An activity that includes generating and testing a sequence of INSERT statements, expressed in Data Modification Language (DML), which inserts reference data values in reference and rule tables. The sequence of reference DML statements is usually generated by running an interpreted code (script or macro) within a data modeling tool from a list of valid values of validation rules constraining a domain, an attribute in a Logical Data Model (LDM) or a column in a Physical Data Model (PDM). It can also be generated from a spreadsheet containing reference data. The Data Base Management System (DBMS) will execute the submitted DML sequence to populate the target reference tables or rule tables. After the DML sequence is generated and before it is executed, it can be manually modified. If a direct connection can be established between the data modeling tool and the database, then the DML sequence is executed as it is generated.
This is an activity that pre-exists TDM. TDM suggests the enforcement of good practices surrounding reference table loads. Queries using the Structured Query Language (SQL), native or through a querying tool, should list the reference data in the tables in the production database just after the official reference loads, to verify they were done correctly, and on a scheduled basis between implementations to refresh the lists of valid values of relevant validation rules specified in the LDM and PDM of record with reference data changes, if any.