Basic Java types and methods

Basic Java types are:

• Primitive types: int, short, long, double, float, boolean, byte, char
• Wrapper classes for primitive types: java.lang.Integer, java.lang.Short, java.lang.Long, java.lang.Double, java.lang.Float, java.lang.Boolean, java.lang.Byte, java.lang.Character
• String type: java.lang.String
• Date/time types: java.util.Date, java.util.Calendar, java.sql.Date, java.sql.Time, java.sql.Timestamp
• Numeric types: java.math.BigInteger, java.math.BigDecimal

When a ruleset parameter is an XML parameter or a Java parameter of basic Java type, the parameter is mapped directly to a link column as follows:

• If the parameter is mapped to a column on an input link, then that parameter must be an IN or IN_OUT parameter. The column represents the value to be passed to the parameter when the ruleset is invoked.
• If the parameter is mapped to a column on an output link, then that parameter must be an OUT or IN_OUT parameter. The column represents the value returned by the ruleset for the parameter, when the ruleset is invoked.

A basic Java method meets one of the following conditions:

• It is a constructor method or a method that does not return a value (void method), and all its arguments are of basic Java types. The method arguments are mapped to the input link column associated with the ruleset parameter in whose class the method is defined. The ruleset parameter must be an IN or IN_OUT parameter. The columns values are passed to the method arguments when invoking the method on the respective ruleset parameter object before invoking the ruleset and passing the parameter to it.
• It is a method that does not contain any arguments and its return value is a basic Java type. The method return value maps to a column on the output link associated with the ruleset parameter in whose class type that method is defined. The ruleset parameter must be an OUT or IN_OUT parameter. The column represents the return value to be retrieved from the method after the ruleset containing the parameter is invoked and the method is invoked on that ruleset parameter object.

The configuration wizard handles ruleset parameters associated with Java array types as if they were of the corresponding non-array types. When the job is run, the stage typically collects multiple records on the link to prepare the ruleset parameter value. The data records on the link associated with that ruleset parameter correspond to Java objects that are stored in the array which as a whole corresponds to the ruleset parameter value. However, if a ruleset parameter is of char[] and byte[] Java array types, then it corresponds to a single field value from a single record on the link, as follows:

• If the column is of character data type such as VarChar or NVarChar, then the characters of the text field value are mapped to the char elements of the char[] array for the ruleset parameter.
• If the column is of a binary data type such as VarBinary then the bytes of the corresponding binary field value map to the byte elements of the byte[] array.