a data element that categorizes values in a data
set into non-overlapping categories that can be used to group, filter,
and label the data in meaningful ways. Hierarchies within a dimension
typically represent different groupings of information that pertains
to a single concept. For example, a Time dimension might consist of
two hierarchies: (1) Year, Month, and Date, and (2) Year, Week, and
Day.
- dimension table
-
in a star schema or snowflake schema, a table
that contains data about a particular dimension. A primary key connects
a dimension table to a related fact table. For example, if a dimension
table named Customers has a primary key column named Customer ID,
then a fact table named Customer Sales might specify the Customer
ID column as a foreign key.
- dynamic cluster table
-
two or more SAS SPD Server tables that are virtually
concatenated into a single entity, using metadata that is managed
by the SAS SPD Server.
- enrichment
-
the addition of value to data in a data table
by appending information from another source or by applying analytics.
- fact table
-
the central table in a star schema or snowflake
schema. The fact table contains the individual facts that are being
stored in the database as well as the keys that connect each fact
to the appropriate value in each dimension.
- foreign key
-
a column or combination of columns in one table
that references the corresponding primary key in another table. A
foreign key must have the same attributes as the primary key that
it references.
- foundation repository
-
the metadata repository that is used to specify
metadata for global resources that can be shared by other repositories.
For example, a foundation repository is used to store metadata that
defines users and groups on the metadata server.
See also custom repository,
project repository.
- generated key
-
a column in a dimension table that contains values
that are sequentially generated using a specified expression. Generated
keys are used to implement surrogate keys and retained keys.
- generated transformation
-
in SAS Data Integration Studio, a transformation
that is created with the Transformation Generator wizard, which helps
you specify SAS code for the transformation.
- global resource
-
an object, such as a server or a library, that
is shared on a network.
- impact analysis
-
a search that seeks to identify the files and
objects that use a particular data source, in order to assess the
impact of any changes to that data source.
- Integrated Object Model server (IOM server)
-
a SAS object server that is launched in order
to fulfill client requests for IOM services.
- intersection table
-
a table that describes the relationships between
two or more tables. For example, an intersection table could describe
the many-to-many relationships between a table of users and a table
of groups.
- IOM server
-
- iterative job
-
a job with a control loop in which one or more
processes are executed multiple times. Iterative jobs can be executed
in parallel.
See also job.
- iterative processing
-
a method of processing in which a control loop
executes one or more processes multiple times.
- job
-
a collection of SAS tasks that can create output.
- locale
-
a setting that reflects the language, local conventions,
and culture for a geographic region. Local conventions can include
specific formatting rules for paper sizes, dates, times, and numbers,
and a currency symbol for the country or region. Some examples of
locale values are French_Canada, Portuguese_Brazil, and Chinese_Singapore.
- lookup standardization
-
a process that applies a scheme to a data set
for the purpose of data analysis or data cleansing.
- match code
-
an encoded representation of an input character
variable that is used to cluster and compare data.
See also sensitivity.
- message queue (queue)
-
in application messaging, a place where one program
can send messages that will be retrieved by another program. The two
programs communicate asynchronously. Neither program needs to know
the location of the other program nor whether the other program is
running.
See also delivery transport.
- metadata administrator
-
a person who defines the metadata for servers,
metadata repositories, users, and other global resources.
- metadata model
-
a definition of the metadata for a set of objects.
The model describes the attributes for each object, as well as the
relationships between objects within the model.
- metadata object
-
a set of attributes that describe a table, a server,
a user, or another resource on a network. The specific attributes
that a metadata object includes vary depending on which metadata model
is being used.
- metadata repository
-
a collection of related metadata objects, such
as the metadata for a set of tables and columns that are maintained
by an application.
- metadata server
-
a server that provides metadata management services
to one or more client applications.
- operational data
-
data that is captured by one or more applications
in an operational system. For example, an application might capture
and manage information about customers, products, or sales.
See also operational system.
- operational system
-
one or more applications that capture and manage
data for an organization. For example, a business might have a set
of applications that manage information about customers, products,
and sales.
- parameterized job
-
a job that specifies its inputs and outputs as
parameters.
See also job.
- parameterized table
-
a table whose metadata specifies some attributes
as variables rather than as literal values. For example, the input
to an iterative job could be a parameterized table whose metadata
specifies its physical pathname as a variable.
See also iterative job.
- primary key
-
a set of one or more attributes that uniquely
identifies a single occurrence in a data structure, such as a row
in a table.
