In metadata, a data transformation converts data from a source data format into destination data.

Data transformation can be divided into two steps:

1. data mapping maps data elements from the source to the destination and captures any transformation that must occur
2. code generation that creates the actual transformation program

Data element to data element mapping is frequently complicated by complex transformations that requires one-to-many and many-to-one transformation rules.

The code generation step takes the data element mapping specification and creates an executable program that can be run on a computer system. Code generation can also create transformation in easy-to-maintain computer languages such as Java or XSLT.

See also

• data conversion
• data mapping
• data element
• data migration
• metadata
• XSLT
• Transformation
• Model Transformation
• ATL
• QVT
• Program transformation (contrast)

metadata