Creating mappings
You create mappings on the Mappings tab of a cube or hierarchy in the Edit Database dashboard. If an existing mapping is similar to one that you want to create, you can duplicate the existing mapping and edit the duplicate as you require.
Mappings that you create are displayed in the Mappings Overview dashboard. There, you import, export, run, and delete mappings.
Cube mappings
Values for cube mappings may be held in a single column in the source table, or in multiple columns. For this reason, there are two value column modes: Single, and Dimension Driven.
Cube mappings with either single or dimension driven modes can be used for partial data loads. And the Process Latest Records option enables you to run incremental loads.
There are two cube mapping types: Source Column and Target Element. A single mapping can contain both types.
For the Source Column type, the element to be populated with data is read from the column in the source table that you specify.
For the Target Element type, the element to be populated is one that you specify. Or, you can use parameters as placeholders for target elements. This enables you to reuse a mapping with different parameter values. When you run the mapping, you are prompted to supply the required values.
Hierarchy mappings
For hierarchy mappings, the fields for each mapping depend on how the source data is structured. The source data can be held in one of these types of structure:
- Level-based
- Flat
- Parent-child
These structures do not apply to fact data mappings, all of which are made through a data connection to a specified fact table.
The same data can be stored in different ways, so you must have knowledge of your source data. For example, a list of geographical areas could be stored in a table with a hierarchical, parent-child structure, or in a table with a level-based structure.
Level-based example
This table shows a level-based structure of areas. The three levels are Continent, Region, and Country.
| Continent | Region | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | Central | Slovakia |
| Europe | Central | Czech Republic |
| Europe | Scandinavia | Finland |
| Europe | Scandinavia | Sweden |
| United States | Northeast | Massachusetts |
| United States | Northeast | New York |
| United States | Midwest | Michigan |
| United States | Midwest | Minnesota |
Flat structure example
An example of data with a flat structure is a list of currencies and their codes.
Parent-child example 1
This table is an example of parent-child relations, and the attribute values, in one table:
| ID | ParentID | OrderPosition | ISO_3166_2_CODE | English | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 1 | Europe | Europa | ||
| Central Europe | Europe | 1 | Central Europe | Zentraleuropa | |
| Slovakia | Central Europe | 1 | SK | Slovakia | Slowakei |
| Czech Republic | Central Europe | 2 | CZ | Czech Republic | Tschechien |
| Scandinavia | Europe | 2 | Scandinavia | Skandinavien | |
| Finland | Scandinavia | 3 | FI | Finland | Finnland |
| Sweden | Scandinavia | 4 | SE | Sweden | Schweden |
| United States | 2 | United States | Vereinigte Staaten | ||
| Northeast | United States | 1 | Northeast | Nordost | |
| Massachusetts | Northeast | 1 | US-MA | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| New York | Northeast | 2 | US-NY | New York | New York |
| Midwest | United States | 2 | Midwest | Midwest | |
| Michigan | Midwest | 1 | US-MI | Michigan | Michigan |
| Minnesota | Midwest | 2 | US-MN | Minnesota | Minnesota |
| EU | 3 | European Union | Europäische Union | ||
| Slovakia | EU | 3 | SK | Slovakia | Slowakei |
| Czech Republic | EU | 2 | CZ | Czech Republic | Tschechien |
| Finland | EU | 4 | FI | Finland | Finnland |
| Sweden | EU | 1 | SE | Sweden | Schweden |
Parent-child example 2
This is an example of parent-child relations in separate tables.
This table contains the elements and the attribute values:
| ID | OrderPosition | ISO_3166_2_CODE | English | German |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Europe | Europa | ||
| Central Europe | Central Europe | Zentraleuropa | ||
| Slovakia | SK | Slovakia | Slowakei | |
| Czech Republic | CZ | Czech Republic | Tschechien | |
| Scandinavia | Scandinavia | Skandinavien | ||
| Finland | FI | Finland | Finnland | |
| Sweden | SE | Sweden | Schweden | |
| United States | United States | Vereinigte Staaten | ||
| Northeast | Northeast | Nordost | ||
| Massachusetts | US-MA | Massachusetts | Massachusetts | |
| New York | US-NY | New York | New York | |
| Midwest | Midwest | Midwest | ||
| Michigan | US-MI | Michigan | Michigan | |
| Minnesota | US-MN | Minnesota | Minnesota | |
| EU | European Union | Europäische Union |
This table contains the relationships:
| ID | ParentID | OrderPosition |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 1 | |
| Central Europe | Europe | 1 |
| Slovakia | Central Europe | 1 |
| Czech Republic | Central Europe | 2 |
| Scandinavia | Europe | 2 |
| Finland | Scandinavia | 3 |
| Sweden | Scandinavia | 4 |
| United States | 2 | |
| Northeast | United States | 1 |
| Massachusetts | Northeast | 1 |
| New York | Northeast | 2 |
| Midwest | United States | 2 |
| Michigan | Midwest | 1 |
| Minnesota | Midwest | 2 |
| EU | 3 | |
| Slovakia | EU | 3 |
| Czech Republic | EU | 2 |
| Finland | EU | 4 |
| Sweden | EU | 1 |