Registering Data Sources

Overview

After you create a Warehouse Environment and the appropriate global metadata, you are ready to create Operational Data Definitions. An Operational Data Definition (ODD) is a metadata record that provides access to data sources. The ODDs are used as inputs to detail data stores or summary data stores in a Warehouse Environment.

For example, the following figure illustrates a Process Flow in which a data store named Customer Detail is fed by the Customer ODD.

ODD in a Process Flow

[ODD in a Process Flow]

ODDs provide access to source data by

registering the location of a SAS table or view.
registering the location of a DBMS table with the help of a SAS/ACCESS LIBNAME definition.
executing user-written code that extracts information from a data source and then saves the results to a SAS table or view. The location of the extraction table or view is then specified in the ODD.

To create an ODD that registers the location of a SAS table, view, or SAS/ACCESS LIBNAME definition:

Open the appropriate Environment in the SAS/Warehouse Administrator Explorer.
Add an ODD Group to the Environment. Update the default properties of the group.
Add an ODD to the group. Update the default properties of the ODD.
Verify that the ODD can successfully generate a LIBNAME statement.

To create an ODD that executes user-written code:

Write or generate a SAS routine that creates a table or view and saves it to a SAS library.
Open the appropriate Environment in the SAS/Warehouse Administrator Explorer.
Add an ODD Group to the Environment. Update the default properties of the group.
Add an ODD to the group. Update the default properties of the ODD.
- From the Data Location tab for the ODD, specify the location of the table or view that is created by the routine in step 1.
Define a Process Editor Job for the ODD.
- From the Source Code tab for the ODD's Load Step, specify the location of the routine from step 1.
Execute the ODD's Job. This executes the routine from step 1.
Verify that the ODD provides access to the table or view that is created by the routine from step 1.

Note: The basic steps for maintaining ODDs are described in the online Help. To display the relevant online Help, in the SAS System Help contents, select Help on SAS Software Products Using SAS/Warehouse Administrator Software Getting Data Into Your Warehouse Environment Maintaining ODD Groups or Maintaining Operational Data Definitions In addition, you can display Help for most SAS/Warehouse Administrator windows by clicking Help on the window. [cautionend]

Note: ODDs are the first SAS/Warehouse Administrator data stores that require you to create one or more groups, data stores, Jobs and processes. Accordingly, the descriptions in this chapter are more detailed than the descriptions in later chapters. [cautionend]

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