Optim Compare user reference

A reference guide for comparing data.

Introduction
The IBM® InfoSphere® Optim™ solutions manage enterprise data throughout every stage of the information lifecycle, enabling your company to assess, classify, subset, archive, store, and access enterprise application data.
Processing Flow
This section provides an overview of the functions and features of Compare and the basic processing flow. The sample scenario proceeds through the basics of selecting and comparing data, using tables that correlate to those in the sample database distributed with Optim.
Compare
Compare provides a full-function comparison capability that enables you to compare sets of relational data and browse the results. Use Compare to compare data from a variety of DBMSs including DB2®, Oracle, Sybase ASE, SQL Server, and Informix®.
Extract
Use the Extract Process to copy a set of related rows from one or more tables and save the rows to an external Extract File. Specifications for the Extract Process are stored as an Extract Request. The Extract Request specifies the set of parameters needed to extract data and object definitions from source tables and the Extract File in which to store the extracted information.
Browse Compare File Data
Use the Browse Utility to view the contents of a Compare File. The Browse Utility allows you to review a summary of the results of a comparison between each pair of tables. You can also browse table data in selected pairs of compared tables. Table data is displayed in a dialog that allows you to view Source 1 data, Source 2 data, or data from both sources, side by side.
Report
Use the Report Process to summarize data in a Compare File, according to your specifications. The Report Process runs on the client machine only (not on an Optim Server).
Row List Files
In Compare, Point and Shoot allows you to select the rows (primary key values) from the Start Table to begin Extract processing. These selected rows are stored in a Point and Shoot File. However, to extract values from data that does not reside in a database table or resides in a database that is not easily accessible, you can create a Row List File manually or by using a utility appropriate for your data source.
Command Line Interface
Compare provides a command line interface that allows you to browse an Extract or Compare File, run one or more processes from a file, or run a scheduled job, without opening the graphical user interface for Compare. The command line interface can be run from the command line, or automatically—in a batch file, or from another program.