Working with the If Then Node :: SAS(R) Visual Process Orchestration 2.2: User's Guide

Overview of the If Then Node

You can add an If then node to a Flow tab in an orchestration job to enter an expression that implicitly determines the output slot. The return value of the expression determines which output slot the node uses. This particular workflow node has one node-specific input string parameter that is meant to strictly handle only one input condition expression. Furthermore, this workflow node implicitly determines the output slot. It does generate, however, one implicit output parameter based on the if/then processing of the one node-specific input EXPRESSION parameter.

Inputs and Outputs to the If Then Node

The following are the only valid characters for node input names: A through Z, a through z, _ (underscore), and 0 through 9. Note that numbers 0-9 must be preceded by a valid character or _(underscore). All other characters and text are considered invalid. Blanks are not allowed anywhere. The input name is case insensitive.

The output of the If then node is determined by the disposition of the input condition. If the input parameter condition returns TRUE, then the implicit output parameter TRUE exits the node. Furthermore, if the input parameter condition returns FALSE, then the implicit output parameter FALSE exits the node. Finally, although you cannot explicitly create additional output parameters for this workflow node, you can create new string input parameters along with the one node-specific input string parameter. This parameter should be used in the expression input.

Using the If Then Node

You can create an orchestration job that uses an If then node in the Flow tab to add conditional processing to the job. For example, a job could use text from an Echo node as the source of the value for an if condition in an If then node.

This sample orchestration job is shown in the following display:

If Then Node Flow

The Input tab in the Echo node is shown in the following display:

Echo Input Setting

The If Condition tab in the If then node is shown in the following display:

If Condition Settings

Note these settings use the value output from the Echo node as the source of the input value for the If then node. For more information about Echo nodes, see Working with the Echo Node.

The following display shows Expression 1, which handles the false condition:

Expression 1

The following display shows Expression 2, which handles the true condition:

Expression 2

For more information about Expressions nodes, see Working with the Expression Node.