This document provides an overview of custom properties in Hackolade Studio. It explains that custom properties allow extending standard properties to track additional metadata. They are configured through JSON files and can be applied at different levels like the model, entity, or field. Various control types are supported for custom properties. Examples demonstrate how to define custom properties for entity details, attribute details for different data types, and a custom properties tab. Advanced syntax and sharing custom properties across targets are also discussed.

1. Hackolade Tutorial
Tutorial Expert – Custom properties
Copyright © 2016-2023 Hackolade 1

2. What / why custom properties?
• Why?
• To track PII or GDPR characteristics
• To tie in with metadata management / governance tooling
• Hooks for DevOps / CI-CD / code generation
• What?
• Standard properties in the properties pane can be extended
• Specific to each target technology
• Can be different per data type
• No UI for configuration: through simple configuration of JSON files
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3. JSON files
• Find them in
• Windows:
C:Users%username%.hackoladeoptions<target>customProperties
• Mac/Linux:
~/.hackolade/options/<target>/customProperties
• Different levels:
• Model
• Container: dbs in MongoDB, region in DynamoDB, and bucket
in Couchbase, namespace in Avro, keyspace in Cassandra,
schema in RDBMS, etc..
• Entity: collection in MongoDB, table in DynamoDB and Cassandra and RDBMS, and document type
in Couchbase, etc...
• Field: field in MongoDB and Couchbase, and attribute in
DynamoDB, column in Cassandra and RDBMS, etc...
• View: if applicable for the target
• You need to edit the corresponding <object>LevelConfig.json file to
add custom properties.
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4. Possible controls
• simple text: one line of text
• text area: popup for multi-line text entry
• dropdown selection from a defined
list of options: unique or multiple
• numeric-only field
• checkbox: for true/false entry
• group: addition of a set of properties of
given control type
• field list: selection from list of fields (with or without attributes)
Syntax for controls over here.
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5. First time use
• “Show plugin customization directory”
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6. Entity details tab example
• Go to
• Windows:
C:Users%username%.hackoladeoptions<target>customPropertiesentity_level
• Mac/Linux:
~/.hackolade/options/<target>/customProperties/entity_level
• Edit entityLevelConfig.json with a text editor
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7. Applying the entity details example
• Need to restart Hackolade Studio
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8. Attribute details tab for a data type example
• Set of properties is different for each data type
• You may need to repeat custom properties for each of them
• Alternatively: create a custom tab
• Do not mix <level>LevelConfig.json files!
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9. Attribute details tab for a data type example
• Go to
• Windows:
C:Users%username%.hackoladeoptions<target>customPropertiesfield_level
• Mac/Linux:
~/.hackolade/options/<target>/customProperties/field_level
• Edit fieldLevelConfig.json with a text editor
• First 130-odd lines are commented: examples for different controls
• Hint available where structured is
to be edited
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10. Attribute details tab for a data type example
• Adding Source system name
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11. Attribute custom tab example
• Add custom properties at the model level, for a target
• Go to
• Windows:
C:Users%username%.hackoladeoptions<target>customPropertiesmodel_level
• Mac/Linux:
~/.hackolade/options/<target>/customProperties/model_level
• Edit modelLevelConfig.json with a text editor
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12. Attribute custom tab example
Editing the “Metadata” section
updates the third tab
Restart of the Hackolade Studio is
required
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13. Advanced syntax
• Eg. possibility to mark a property as required
• Eg. possibility to display a property based on the value of another
property
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14. Additional considerations
• To display same custom properties across multiple targets, you can
copy the file
• Windows:
C:Users%username%.hackoladeoptions<target>customPro
perties<level>_level<level>LevelConfig.json
• Mac/Linux:
~/.hackolade/options/<target>/customProperties/<level>_level
<level>LevelConfig.json
• To other targets for all levels except the field level
• You can use GIT to share, synchronise and deploy custom
properties!
Copyright © 2016-2023 Hackolade 14

15. Reading material
• See Hackolade online documentation
• The Hackolade Blog
• This excellent new book:
MongoDB Data Modeling & Schema Design
• Many of the principles in the book are related to query
driven modeling based on access patterns!
• Hackolade’s on social media: LinkedIn page, Twitter page
• Download Hackolade studio for free
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16. Questions?
Answers!
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