Tools Archives

Use Join to Integrate Data in Any Format

April 18, 2017/in Data Integration, Tools /by David McGahey

Join is a powerful SQL operation implemented across most database types and familiar to database users. Join is typically used to select and combine information from multiple database tables.

Altova MapForce includes a join component for data mapping that works like a SQL join for database tables and extends data integration functionality by empowering users to join data trees of any data format. Anyone familiar with join operations for database tables will find the MapForce join component especially intuitive. A join operation in MapForce can even combine two different data formats and produce output in a new format altogether.

A Typical MapForce Server Use Case

March 2, 2017/in Data Integration, JSON, Tools /by David McGahey

Envision a manufacturing company that controls costs by exploiting a just-in-time assembly process with a very low supply of parts inventory on hand. New customer orders are logged in a sales database and at the end of every day the components needed to assemble that day’s sales are tabulated.

The IT department runs a SQL query to identify the required parts and transforms the list into a purchase order in JSON format to be transmitted to the supply chain.

Sound familiar? Our recent blog series on JSON tools and JSON data mapping were based on this real-life scenario. In this post we describe a MapForce Server use case that automates the repetitive task of generating each day’s purchase order.

JSON Data Mapping and Transformation with MapForce

February 15, 2017/in Data Integration, JSON, Tools /by David McGahey

JSON is a popular format for transferring data between systems thanks to its simple markup, small footprint, and heritage based on the JavaScript programming language. MapForce supports JSON as both an input and output format for JSON data mapping and transformation. For instance, MapForce can extract information from any popular database and produce a JSON file ready for transfer.
The Requirement: Here is an example of a typical need for JSON data mapping: A manufacturing company controls costs by exploiting a just-in-time assembly process with very little parts inventory on hand. New customer orders are logged in a sales database, and at the end of every day the components needed to assemble that day’s sales are tabulated via a query into the database. The required parts will be ordered from suppliers via a purchase order transferred in JSON format.

Tags: data mapping, JSON, MapForce, XMLSpy

Generate PDF, Word, or RTF Documents from a Mobile App

December 13, 2016/in Mobile, Software, Tools /by David McGahey

Need to empower mobile users to capture information and generate a document or report from any remote location? MobileTogether lets you build a cross-platform mobile app to do that. You can tailor the app with all the device-specific mobile controls users expect, like check boxes, date pickers, switches and buttons, yet generate output files identical to an existing document, form, or report already familiar throughout the enterprise.

The Actions Dialog in the MobileTogether Designer lets developers define a Print To action to generate PDF, Word, or RTF documents from a mobile app. Once a document is rendered, it is saved on the mobile client for further processing. For instance, a PDF file could be emailed as a file attachment.

Generate PDF, Word, or RTF Documents from a Mobile App

Database Features Across the Altova Product Line

December 1, 2016/in Applications, Tools /by David McGahey

We have written previously about database features like SQL Merge for data integration, and summarized database features in the latest release. But if you’ve only used one or two Altova products, you may not be aware of the powerful support for working with relational databases is provided throughout Altova’s tightly-integrated tools.

Database features across the Altova product line

The Altova MissionKit and MobileTogether products include SQL database features with rich functionality for database-related tasks, supporting all major relational databases in their native interface languages.

Learn About Inline XBRL and XBRL Taxonomy Packages

November 29, 2016/in Software, Tools, XBRL /by Erin Cavanaugh

As adoption of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) for financial reporting increases worldwide, new standards are emerging to meet the needs of filing companies and developers alike. Altova’s line of XBRL-enabled products supports a wide-range of XBRL standards and is updated frequently as new specifications emerge.

Let’s take a closer look at two of the newer XBRL standards – Inline XBRL and XBRL Taxonomy Packages – and explore how they work.

Corporate buildings

Automated Testing for Mobile App Development

November 22, 2016/in Development, Mobile, Software, Tools /by David McGahey

Robust and repeatable testing improves any software development project. If you’re creating a mobile app, testing is especially critical given the unpredictable range of end user devices and location variables. Altova MobileTogether includes sophisticated Automated Testing features that let developers:

Record a series of user actions as a test case
Replay the test case in the MobileTogether Designer Simulator environment
Deploy test cases to the MobileTogether Server for replay on a variety of client devices
Retrieve Test Run results from the server and compare differences

Automated Testing for Mobile Apps

You can even modify the app to fix a bug and run the test case again to validate the results of changes, which makes this an indispensable QA tool for your mobile app development process.