Mapping Parameters and Variables Overview
In the Designer, use mapping parameters and variables to make mappings more flexible. Mapping parameters and variables represent values in mappings and mapplets. If you declare mapping parameters and variables in a mapping, you can reuse a mapping by altering the parameter and variable values of the mapping in the session. This can reduce the overhead of creating multiple mappings when only certain attributes of a mapping need to be changed.
When you use a mapping parameter or variable in a mapping, first you declare the mapping parameter or variable for use in each mapplet or mapping. Then, you define a value for the mapping parameter or variable before you run the session.
Use mapping parameters and variables in a mapping to incrementally extract data. Use mapping parameters or variables in the source filter of a Source Qualifier transformation to determine the beginning timestamp and end timestamp for incrementally extracting data.
For example, you can create a user-defined mapping variable $$LastUpdateDateTime that saves the timestamp of the last row the Integration Service read in the previous session. Use $$LastUpdateDateTime for the beginning timestamp and the built-in variable $$$SessStartTime for the end timestamp in the source filter. Use the following filter to incrementally extract data based on the SALES.sales_datetime column in the source:
SALES.sales_datetime > TO_DATE (‘$$LastUpdateDateTime’) AND SALES.sales_datetime < TO_DATE (‘$$$SessStartTime’)
Mapping Parameters
A mapping parameter represents a constant value that you can define before running a session. A mapping parameter retains the same value throughout the entire session.
When you use a mapping parameter, you declare and use the parameter in a mapping or mapplet. Then define the value of the parameter in a parameter file. The Integration Service evaluates all references to the parameter to that value.
For example, you want to use the same session to extract transaction records for each of the customers individually. Instead of creating a separate mapping for each customer account, you can create a mapping parameter to represent a single customer account. Then use the parameter in a source filter to extract only data for that customer account. Before running the session, you enter the value of the parameter in the parameter file.
To reuse the same mapping to extract records for other customer accounts, you can enter a new value for the parameter in the parameter file and run the session. Or, you can create a parameter file for each customer account and start the session with a different parameter file each time using pmcmd. By using a parameter file, you reduce the overhead of creating multiple mappings and sessions to extract transaction records for different customer accounts.
When you want to use the same value for a mapping parameter each time you run the session, use the same parameter file for each session run. When you want to change the value of a mapping parameter between sessions you can perform one of the following tasks:
 | Update the parameter file between sessions. |
| | Create a different parameter file and configure the session to use the new file. |
| | Remove the parameter file from the session properties. The Integration Service uses the parameter value in the pre-session variable assignment. If there is no pre-session variable assignment, the Integration Service uses the configured initial value of the parameter in the mapping. |
Mapping Variables
Unlike a mapping parameter, a mapping variable represents a value that can change through the session. The Integration Service saves the value of a mapping variable to the repository at the end of each successful session run and uses that value the next time you run the session.
When you use a mapping variable, you declare the variable in the mapping or mapplet, and then use a variable function in the mapping to change the value of the variable. At the beginning of a session, the Integration Service evaluates references to a variable to determine the start value. At the end of a successful session, the Integration Service saves the final value of the variable to the repository. The next time you run the session, the Integration Service evaluates references to the variable to the saved value. To override the saved value, define the start value of the variable in a parameter file or assign a value in the pre-session variable assignment in the session properties.
Use mapping variables to perform incremental reads of a source. For example, the customer accounts in the mapping parameter example above are numbered from 001 to 065, incremented by one. Instead of creating a mapping parameter, you can create a mapping variable with an initial value of 001. In the mapping, use a variable function to increase the variable value by one. The first time the Integration Service runs the session, it extracts the records for customer account 001. At the end of the session, it increments the variable by one and saves that value to the repository. The next time the Integration Service runs the session, it extracts the data for the next customer account, 002. It also increments the variable value so the next session extracts and looks up data for customer account 003.
