DSXchange

Hi All,
I have just been browsing my hard disk (as one does occasionally) and I found a directory called:

C:\Program Files\Ascential\DataStage\Assistants\Generation\templates\enUS-CP1252

This looks to have some kind of templates in it for various jobs, SCDs1/2/3 etc. I asked one of the developers here (who was just on the 1 week course) if he recognised these and he didn't...

So, I was wondering. What are these things? They look like templates for developing various types of jobs but we don't seem to 'know' about them. Are they good useful stuff?

The other reason I ask is that I think one of the things missing from DS is the ability to take a template, give DS a description of the new source/target and generate the job for you....I spend a week figuring out how this can be done but the effort to write the code to do it was more than was worth to me so I stopped.....It struck me that the things in this library might be something like that...

Thanks

This directory is used when, in Designer, you select "create job from template" or "create template from job".

The ones provided are, or support, the "intelligent assistants" you would have read about in the readme files.

Not much more to say, really...

Except that they are local to one PC. However, you can move them to a shared drive, remove your Templates folder, and replace it with a short cut to the shared folder, so that every developer in the team can have access to the same templates.

Beware that an upgrade or re-install of the client will/may (I don't know yet) attempt to re-create a folder called Templates.

ray.wurlod wrote:This directory is used when, in Designer, you select "create job from template" or "create template from job".

The ones provided are, or support, the "intelligent assistants" you would have read about in the readme files.

Not much more to say, really...

Hi Ray,
where abouts in which readme file? Or manual? I just went in and hit 'create job from template' and the list is empty....can you give me a pointer to the doc and I'll RTM..

I mean, they look like a step in the right direction for template creation....

We are just building the DS ETL here for another IWS install and I finshed up doing a vast amount of my job writing in textpad editing the XML directly....We did 55+ dimension tables in about 2 weeks of this kind of editting, which is the fastest I've ever been able to write that many dimension tables by a factor of about 3.

We have 30+ fact tables to write the ETL for now and we plan to do the same...textpad edit the XML....should take about 2 weeks....

If there is a better way, I'd be interested to know....

peternolan9 wrote:I just went in and hit 'create job from template' and the list is empty...

It will be until you create some. All it is right now is a better way to handle you creating something that you call a 'template' job and people remembering to use (and not overwrite) it. Think of it like how Office handles 'New From Template' creation of Documents or Spreadsheets but without any official ones.

So, you create a skeleton job for each of your basic process: Fact, Dimension, etc. Everything but the metadata, usually. When ready, you 'Create Template from Job'. After that, you (or others if on a share) can create a job from that template. Then it is typically a matter of dragging the metadata from the Repository Browser onto the links and adding Derivations.

I'll see about your manual / readme question when I get into the office. I haven't used any of the 'Intelligent Assistants' as of yet... was under the impression that most were part of PX.

Hi Craig,
our DS guy here was taught about templates etc and we are going to have a look...but I was wondering what these things that look like templates in this directory are....maybe they are part of PX?? We don't have PX but maybe we get the templates anyway??

chulett wrote:

peternolan9 wrote:I just went in and hit 'create job from template' and the list is empty...

It will be until you create some. All it is right now is a better way to handle you creating something that you call a 'template' job and people remembering to use (and not overwrite) it. Think of it like how Office handles 'New From Template' creation of Documents or Spreadsheets but without any official ones.

I'll see about your manual / readme question when I get into the office. I haven't used any of the 'Intelligent Assistants' as of yet... was under the impression that most were part of PX.

I've had a lot of trouble working out what templates and intelligent assistants should be installed with version 7.1. Early on I managed to get a 7.1 install that had intelligent assistants for slowly changing dimensions, which would use those SCD folders mentioned above. Ever since then my installs don't seem to have it, I have managed installs with the migration assistant but I haven't been able to find the SCD assistant.

I've also had installs where no assistants turn up at all, even though they are in the Ascential program folder.

As far as I know, the "Intelligent Assistants" (like for SCD jobs) are only for PX. Like with other things, Ascential likes to tease us and install bits we can't use in lowly Server jobs.

I completely forget to check my docs for you... hope to get some time soon.

Interesting... I just checked my new (test) install of 7.5 Server and there's no trace of Intelligent anything out there. There is a teeny mention in the Designer's online help, an index entry for 'Intelligent Assistants'.

Selecting it gives you three sub-choices:

creating a job from a template
creating a template
data migration assistant

Selecting any of them results in a "The Page Cannot Be Displayed" error.

chulett wrote:and there's no trace of Intelligent anything out there.

are you talking about the software or the world in general

Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here...

I tried your suggestion about moving the templates to a shared drive, but I get an error in DataStage when I try New Job from Template. The only solution that I have gotten to work is changing the registry entry, as mentioned by a previous user.

Am I missing something?????

Thanks,

Heather