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Continuing our breakneck development pace, we are getting ready to release the R2 update of DataMapper 2008 beta. This release considerably expands DataMapper connectivity by including XML and ODBC connectors. I will take a brief moment to discuss these features. For details on existing DataMapper 2008 production release features. Please look here.

XML Support

This feature provides high-speed XML parsing and conversion to any of the supported destinations including a large and continuously expanding collection of databases and files.
The XML connector provides an intuitive object model that can be used to create various types of data mappings using a drag-and-drop interface. For more involved mapping, DataMapper's rules language is available to do the job. The rules language features Excel-style syntax and provides access to the XML object model. It features a large library of built-in functions for numeric, date, and string processing. Built-in function library also includes a set of aggregate functions such as sum, count, min, max, etc. These aggregate functions can be used to calculate summary values for XML tree collections. DataMapper 2008 supports schema validation. You can either provide a pre-defined XML schema or let DataMapper generate schema for you.

ODBC Database Support

Out of the box, DataMapper 2008 ships with built-in drivers for Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Microsoft Access, and MySQL. DataMapper 2008 R2 significantly expands the connectivity through our ODBC implementation. You can now connect to a substantially expanded list of databases and data sources including dBase, FoxPro, Informix, Ingres, Mimer SQL, Pervasive/Btrieve, PostgreSQL, Progress, Quickbooks, and Teradata. For some of these data sources, you will need drivers from the manufacturer or a third-party to be installed on your machine. The support portal is being updated to provide information about the drivers and data sources that we have tested. This section will be updated on a regular basis. We are continually developing more connectors and testing more data sources. If you would like us to develop or test specific data source connectivity, please contact support@astera.com. If you are a driver vendor and would like us to test your drivers, please send an email to support@astera.com.

Pivot/Unpivot

DataMapper 2008 V2 now adds pivot (many-to-one) and unpivot (one-to-many) transformations. Pivot transformation denormalizes a normalized data set by combining multiple records into a single record. Data in each source row is populated in a series of repeating column groups in the destination. Unpivot, on the other hand, normalizes a flat record and creates multiple output records for reach source record. Repeating groups are converted into separate records.
Continuing with our philosophy of keeping things simple, the user interface is designed to enable you to perform these transformations visually and quickly while providing more power and flexibility than most other products.

Automatic Layout Building from Specifications

The current version of DataMapper can scan a source file and automatically determine data types and sizes. Many of our customers told us that they receive Excel files from their partners that describe layout specifications. Entering these layout specifications manually takes a great deal of time and effort. The DataMapper R2 now provides the ability to build layouts using the specification files eliminating the tedious and error-prone manual work.
To participate in our beta program, please send an email to sales@astera.com.

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We are pleased to announce the production release of Astera DataMapper 2008 Professional Edition. DataMapper 2008 has been developed in close collaboration with a number of data conversion professionals from business and IT. The product has been in beta testing with select customers and the feedback regarding functionality, ease of use, and price has been very positive. Many customers tell us that the product offers substantially more functionality and usability than products costing several times more.

From a performance point of view, DataMapper 2008 is comparable to high-end ETL products. Designed from the ground up as a multi-threaded parallel processing engine, DataMapper delivers performance and scalability unmatched in its category.

The Pro Edition is intended both for business users and developers. The user interface is designed for business users and building data transfers does not require programming expertise. Smart file parsers accurately detect data types and lengths in a large majority of cases while powerful data transformation features enable you to easily create fairly complex transfers. Database writing engine provides control over database writes including updating existing records, and transaction management.

For developers, Astera DataMapper 2008 Pro brings APIs that enable you to integrate DataMapper into your applications. Moreover, you can easily add custom functions to Astera Rules Language. These custom functions can even call outside components and services. In many cases, customers have built custom libraries to implement frequently used transformations.

We are committed to continually evolving DataMapper and are working on some exciting new features for upcoming releases. Your feedback helps drives our feature selection. Please let us know the features you would like to see in future releases and, who knows, you may see them sooner than you think.
Here is a snapshot of key DataMapper features. Look here for more information. A detailed feature matrix is available here.

Source types include files, databases and SQL Query. Destination types include files and databases
Build maps using the interactive drag-and-drop mapping and AutoMap
features. Use lookups and expressions for more involved mappings.
Data Preview feature helps you validate and fix mappings before
running transfer while Data Profiling feature provides an aggregate
overview of your data
Data Migration Batch helps you define multi-table data transfers between databases
Multi-threaded data transfer engine supports high-speed data movement between all supported databases and file formats
Schedule transfer for one-time, hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly runs
Supports SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, Sybase, MySQL, and Access databases.
File types include delimited, fixed length, and Excel. Capability to process files in over a hundred languages and encodings
Transfer Batch helps you create a collection of transfers and run them sequentially
A full-featured query tool provides a consistent interface across all the supported databases
Query editor with syntax highlighting, unlimited undo/redo, and printing capability
Control over database writes including updating existing records,
conditional updates, transaction management, and system generated key
options.