DataFlux Data Management Studio 2.5: User Guide

External Data Provider Node

The External Data Provider node provides a landing point for source data that is external to the current job. It accepts source data from another job or from user input that is specified at runtime. It can be used as the first node in a data job that is called from another jobor that is deployed as a real-time data service. Note that this node does not support fixed width files as input.

Note: The External Data Provider node is a data source for your job and should be the first node in the job. Fields specified in this node will be used in subsequent nodes in the job. Also note that the External Data Provider node must be used when you want to create a data job that has an inner data job that reads a data source. For information, see How can I create a data job that has an inner data job that reads a data source?.

Double-click the node to access its properties dialog. The External Data Provider Properties dialog includes the following elements:

Name - Specifies a name for the node.

Notes - Enables you to open the Notes dialog. You use the dialog to enter optional details or any other relevant information for the input.

The Fields section of the properties dialog includes the following elements:

Fields Table - Enables you to define each field in your text file, including Field Name, Field Type, and Field Length. You can click Add to define a new field and use the up and down arrows to change the order of fields. Finally, you can click Delete to remove field definitions.

Import - Enables you to retrieve a file format that has been saved in a DFL format. This is designed to easily restore file formats that are available with fixed-width text files and delimited text files. The file format is the same; it includes the Field Name, Field Type, Start Position, and Field Length for each field in a table. Simply import the DFL file, and the file format is set in the External Data Provider step.

You can access the following advanced properties by right-clicking the External Data Provider node:

• EXPECTED
• MAX_OUTPUT_ROWS
• STRING_BYTESPERCHAR