Tools for Data Integration

Data integration tasks range from the use of SQL SELECT statements against SQL views to complex integrations using data services, virtual database operations, and view generators.

Sybase Data Federation appears to external applications and users as a virtual database when accessed via JDBC or ODBC. You can execute the simplest data integration tasks by using SQL SELECT syntax to run queries against SQL views that have been provisioned in the Data Federation virtual database.

However, in many cases, access to Data Federation is not entirely ad hoc against “raw” provisioned SQL views. For example, you might want to expose a logical model that creates a combination of procedures and virtual tables that encapsulate operations against raw provisioned SQL views and database operations. The primary mechanisms for building up this logical layer of abstraction in Data Federation are:

You can use WorkSpace Data Federation to define view models, and then deploy those view models as data services. Like database operations, data services are accessible as stored procedures via ODBC and JDBC. They are also accessible via SOAP. In addition, you can generate SQL views from data services that return rowsets, thus exposing these logical abstractions as tables as well as stored procedures via SQL.
You can create virtual database operations. A virtual database operation is just like a regular database operation, except that its source database is Data Federation itself. Use virtual database operations to capture and reuse SQL SELECT queries against SQL views.

To cover more advanced situations where you need the full power of Java or you need to perform XML processing within Data Federation, you can create data services that are implemented in Java, JavaScript, or XSLT directly.

Finally, if you have data consumers or applications that require flat file output, you can route the output of database operations or data services to flat files using Data Federation view generators.

ODBC or JDBC Access to the Data Catalog: Qualified Names
To refer to a SQL view (table), database operation, or data service using ODBC or JDBC, you must specify its three-part qualified name.
Data Services
Data services are powerful integration tools that you can use to combine and transform data according to your requirements.
Processing Distributed Data using XSLT, JavaScript, and Java: Advanced Data Services
You can use WorkSpace Data Federation to generate a data service, or you can write your own data service using Java, XSLT, or JavaScript.
Virtual Database Operations
Virtual database operations query the Data Federation virtual database.
Data Snapshots: View Generators
If an application or end user needs data in the form of a flat file (in comma-separated values (CSV), HTML, XML, or another format), you can create a view generator to meet this need.

Parent topic: Database Tools