howtos:reading_data_into

Make distinction between data informant and target informant - refer to overview article.

There's amost always a mapping required; whether it's done in a TOOL script, a view or in the model.

Name data informants appropropriately (to indicate their strong data dependence) as opposed to target informats which tend to be more generic. E.g. use “_data” suffix for name, “_d” for index.

I usually tackle moderately complex imports in a stand alone TOOL script (not a view) kept alongside the source data, which produces a whatIf-friendly output (TOOL or text), along with informants.

Case 1 - Data informant used in model diagram

Some situations in which this occurs:

Data informant and target informant are common (no mapping required). If the informant is defined in the diagram then the source data can be imported immediately; otherwise, the informant must be defined.
Data informant and target informant are different, therefore mapping occurs in diagram.

Case 2 - Data informant mapped to target informant in script/view

Write and run script with this format:

Get informants from file
Export informants

Inspect informants, and create mappings. Grow script to:

Get informants from file
!Export informants (now optional)
Define mappings (from parameters or from external file)
Create/import data with data informants
Apply mappings
Export data