Working with Tables

In SAP Datasphere you can define a table by defining its column structure.

• Create a table in the Data Builder editor.
• Create a table by importing a CSV file.
• Create a table as the output of a flow.
• Import a table from a connection or other source in the Sources tab of the Source Browser in any of the Data Builder editors.

In addition to working with tables in the Data Builder, you can also:

• List, create, read, update, and delete them using the command line interface.
• Export and import them via CSN files.
• Export and import them via the secure transport app.

As properties of the table you can define:

• Business name and Technical name.

• Semantic Usage.

• Storage: the values can be "Disk" or "In-Memory".

  Note

  For local tables created in a space with SAP HANA Cloud data lake storage, the value is "File".

• Delta Capture: If you enable the option Delta Capture, it tracks the delta changes that are made in the table adding two delta capture columns: Change Type and Change Date. A prerequisite for this option is that at least one key column is specified. The option Delta Capture cannot be changed after deployment.

• Business Purposes: To provide a description, purpose, contacts, and tags to help other users understand your entity.

• Associations: To create an association to another data entity and define a semantic relationship between them.

For columns in a table you can specify the following properties:

• Set one or more columns as primary key.

• Define the Business Name: A descriptive name to help users identify the object.

• Define the Technical Name: The name used in scripts and code.

• Data Type.

• Default Value.

These are the ways to add data to the table:

• Import a CSV file.

• Run a flow.

• Import from a connection.

• Import from a CSN file.

Tables that contain data are presented as local table.

Data federation is a powerful data management strategy that enables seamless integration and efficient utilization of disparate data sources. In this approach, the data is left where it resides and virtualization techniques are used to provide a unified view.

In SAP Datasphere, a remote table is a virtual object that provides direct access to data residing in a source system.

You can use the option Import Remote Tables on the Data Builder landing page or the Repository Explorer to create a remote table.

The option Validate Remote Tables can be used to identify available table structure updates for all tables sharing the same source connection, and avoid errors and impact on dependent objects and run times in SAP Datasphere resulting from these updates, such as view runs, remote table replications or deployment.

In this simulation, you will create a remote table on an SAP HANA SQL View.

By default, when you import a remote table, its data is not replicated and must be accessed using federation each time from the remote system. You can improve performance by replicating the data to SAP Datasphere and you can schedule regular updates (or, for many connection types, enable real-time replication) to keep the data fresh and up-to-date.

The Data Integration Monitor offers the following data replication options for remote tables:

• Snapshots:

  • Start Data Replication: Directly start a copy of the full set of data from the source in the background.

  • Remove Replicated Data: Stop replication and delete data from replica table.

• Real-time replication:

  • Enable Real-Time Data Replication: Start replication of data changes in the source in real-time.

  • Disable Real-Time Data Replication: Disable real-time data replication and switch the data access from Replicated (Real-time) to Replicated (snapshot). It preserves the replica table and its replicated data to allow further actions on the remote table such as deleting or changing the properties of the connection.

The Data Integration Monitor offers the following views:

• Remote Tables: Monitor the replication of remote tables.
• Views: Add, monitor and schedule persisted views. Turn your views into persisted views to improve performance while accessing your data.
• Flows: View and monitor the execution details of the executed data flows.
• Remote Queries: Check and analyze how the communication is running between the federation layer of SAP HANA Cloud and the connected remote source systems.
• Task Chains:: View and monitor the execution details of the executed task chains.