You might need to connect a data page of one object type to a data source of another, incompatible type. Pega^® 7 lets you do this quickly and relatively simply with a data transform, enabling data virtualization.

In data virtualization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_virtualization), the logical application data model is decoupled from the physical integration data models (the data sources). The data page serves as the singular reference point throughout the application, joining application data models and integration data models.

Changing, adding, or removing an integration point that a data page is sourced from means that you only have to modify, add, or remove a mapping data transform.

In this example, the data page is of one type and the data source is of another, incompatible type.

You can identify a response data transform of the same type as the data page to map the data from the data source to the data page, making it usable for the application:

The data transform acts automatically on each reference to the data page using that data source, mapping the data in the manner you specify:

A data page can have multiple data sources that it uses in different circumstances, depending on the parameters it receives with each reference. See Manage multiple data sources for a data page.

Regardless of which data source the situation requires, the data page maps the data it receives to the one common application data model.