A specification (spec) defines the data model (meta-model)
for items, categories, locations, import or export files, and lookup
tables.
Overview
The following list
identifies spec characteristics:
- A model for how data is stored, calculated, and managed within IBM® InfoSphere® Master Data Management
Collaboration Server.
- A model for data as it resides outside of InfoSphere MDM Collaboration Server.
- Flexible data templates that are used for data validation and
can be changed.
- Can be updated and maintained by a selected group of users.
- Contains attributes that can be indexed to improve the speed of
search operations.
There are several types of specs:
- Destination spec
- A destination spec defines the structure of the data that is exported
to a destination data file for a catalog or hierarchy export.
- File spec
- A file spec defines the structure of a data file from a data source
to use for a catalog or hierarchy import.
- Lookup spec
- A lookup spec is the data model used to define a Lookup Table.
A lookup spec must have a primary key.
- Primary spec
- A primary spec is the data model used to define hierarchies and
catalogs. A primary spec must have a primary key.
- Script input spec
- A script input spec defines the structure of the parameters that
are passed to a InfoSphere MDM Collaboration Server script,
especially a script that runs through the InfoSphere MDM Collaboration Server UI
(for example, a report script).
- Secondary spec
- A secondary spec is the data model used to define location attributes
and supplementary attributes associated with particular categories.
Secondary specs do not have a primary key.
- Sub spec
- A sub spec is a reusable spec which can be used as part of either
a primary or a secondary spec, for example, to group together a set
of attributes that always occur together. If a spec node from a sub
spec is going to be used as a primary spec's primary key, it must
be defined to have a minimum and maximum occurrence of 1.
Specs Console
The Specs Console allows you
to navigate and view the following specifications:
- File specs
- Primary specs
- Lookup specs
- Destination specs
- Secondary specs
- Scripts specs
To access the Specs Console, click Data Model Manager
> Specs/Mappings > Specs Console.
IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management, Version 10.1