I have an existing ETL solution built-in SAS Data Integration, where one of the columns in initially set to have all null values. I want to populate that column with actual data. The original column in that table was set to receive numeric values with specific format and in format. After I am changing the code (that is the easy part), I notice that the column doesn't accept character values (I did not get an error, I just noticed the column still having all NULL values). Can anyone help ?
1 Answers
So you have a table that is defined in Data Integration studio (1) and created by running the job (2) a long time ago with a numeric column. Let us call that table THE_TABLE that field the_field and the job, The_Job, that loads data into THE_TABLE
You must be aware of the fundamental difference
- defining a
THE_TABLEin DI studio, which creates a description of the table in meta data - creating
THE_TABLEby runningThe_Job, which creates a file in a folder with data
If The_Job really creates THE_TABLE from scratch each time (which is typical for ETL jobs), it is sufficient to do change THE_TABLE and The_Job in DI studio. Your edits will only change the meta data, but the next time you run The_job, THE_TABLE wil be created with the the right structure.
However, if The_Job updates THE_TABLE or appends to it, your edits will not change the structure of THE_TABLE and your job will not be fit for the structure of the file THE_TABLE like it still exists in the folder, so you must convert THE_TABLE before running The_Job.
This can be done with a simple program like
data THE_TABLE;
set THE_TABLE (drop=the_field); /* forget about the numeric field */
attrib the_field length=$200 format=$200.; /* and create the character field */
run;
The correct attrib statement might well be in the code generated for The_Job somewhere.
Mind that in a typical setup with a development, test and production environment, you will need that program once in each environment.
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