June 2020 Tech Bulletin
Dear Valued Customer,
The DataSource Technical Bulletin is updated monthly, conveying relevant technical information and announcements pertaining to the operation of DataSource. 
 
Archives of Technical Bulletins are available online on the DataSource Extranet in the Customer Service section (login required).
New Version of ContentConnector
A new version of ContentConnector (2.2.7) was released in May 2020.
 
The changes and the link to download the new version has been added to the Extranet Documentation section in the Download ContentConnector document: https://ccs-extranet.businesscatalyst.com/contentconnector/download-contentconnector.
PDM Audit Project
Our PDM Audit is intended to improve the format of the specifications and attribute structure. There are potential concerns with this project we need to make our customers aware of:
  • The project entails massive redistributions of SKUs.
  • Some searchable attributes will be deactivated.
  • The format of specifications will be changed significantly. The specifications will not just be improved, but they will look different.
 
Categories finished in May:
  • Hand Tools (5A)
 
Categories currently in progress or planned for June:
  • Integrated Systems & Automation (5E)
Memory Size Attributes Modifications
Thirteen attributes connected with memory size will be replaced with attributes with the same names but different IDs.

Reason: changing normalization factors from Base 10 to Base 2
  • Base 10 system (1 TB = 1.000 GB = 1.000.000 MB) is commonly used for disk drives capacity
  • Base 2 system (1 TB = 1.024 GB = 1.048.576 MB) is commonly used for RAM and Flash memory
However, CNET data size attributes currently all are Base 10 based. To be consistent with the common practice, the RAM and Flash attributes will be replaced with the equivalent but Base 2 based attributes. A full list of attributes, their replacements, and affected categories can be found in the PDM Newsletter Addendum file.
 
Planned modifications timeline:
  • March, 9th, 2020 - Replacement attributes activation
  • June, 11th 2020 - Old attributes deactivation
During the 3-month transition period (March, 9th - June, 11th) both old and replacement attributes will be active and have identical data.
Attributes Modifications
List of performed modifications of all attributes due to its length is separated into an Excel spreadsheet - Addendum. The spreadsheet contains both performed and planned modifications on sheets "Performed modification" and "Planned modifications" correspondingly.
View Addendum
Attributes Deactivation Feed
The following links are feeds which include all searchable attributes, both active and deactivated. This will enable DataSource customers to see what attributes have changed and to check if these changes have been properly reflected within their databases. This feed is available in two different file formats.
A covering document is also available. It describes the feed purpose and usage guidelines: Attribute_Deactivation_Feed.pdf
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