DataHub basics
The Actindo Data Hub (DataHub) module is characterized by two main points:
To provide a better understanding of these particularities, both points are explained in more detail below.
Data model
Each of the DataHub entity types, such as an Omni-Channel order, an Omni-Channel line item, or a product from the Product Information Management (PIM), provides a highly limited set of fixed fields needed to have a functional entity type like primary identifier or stock keeping unit.
A list of all available entities can be accessed via Dev Tools > API > Tab DATA MODELS. Note that not all entities listed are already based on DataHub.
By using DataHub you can extend those predefined fixed fields with additional fields where you can store any required data.
In the context of DataHub, these fields are called Attributes.
For detailed information about the attributes, see Manage an attribute.
An attribute comes always with a name, a key and a data type. The latter defines the type of data an attribute can store, from a simple string to a complex price field.
The variety of data types can differ for each tenant, as every installed plugin may add its own data types.
Nevertheless, the basic data types can be accessed in the following list, see Data type list.
Attributes can be multi-language and/or multi-scope, which means that they can store a value for any combination of language and scope.
Scopes and languages can be created individually according to the custom needs, see Manage the scopes and Manage the languages.
Attributes are collected in so-called Attribute sets. Each entity, which is the concrete instance of a particular entity type, has exactly one attribute set that defines the available attributes.
An attribute set can only be used for a single entity type.
For detailed information about the attribute sets, see Manage an attribute set.
Attributes are grouped in so-called Attribute groups. Each attribute can be assigned to exactly one attribute group.
Attribute groups are meant to organize and group the available attributes when editing an entity. They do not have any further functional meaning.
For detailed information about the attribute groups, see Manage an attribute group.
ETL process
When providing fully customizable data models, also a customizable way of data exchange is required, which represents the ETL process. ETL connects 1-n source attribute(s) to a destination attribute using a so-called Extension. The variety of extensions can differ for each tenant, as every installed plugin may add its own extensions. Nevertheless, the basic ETL extensions can be accessed in the following list, see ETL extensions list.
The values of the source attributes are extracted, transformed by the extension and loaded into the destination attribute. This connection is called Attribute mapping.
This process can be configured based on any required connection of a source attribute set with a destination attribute set. This connection is called Attribute set mapping and contains a collection of multiple attribute mappings.
For detailed information about the ETL mappings, see Manage the ETL mappings.