Using Mapping Parameters and Variables
You can create mapping parameters and variables in the Mapping Designer or Mapplet Designer. Once created, mapping parameters and variables appear on the Variables tab of the Expression Editor. Use them in any expression in the mapplet or mapping. The Designer validates mapping parameters and variables in the Expression Editor of mapplets and mappings.
Use mapping parameters and variables in a source qualifier in a mapplet or mapping. When you use mapping parameters and variables in a Source Qualifier transformation, the Designer expands them before passing the query to the source database for validation. This allows the source database to validate the query.
When you create a reusable transformation in the Transformation Developer, use any mapping parameter or variable. Since a reusable transformation is not contained within any mapplet or mapping, the Designer validates the usage of any mapping parameter or variable in the expressions of reusable transformation. When you use the reusable transformation in a mapplet or mapping, the Designer validates the expression again. If the parameter or variable is not defined in the mapplet or mapping, or if it is used incorrectly in the reusable transformation, the Designer logs an error when you validate the mapplet or mapping.
When the Designer validates a mapping variable in a reusable transformation, it treats the variable as an Integer datatype.
You cannot use mapping parameters and variables interchangeably between a mapplet and a mapping. Mapping parameters and variables declared for a mapping cannot be used within a mapplet. Similarly, you cannot use a mapping parameter or variable declared for a mapplet in a mapping.
Initial and Default Values
When you declare a mapping parameter or variable in a mapping or a mapplet, you can enter an initial value. The Integration Service uses the configured initial value for a mapping parameter when the parameter is not defined in the parameter file. Similarly, the Integration Service uses the configured initial value for a mapping variable when the variable value is not defined in the parameter file, and there is no saved variable value in the repository.
When the Integration Service needs an initial value, and you did not declare an initial value for the parameter or variable, the Integration Service uses a default value based on the datatype of the parameter or variable.
Table 7-1 lists the default values the Integration Service uses for different types of data:
Data | Default Value |
String | Empty string. |
Numeric | 0 |
Datetime | 1/1/1753 A.D. or 1/1/1 when the Integration Service is configured for compatibility with 4.0. |
For example, you create a new mapping using an Integer mapping variable, $$MiscellaneousExpenses. You do not configure an initial value for the variable or define it in a parameter file. The first time you run a session with the mapping, the Integration Service uses the default value for numeric datatypes, 0.
Or, if you create a mapping parameter $$MiscellaneousCosts to represent additional expenses that might become relevant in the future, but do not currently exist in source data. You configure the parameter for a Decimal datatype. Since you want $$MiscellaneousCosts to evaluate to 0 when you do not have additional expenses, you set the initial value to 0.
As long as you do not define the parameter value in the parameter file, the Integration Service replaces $$MiscellaneousCosts with 0. When you want to include miscellaneous expenses in mapping calculations, set $$MiscellaneousCosts to that value in the parameter file.
Using String Parameters and Variables
When you enter mapping parameters and variables of a string datatype in a Source Qualifier transformation, use a string identifier appropriate for the source database. When the Integration Service expands a parameter or variable in a Source Qualifier transformation, the Integration Service replaces it with its start value, and then passes the expanded query to the source database. Most databases require single quotation marks around string values.
When you enter string parameters or variables using the PowerCenter transformation language, do not use additional quotes. The Integration Service recognizes mapping parameter and variable naming syntax in the PowerCenter transformation language. For example, you might use a parameter named $$State in the filter for a Source Qualifier transformation to extract rows for a particular state:
STATE = ‘$$State’
During the session, the Integration Service replaces the parameter with a string. If $$State is defined as MD in the parameter file, the Integration Service replaces the parameter as follows:
STATE = ‘MD’
You can perform a similar filter in the Filter transformation using the PowerCenter transformation language as follows:
STATE = $$State
If you enclose the parameter in single quotes in the Filter transformation, the Integration Service reads it as the string literal “$$State” instead of replacing the parameter with “MD.”
Using Datetime Parameters and Variables
When you use a datetime parameter or variable in the Source Qualifier transformation, you might need to change the date format to the format used in the source.
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