LUY Excel data format for import/export
The Excel file format represents the meta model of LUY, i.e. the types, properties and relations backing the data stored in LUY.
The exported Excel file consists of the following kinds of sheets:
An "introduction" page with the LUY logo, the date when the file was exported, and the LUY version used for the export
One sheet per type, e.g., one sheet for business domains, one for information systems
One sheet per relationship type, e.g., one sheet for business mapping and other relationships that hold properties
One sheet per relationship, e.g., one sheet for the relationship between technical component and information system
One sheet per enumeration type, e.g., one sheet listing the admissible status for the state-of-health of information systems
Any additional sheets existing in the Excel file can potentially lead to errors during the import.
General structure of a sheet
Each sheet consists of two sections, the "header" (rows 1 to 7) and the "body" (starting at row 8). The header supplies the name and the description of the kind of element described in the sheet. Any column used in the sheet is described in the header.
A column can either represent a property of the corresponding (relationship) type or a "to-one" relationship to another type. The hidden rows in the header section (rows 3 to 5) contain technical information which details the used meta model.
The contents of these rows should not be altered and neither the rows nor their content should be removed to ensure the integrity of the data file. In case of changing the ordering of columns, please make sure that the hidden rows are always moved alongside. The importer only uses the values of the hidden rows to assign values. The headings in row 7 are provided for readability only.
Type sheets and relationship type sheets
The body of a (relationship) type sheet is structured along following rules:
Text, number, and date properties are described in a single column as plain values; properties of the attribute type "date interval" are split in two columns (start and end) which hold plain date values.
Properties of type "responsibility", or other enumeration typed properties which can have a multi-value assignment are given in one cell. The single values are separated with a semicolon (";").
Columns holding a relationship to another type, e.g., another building block type, reference the corresponding entity via the value of its "name" property.
Note: A relation to another entity can only be established if this entity is also described in the same Excel file; otherwise, the file would be considered inconsistent and would therefore be rejected upon import.
Relationship type sheets adhere to the same structure. Sheets of such type are for example used to describe business mappings.
Relationship sheets
Relationship sheets describe relationships between types. A relationship sheet supplies only two columns, each one referencing one of the types that are related. Each row in the body of a relationship sheet describes a relationship between the two entities referenced by the names supplied in the row. In this sense, the rules for referencing are the same as for the "to-one" relationships described in the type sheets.
Enumeration sheets
Enumeration sheets describe enumerations, i.e., are used to define the values an enumeration-valued property can take. The body of an enumeration sheet supplies four columns. The first column ("persistent name") supplies a unique technical name for the corresponding value. The columns "name", "description", and "abbreviation" supply the screen name, the descriptive text and the short name for each defined value.
Consistency
It is important that an Excel file which is uploaded to LUY for import is consistent. This applies both to relationships as well as to enumeration-valued properties. For a relationship, the referenced entity must also be described in the Excel file. For an enumeration-valued property, the Excel file must define all used values and assign unique technical names. Another consistency rule applies to the values used in the column's "name" and "id", respectively. The values supplied in these columns must be unique per type, i.e. no two information systems having the same id or name may exist in the same Excel file.
Any Excel export file obtained from LUY is consistent.