The DataBee Set Designer Rule Tools Tab

The Set Designer Rule Tools tab has two primary functions: to launch tools which assist with the identification of relationships between tables and also to provide the ability to launch utility tools which write reports or display the log file.

The Tools for Extraction and Loader Sets Panel

The Tools for Extraction and Loader Sets panel at the top of the Rule Tools tab contains buttons which launch useful tools to view the schema information and rule structure already in the extraction set. Most of these tools have the ability to automatically create new rules once table relationships have been discovered.

Note: The tools in this section can only act upon information already known to the Set Designer application. The schema information must be known to the Set Designer before any of these tools can function correctly. The schema structure is usually downloaded into the Rule Controller when the extraction or loader set is created. If necessary, the schema information can be refreshed using the options available on the Rule Controller Tools tab.

What the buttons do

Column Finder

In order to join two tables together with an extraction rule, the join column (or columns) must be known. The function of the Column Finder tool is to search through all tables in the schema for columns of a specified name, size or data type in order to find possible candidates for a rule. Detailed information on this tool can be found on the Column Finder help page.

Index Follower

Tables are often indexed on the most important columns. The Index Follower form enables potential Table-To-Table rules based on joins via indexes to be discovered. Detailed information on this tool can be found on the Index Follower help page.

Safe All Rows Rule Generator

The Safe All Rows Rule Generator tool enables the creation All Rows rules on tables that are "Safe" to extract in full. In other words, the tool will filter out all tables which are sources of Table-To-Table rules and present only those which can be extracted in their entirety with no complications. More information on this topic can be found on the Safe All Rows Rule Generator help page.

Chain Finder

The the Chain Finder tool provides a visual indication of the relationships between tables and suggests possible candidates for manual rules. It presents a list of all tables known to the Set Designer application and the number of direct descendant child tables the current rules associate them with. Also shown is a tree structure providing a graphical representation of the tables relation to the other tables in the extraction set. Detailed information on this tool can be found on the Chain Finder help page.

Who-Loads-What

The Set Extractor application will use the rules in the extraction set to make sure that the appropriate data rows are retrieved from each table in order to support the rows in the other tables. As rules are added to the extraction set, the relationships between these rules become increasingly complex and any one table may populate or be populated by a number of others. The Who-Loads-What tool is designed to show the tables which load a specified table and those which are loaded by the table. Detailed information on this tool can be found on the Who-Loads-What help page.

Check for Unindexed Rule Targets

If the target table in a rule has join columns that are unindexed, then the rule can sometimes be slow to extract - particularly if the table has a large number of rows. The Unindexed Rule Target Checker tool identifies such rules and offers the option of deleting or disabling them. More information on this topic can be found on the Unindexed Rule Target Checker help page.

Import Old DataBee version rules.

The release of version 4 of the DataBee software saw major improvements in speed, functionality and ease of use. The structure of the extraction sets also underwent considerable change at that time and the rules in older extraction sets are not usable in later versions of the DataBee software. This button makes it possible to import a set of extraction rules, created for older versions of the DataBee software into a new extraction set. It would be probably be useful to contact the DataBee support team prior to importing rules in order to obtain further advice and assistance.

Check for Rules with Missing Tables

Tables can be dropped in the extraction set if they are removed from the source schema and the schema structure is refreshed or if they are specifically excluded from the set. If tables are excluded, the rules which reference them are not automatically removed. This tool lists the rules which are no longer valid because the tables they reference are missing and also enables the deletion of those rules. More information on this topic can be found on the Check for Rules with Missing Tables tool help page.

Schema Comparator

The Schema Comparison tool is designed to compare the schema structure stored in the Rule Controller with the real structure in the schema to which the Rule Controller connects. The output of the tool is a very readable report which details the changes. More information on this topic can be found on the Schema Comparison tool help page.

The General Tools panel offers options to create reports and display the log file.

What the buttons do

View Logfile Now

The DataBee Set Designer keeps a comprehensive log file of all of its activities. The location of the log file is specified on the Set Designer Misc. Setup tab. This button opens up the current log file and displays it in the default system text file viewer - usually this is the Windows Notepad application.

Rule Structure Report

The DataBee Set Designer application is able to produce a comprehensive report detailing the rules and their relationships with one another. This button launches the form which outputs the rule structure report.

Reset All Passwords

This button prompts for a password and sets all passwords on each Rule Rontroller in the set to the specified value. This function can be useful if the set contains multiple Rule Controllers which have frequent password changes mandated by a security policy.