1. Create simple transformations in Informatica 8.x using some generic steps
STEP - I : CREATING A DATA SOURCE NAME
Before starting with the Informatica transformations it
is mandatory to create the Data Source Name (DSN) to identify
the data source and user you are connecting to.
The DSN contains the Database name, directory, Database
Driver, User ID, Password and other information. Once you create a
DSN for a particular Database you can use that DSN in any application
to call information from the database.
So here to import the data into the informatica source against a
particular user you need to create the DSN first.
Steps to create DSN are : (Consider the Windows Operating System)
1. Go to the Control Panel
2. Choose Administrative Tools.
3. Go to Data Sources (ODBC)
4. Go to System DSN tab.
( its always better to use the system dsn so that while you work on
server-client environment for informatica the data source name will be
available to every client and you need not to create it again for
different client all the time)
5. Click on Add button
6. Select a driver for which you want to set up a data source.
( for eg. Oracle in OraDb 10g_home)
7. Click on Finish
8. Fill the necessary information that is asked.
Let us consider Oracle here.
- Input Data source name, TNS Service name and UserId
- TNS Service Name is the location of the Oracle database from
which the ODBC driver will retrieve data
- UserId is name of the account used to access the data. ( for eg.
Scott)
9. Test the connection by inserting the required password for the user.
10. Here your DSN is created.
Repeat the above 10 steps for dsn used for each source and
target destinations in the Informatica.

2. STEP - II : CREATE YOUR DIRECTORY IN REPOSITORY
MANAGER
The repository is a relational database that stores information, or
metadata, used by the informatica Server and Client tools. Mappings
that describes how to transform the source data, sessions indicating
when you want the information server to perform the transformations
and connect strings for sources and target can be included in the
Metadata.
It also stores the username, password, permissions and privileges
assigned.
We have to create a folder or a directory or simply a work area
where the user will be performing and storing his tasks.
Steps to create folder in the Repository are:
1. Go to Menu
2. Click on Folder option
3. Go to Create a folder
- Once you have created the folder you dont have to work in repository
manager.
- Close it
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Now we shall enter the Informatica Designer
Hey, you must be knowing how to go there, still this steps would guide
you -
1. Go to Programs (Start Menu option in Windows)
2. Choose Informatica PowerCentre 8.5
3. Go to Client
4. PowerCenter Designer
Then connect to repository
- right click on repository
- say connect
You will have to sign in to repository with the user name. Only after
that you can view and open the folders.
Connect to your folder.

3. Now, we have to move to build the transformations.
The Main Steps are :
1. Create Source in Source Analyzer
2. Create Target in Target Designer
3. Create Mapping in Mapping Designer
4. Create Workflow and a Task in Workflow Designer
5. Execute the workflow and watch its succeeding in the Workflow
Monitor
Details - So that you are not lost while designing.
Source Analyzer:
Go through the following steps to import the source into the
transformation.
1. Go to Menu Bar --> Sources
2. Select the option - Import the Database
(You will get the Import Tables screen)
3. Here select the ODBC data source and enter the username and
password.
4. Say connect to connect to the database under that particular DSN
name.
5. After the connect, all the tables will be displayed alphabetically.
6. Select the table and it is now imported as the sources in the
informatica.
After the particular table is imported into the source analyzer you can
just drag it to the work space to use it.
Target Designer:
Target table is the one which generally once created is not altered. It
resides in data warehouse.
The target table can be constructed by two ways -
1. By manually creating the new schema:
- Right click and say create.

4. - Enter the new table name.
- Select the database name.
2. Borrow the schema from the source:
- Drag the table form the source to the target workspace. Remove the
joins in the table if any.
- Select the target table
- right click and say edit
- don't forget to rename the table
Here only the target table is imported but the structure or the schema
is not generated in the database.So at this stage it cannot be mapped
further. So its mandatory to generate the schema.
- Go to Menu --> Targets
- Click on Generate/Execute SQL
- It will display the screen named - Database Object Generation
- The generated code is stored in .sql format.
- Generate from - All tables or selected table.
- Generate Options
- Check the create table option
- Check the drop table option (if any table exists)
- Uncheck the primary key and foreign key options (otherwise it will
become the constraint based loading and it doesn't work in bulk, we
will ignore this case here)
- click on Generate and Execute options.
- the status will be displayed in the output window. If the processing
fails, don't proceed further.
Any transactions in the informatica has two instances of Database
(e.g.- oracle), source and the Target.
To perform any task the it is mandatory to map these two
tables.Hence the third process is to create the mapping.
Mapping Designer:
Close the previous mapping if any opened.

