Import

The default format in which data is expected to be presented for import is a standardised USoft XML format. In this format, XML element names map to table names, XML attribute values map to column names, and XML attribute values map to column values.

This format is used across the entire USoft platform with the exception of USoft Benchmark, which still uses the obsolete TDF format, and conventional Import Tasks in USoft Batch (now part of USoft Definer), which still take CSV (records with comma-separated values) as input.

For convenience and for backward compatibility only, Delivery Manager offers "Clear and import from TDF" as a separate action.

For details on the USoft XML format generally, see the "USoft XML Specification" section in USoft Definer Help. For details on the implementation of this format in Delivery Manager, see the individual Help topic for actions.

Delivery Manager expects as input the variety of the USoft XML format that supports multi-table data in a single input file, even if the data is from a single table:

<multi-table-root>

  <underscored-object-name-plural>

    <table column="value" column="value" ... />

  ...

For example:

<MultiExport>

  <Accredited_Persons>

    <PERSON ID="177" FAMILY_NAME="Haynes" FIRST_NAME="Deborah"/>

    <PERSON ID="112" FAMILY_NAME="Smith" FIRST_NAME="John"/>

  ...

Exactly how external data are imported is determined by settings of the usoft-xml processing instruction, which looks like this:

<?usoft-xml version="1.0" action="multi-tables-import" use-io-formats="no" verify-original-values="no" return-corrected-records ="yes"?>

For details on this processing instruction, see the "Processing instructions for XML import" help topic in USoft Definer Help.

Delivery Manager offers the following standard procedures for importing data, or import actions:

For general purposes of repository management, call the Import appdata action, except for importing USoft Definer data (application = USD), for which you call the Import metadata action.