- project repository
-
a metadata repository that serves as an individual
work area or playpen. In general, each user who participates in change
management has an individual project repository. (Project repositories
are available for SAS Data Integration Studio only.)
- publish
-
to deliver electronic information to one or more
destinations. These destinations can include message queues, publication
channels, and so on.
- QKB
-
- Quality Knowledge Base (QKB)
-
a collection of locales and other information
that is referenced during data analysis and data cleansing. For example,
to create match codes for a data set that contains street addresses
in Great Britain, you would reference the ADDRESS match definition
in the ENGBR locale in the Quality Knowledge Base.
- queue
-
- register
-
to save metadata about an object to a metadata
repository. For example, if you register a table, you save metadata
about that table to a metadata repository.
- retained key
-
a numeric column in a dimension table that is
combined with a begin-date column to make up the primary key.
- reverse impact analysis
-
- SAS Application Server
-
a logical entity that represents the SAS server
tier, which in turn comprises servers that execute code for particular
tasks and metadata objects.
- SAS Management Console
-
a Java application that provides a single user
interface for performing SAS administrative tasks.
- SAS metadata
-
metadata that is created by SAS software. Metadata
that is in SAS Open Metadata Architecture format is one example.
- SAS OLAP Server
-
a SAS server that provides access to multidimensional
data. The data is queried using the multidimensional expressions (MDX)
language.
- SAS Open Metadata Architecture
-
a general-purpose metadata management facility
that provides metadata services to SAS applications. The SAS Open
Metadata Architecture enables applications to exchange metadata, which
makes it easier for these applications to work together.
- SAS Stored Process Server
-
a SAS IOM server that is launched in order to
fulfill client requests for SAS Stored Processes.
- SAS task
-
a logical process that is executed by a SAS session.
A task can be a procedure, a DATA step, a window, or a supervisor
process.
- SAS XML library
-
a library that uses the SAS XML LIBNAME engine
to access an XML file.
- SAS/SHARE library
-
a SAS library for which input and output requests
are controlled and executed by a SAS/SHARE server.
- SAS/SHARE server
-
the result of an execution of the SERVER procedure,
which is part of SAS/SHARE software. A server runs in a separate SAS
session that services users' SAS sessions by controlling and
executing input and output requests to one or more SAS libraries.
- scheme
-
a reusable collection of match codes and standardization
values that is applied to input character values for the purposes
of transformation or analysis.
- sensitivity
-
in SAS data quality, a value that specifies the
amount of information in match codes. Greater sensitivity values result
in match codes that contain greater amounts of information. As sensitivity
values increase, character values must be increasingly similar to
generate the same match codes.
- server administrator
-
a user who has the necessary credentials to administer
one or more SAS servers. Server administrators can perform actions
such as stopping, pausing, and resuming servers, and administering
server logs.
- server component
-
in SAS Management Console, a metadata object that
specifies information about how to connect to a particular kind of
SAS server on a particular computer.
- slowly changing dimensions
-
a technique for tracking changes to dimension
table values in order to analyze trends. For example, a dimension
table named Customers might have columns for Customer ID, Home Address,
Age, and Income. Each time the address or income changes for a customer,
a new row could be created for that customer in the dimension table,
and the old row could be retained. This historical record of changes
could be combined with purchasing information to forecast buying trends
and to direct customer marketing campaigns.
- snowflake schema
-
tables in a database in which a single fact table
is connected to multiple dimension tables. The dimension tables are
structured to minimize update anomalies and to address single themes.
This structure is visually represented in a snowflake pattern.
See also star schema.
- source
-
- source data (source)
-
an input to an operation.
- star schema
-
tables in a database in which a single fact table
is connected to multiple dimension tables. This is visually represented
in a star pattern. SAS OLAP cubes can be created from a star schema.
- subscribe
-
to sign up to receive electronic content that
is published to a SAS publication channel.
- surrogate key
-
a numeric column in a dimension table that is
the primary key of that table.
- target
-
a container for output data that has been extracted
from a source. A target can be a table, view, or file.
- transport
-
- unique key
-
one or more columns that can be used to uniquely
identify a row in a table. A table can have one or more unique keys.
See also primary key,
foreign key.
- upsert
-
an SQL merge function in which data for a record
is updated, inserted, or both.
- Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)
-
a set of extensions to the HTTP protocol that
enables users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote web
servers.
- web service
-
a programming interface that enables distributed
applications to communicate even if the applications are written in
different programming languages or are running on different operating
systems.
- WebDAV
-
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