The DataBee software displays extracted table statistical information in a panel on the Set Tables tab in the Set Designer and Set Extractor applications. Most of the tools available in the Set Designer also display table information. Two columns, entitled Plan Match and Plan Type are available on the table display panels - these can greatly assist with decision making when building new extraction rules.
Important Note: It is often assumed that the DataBee software will automatically configure the values in the Plan Type column to appropriate settings. It cannot do this - and there is no tool which could do so. It is simply not possible because of the many purposes for which subset databases can be built. There is no realistic way for any software to be able to determine which tables should be included in the subset database and which should not. Two different sets of extraction rules could extract entirely different groups of tables. The Plan Type column is manually set by the user during the planning stages of the extraction set build to values they think appropriate to their purposes.
The Set Designer Table Panel Showing the Plan Columns
Using the Plan Columns
The image above shows a screen shot of the Set Designer Set Tables tab while an extraction set is still under development. The developers of the rules have set the Plan Type column for most of the tables with the desired extraction state: "All Rows", "No Rows", or "Subset" although one table, the DTB_CUSTOMER table, is still marked as "Unknown". A test extract has taken place and when it completed the Set Extractor has reported back the results of that extract. This update is entirely automatic and will have adjusted the Plan Match column to "Yes" or "No" depending on how the extracted row count matches the value in the Plan Type column.
In the above image, the DTB_INVOICE table is marked as "Yes" in the Plan Match column because it has 75 extracted rows and the plan type was "Subset". It matches the plan because a subset of the total rows was desired and is that is what was extracted. The DTB_DISCOUNT table also matches the plan because "All Rows" were required and that is what has been extracted. The DTB_WEEKNUMBER and DTB_WAREHOUSE_STOCK_HK tables are marked as "No" in the Plan Match column because the current extracted row counts do not satisfy what was desired in the Plan Type column. Note that the DTB_CUSTOMER table is marked as "Yes" in the Plan Match column even though it has no extracted rows. This is the default - if the table is marked as "Unknown" then zero extracted rows is considered sufficient to match the plan.
The Set Designer Table Panel Sorted on the Plan Match Column
Clicking with the mouse in the column header will sort on the Plan Match column. This makes it easy to identify which tables are still unsatisfied according to the current plan requirements. A sort on the Plan Match column is especially useful in larger schemas which may have hundreds or thousands of tables. Clearly from the above display it can be seen that new rules which populate the DTB_WEEKNUMBER, DTB_WAREHOUSE_STOCK_HK, DTB_WAREHOUSE_STOCK_LO, DTB_WAREHOUSE_STOCK_NY and DTB_WAREHOUSE_STOCK_LA should be considered as the existing rules are not extracting any subset rows for those tables. In addition, if the Plan Match column on the DTB_CUSTOMER table is changed to a value of "Subset" its Plan Match column will change to "No". This deficiency can then be addressed through the addition of an extraction rule. Alternatively, if it was decided that the contents of the DTB_CUSTOMER table where not required in the subset database, then the Plan Type column could be changed to "No Rows". In that event, even if some rows are extracted for that table the Plan Match column will always indicate "Yes". It is not unusual for rows to be present in a table even if it was marked "No Rows" in the Plan Type column. This just means that the extraction rules required those rows to be there to support a foreign key. DataBee will always satisfy referential integrity - marking a table as "No Rows" in the Plan Type column is simply a notation for the benefit of the developers and users of the extraction set.
The contents of the Plan Match and Plan Type column are also available in the printed Table Extraction Statistics report available on the Set Designer Misc. Setup tab.
The visual plan display and report can be invaluable in determining which tables are not being populated in the subset database. Experience suggests that successful extraction sets are easier to produce if the plan columns are used to bring into focus the sometimes ill-defined and indistinct requirements.