Before you begin adding data sources, functions, and other data diagram objects to your Data Diagram, it is recommended to make a list of the fields you wish to include in our output, where this data is coming from, and what type of restrictions or operations need to be placed to make this data optimized for production. List items such as the following can give you guidance in determining what objects to insert into your Data Diagrams.
| • | "I know that I need to have a repeating element for transactions in my output XML, but I need to make sure this only is for credit card transactions." |
| • | "In my report I must display the first name from a database table, but the last name I am required to only display the first three letters." |
| • | "In our monthly employee summary report, we must join data from two tables, but the driving condition is when the employee ID in one table equals the employee ID in the other." |
By listing your data needs and the required rules, transformations, and other operations, you can begin to explore specifically what Diagram Objects are designed to meet every one of those needs. For your reference, the three highlighted points below are answered below:
| • | Use the substring function to obtain specific strings within an input string. |
