Patent ID: 7457819

Claim:
A method for mapping data from a data source to a data destination, comprising the steps: providing a plurality of separate components, operating in series between the data source and the data destination, for performing defined functions to map the data from the source to the destination, including the steps of: i) a first of the components reading data from the source, ii) a second of the components receiving the data from the first of the components and processing the read data according to a set of rules, said second component including a formatter converting selected dates from a first format to a second format , thereby eliminating the need for writing code for formatting the selected dates,and iii) a third of the components receiving the data from the second of the components and loading the processed data into the data destination; a system administrator updating the components during use of the components; wherein the first of the components operates in series between the data source and the second of the components, and the third of the components operates in series between the second of the components and the data destination; wherein each of the components operates independently of the other of the components and each of the components can be modified, adjusted and replaced independently of the others of the components to facilitate mapping data from a plurality of different data sources, having data in different formats, into the data destination; wherein the plurality of components perform the further functions of (iv) verifying the integrity of the read data, and (v) logging results into a file, and a respective one of the components performs each of the functions (i)-(v); wherein the data destination is a database, and said step of providing a plurality of separate components includes the further step of using said plurality of components: mapping fixed length fields in the data source to a Java object type in a pofield in the database; determining the start position, the length, what database column the fields map to, which database tables the fields map to, whether the fields can be updated or not, what kinds of formatting to be applied on the fields by referring to Hash Table Objects which contain the mapping of pofield objects in a DBA action class that is used to manage database activity; calling a formatter to reformat data from the data source; and managing transactions by starting a transaction when a first record is read, and committing the transaction when a defined record, as defined in a record parameter, is encountered; and wherein the second component verifies the integrity of the read data by checking for counts and data consistencies; and wherein said plurality of components include a first file for reading currencies, a second file for formatting data fields, and a third file to define an event handler.