Specifies the data model to use when parsing XML/JSON documents and generating the database metadata.

Possible Values

Data Type

string

Default Value

"Document"

Remarks

The add-in splits JSON documents into rows based on the objects nested in arrays. Select a DataModel configuration to configure how the add-in models nested object arrays into tables. See Parsing Hierarchical Data for examples of querying the data in the different configurations.

Selecting a Data Modeling Strategy

The following DataModel configurations are available. See Parsing Hierarchical Data for examples of querying the data in the different configurations.

• Document

  Returns a single table representing a row for each top-level object. In this data model, any nested object arrays will not be flattened and will be returned as aggregates. Unless an XPath value is explicitly specified, the add-in will identify and use the top-most object array found as the XPath.

• FlattenedDocuments

  Returns a single table representing a JOIN of the available documents in the file. In this data model, nested XPath values will act in the same manner as a SQL JOIN. Additionally, nested sibling XPath values (child paths at the same height), will be treated as a SQL CROSS JOIN. Unless explicitly specified, the add-in will identify the XPath values available by parsing the file and identifying the available documents, including nested documents.

• Relational

  Returns multiple tables, one for each XPath value specified. In this data model, any nested documents (object arrays) will be returned as relational tables that contain a primary key and a foreign key that links to the parent table. Unless explicitly specified, the add-in will identify the XPath values available by parsing the file and identifying the available documents (including nested documents).

See Also

• XPath: Explicitly set the paths to the documents you want to include.
• FlattenArrays and FlattenObjects: Customize the columns that will be identified for each of these data models. See Automatic Schema Discovery for examples of using these properties.
• Parsing Hierarchical Data: Compare the schemas resulting from different DataModel settings, with example queries.
• Modeling REST Data: Learn about the data modeling and flattening techniques available in the add-in.