5. To create a new mapping-
- Go to Menu --> Mapping
- Click on create
- Enter the mapping name
- Ok. Your mapping is created but is empty yet.
To involve the source and target just drag them through the repository
content in to the mapping space.
[Here after we drag the source, it is always mapped with the another
component source qualifier. Don't get confused. It is an interpreter
and converts the data into the generic format. It is not specific to any
RDBMS or vendor or any file. This is because we don't use the source
definition directly.The target or any transformation is always
connected to the source qualifier and not the source itself]
If you want only to pass the data from source to target just map the
target columns to the source qualifier one on one.
The various Transformations functions actually enhance various
transformations. The transformation available with informatica are :
(to list the few important one)
- Source Qualifier
- Filter
- Expression
- Aggregator
- Joiner
- Router
etc. and many more ( I shall not explain them now. The aim of this
article is to highlight the general steps that any transformation need to
follow)
To use the transformation in the mapping, go through the following
steps :
1. Go to Menu --> Transformation
2. Click on create
3. Select the transformation function from the drop down list and
name it.
- In transformation we call the column as Ports

6. - Drag the necessary ports to the transformation
- click on Edit and enable the needed settings for the same.
(For the required settings of each function better take the help of the
given "Help Content")
Now simply map the ports to the source and the target.
Validate the Mapping
- Menu --> Mapping --> Validate
- Unless the mapping is not valid the transformation will not take
place.
In order to execute the mapping the next step is to create a work
flow and create a task in it.
Go to Menu --> Tools --> Workflow Manager.
Workflow manager is the interface used to create the workflow, task
and excute the mapping.Its three components are:
- Task Developer: used to create the task
- Workflow designer: used to create the workflow
- Worklet designer: used to create the worklet
Workflow Designer:
Here for the simple transformation we will use only workflow
designer and create the workflow and the task together.
Steps:
1. go to Menu --> Workflow
- click on create
- Just name the workflow and say Ok
- A start symbol will appear on the designer.
2. go to Menu --> Task
- click on create
- In a drop down list, select Session task.
( Session is task that allows you to load the data)
- name the task
- click Ok
- Select the mapping from the list displayed, that is previously
created
Now in order to execute the flow we have to link the Workflow and the
task.

7. - go to Menu --> task
- select the link task
- immediately drag the pointer from Start to the Task. The
workflow will get connected, shown by the connected line.
Now the source and the target (if they are the physical tables taken
form the database) need to be configured again with their respective
Data Source names.
Steps :
1. Double click on task to enter the 'edit task'
2. go to the Mapping tab
- Select source (it will be the qualifier's name)
- Select Connections
- Choose the DSN name and connect the component with the
table.
(you have to authenticate with username and password)
Select the target and repeat the Step 2 again for target table.
3. Ok
4. go to Menu --> Workflow --> Validate
5. go to Menu --> Repository --> Save
(unless you dont save, the workflow will be not be started)
To start the workflow -
- go to Menu --> Workflow --> Start Workflow
The succceedings of the workflow can be observed in the Workflow
Monitor.
Workflow Monitor:
- go to Menu --> Tools --> Workflow monitor
- connect to the repository and the integration service.
The workflow monitor has the time stamps per hour where
actually it monitors whether the workflow started at particular time
stamp is failed or succeeded.
Never forget that workflow may always succeed, its the task that gets
failed.You can read the log files if the task gets failed.
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In order to cross check whether the data has been transformed or not
follow the following steps:
- go to Informatica Designer again.
- go to the mapping

8. - right click on the target table
- say 'preview data'
- after authenticating with your username and password the data
transformed will be previewed.