Configuration Guide

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Properties for Columns in Staging Tables

The properties for columns in the staging table provide information about foreign key lookups. The properties also allow you to configure the batch load and Put API behavior when the staging table columns contain null values.

In the MDM Hub, an empty string is the equivalent of a null value regardless of the database type that contributes the empty string.

Staging table columns have the following properties:

Column: Name of the column as defined in the associated base object.
Lookup System: Name of the lookup system if the lookup table is a cross-reference table.
Lookup Table: For foreign key columns in the staging table, the name of the table containing the lookup column.
Lookup Column: For foreign key columns in the staging table, the name of the lookup column in the lookup table.
Allow Null Foreign Key: When enabled, a load batch job or Put API can load data when the lookup column contains a null value. Do not enable
Allow Null Foreign Keys
if the foreign key relationship is required.
When disabled, a load batch job or Put API cannot load data when the lookup column contains a null value. The Hub Console rejects the record and does not load the record.
Allow Null Update: Controls what happens when a source contributes a null value for the column, while other sources have non-null values for the same column. All processes that perform a Best Version of the Truth (BVT) calculation use this property: load, load update, put, cleanse put, merge, unmerge, recalculate BVT, and revalidate.
True. When enabled, if the null value is the most trustworthy value for this column, a process can write the null value to the base object record.
False. Default. When disabled, a process cannot write a null value to the base object record if another source contributes a non-null value for the column.
When a process runs, for each source that contributes a null value, the process checks the staging table for the source. If the setting of the
Allow Null Update
property is false on a column, the process downgrades the trust on that column to less than zero. The process then calculates the BVT using the adjusted trust scores. This method ensures that the process selects the most trustworthy non-null value to write to the base object record.
In the following special cases, a process ignores the
Allow Null Update
property in the staging tables and uses the
Apply Null Values
property for the column in the base object table instead:
The process finds multiple staging tables associated with a source, where the staging tables have a mixture of settings for the
Allow Null Update
property for the column.
The process finds a staging table for the source, but the column is not configured in the staging table. For example, a service call always updates a column value, so the column is not configured in a staging table.
The process cannot find a staging table for a source. For example, there is no value in the STG_ROWID_TABLE column in the cross-reference record and alternative methods for determining the staging table are not definitive.; A process ignores both the
Allow Null Update
property and the
Apply Null Values
property in the following scenarios:
When all sources contribute values that are not null, the value from the most trusted source survives.
When all sources contribute null values, the null value survives.
When a base object has a single source system, the value—null or not null—from that source is written to the base object.

Allow Null Update Example

You have a customer base object with three contributing sources. The load update process loads data from Source A where the middle name has been deleted, that is, the value is null. Source B and Source C have middle names for the customer.

The following table shows the three sources, the settings for the Middle Name column in the staging tables, the trust adjustment, and the result of the BVT calculation:

Source	Staging Table Middle Name Trust	Staging Table Middle Name Allow Null Update	XREF Record Middle Name Value	Trust After Adjustment	Base Object Record BVT Value
Source A	90	false	null	< 0	-
Source B	60	false	Edward	60	-
Source C	80	true	Edwin	80	Edwin

The load update process starts the BVT calculation for the Middle Name column. Initially, Source A has the highest trust at 90, but the value is null. The process finds the staging table for Source A and checks the

Allow Null Update

property on the Middle Name column. The property is false. The process downgrades the trust on the Middle Name column in Source A to less than zero. After the trust adjustment, Source C has the highest trust at 80. The process selects the middle name from Source C and writes Edwin to the base object record.

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Configuration Guide

Configuration Guide

Properties for Columns in Staging Tables

Properties for Columns in Staging Tables

Allow Null Update Example