Work Panel (Visual Job Designer)

Work Panel is a field where you can manage data source connectors and establish operations between them. To start integrating data sources, you need to drag-and-drop appropriate source connectors into Work Panel, as well as drag-and-drop operation icons you need. After that, you can adjust connector settings to establish connections and gain access to data tables. Finally, you perform visual mapping and set relations between connectors. As a result, you'll be able to integrate data sources with just one click.

   

Connectors

Connectors are intermediate tools that help either extract information from data source into Apatar, or load information into data location. Commonly, each data source requires appropriate connector which should be adjusted to operate with data entries you need. Apatar Data Integration embeds the following connectors: SalesForce.com, SugarCRM, Custom table, FileSystem, TextFile (flat files in .TXT and .CSV formats), Microsof SQL, MS Access, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SyBASE, XML, LDAP, FTP, File System, Oracle, Amazon S3, RSS feeds (RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, Atom), Buzzsaw, WebDAV, and more connectors are being developed! To learn more about each connector, please read connector guides on Documentation page.

Operations

Operations are used to manage data extracted from data sources. Using Operations features, you can mash-up data or transform it for loading into another data warehouse. In most cases, source data fields should be mapped with destination data fields in an operation module.

Embedded Apatar operations are:

• Distinct
  (eliminating data duplications)
• Filter
  (filtering data according to condition)
• Join
  (mashing up data from more than one data source)
• Replace
  (updating the entries in data tables)
• Transform
  (transforming source data according to destination data formats)
• Validate
  (dividing source data tables according to specified parameters)
   
  

Visual Mapping

To provide data integration, you need to map corresponding data fields, or tables, or data source connectors with each other. The mapping is performed in Apatar's Work Panel and in operation modules.

To start mapping, click on the red circle of a source connector and drag-and-drop to the green circle of a destination connector/operation icon, so that an arrow appears. (In Apatar modules, the small red circle indicates the source of data, the green one is for incoming data.)

    

Remember that most connectors require "Transform" module between them which should be adjusted properly. You need to map all corresponding data fields inside the module. To do so, double-click on "Transform" icon and drag-and-drop corresponding fields into the module's work space. Then map the fields of data source with the fields of output database, which are corresponding, and press "Ok".

   

Execution Preview Results

If necessary, you can preview the entries of selected tables and sources. To do so, right-click on icons in Apatar's Work Panel and choose Preview Results.

   

Project Execution

Project Execution is simple. After all connectors are adjusted and mapped together, select "Run" from Apatar File menu. Once pop up window has closed, the execution is completed.

   

Also, you can execute your project in a different way. Right-click on the end-connector, and select "Preview Results". Once the window with data entries has loaded, the execution is completed.