About Extended Rules

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Note: If a standard or extended rule is applied to a map component, this is visually represented in the Sterling B2B Integrator Map Editor by an asterisk (*) on the map icon for that map component.

An extended rule consists of a declarations section followed by a statements section.

The declarations section is required only if you use additional variables. The declarations section is where you declare the names and types of any variables you use either in the extended rule

The statements section is where you define the actions that you want the extended rule to run.

You must declare any variables that are not already defined as part of the input or output specification of the map before you use those variables in an extended rule.

For more information, see:

Declarations Section

Variables consist of a name and a data type. Variable names can include alphanumeric characters and the colon (:) and underscore (_) characters. The first character in a variable name cannot be numeric. All variable names are case-sensitive.

Note: A declaration must be terminated with a semicolon (;). To improve readability, you typically include a blank line between the declaration and statements sections.

The translator does not initialize any variables. After you declare a variable, initialize it to prevent unexpected mapping results.

Supported Data Types

Extended rules support these data types:

  • Integer – A whole number with no decimal component
  • Real – A whole number with a decimal component
  • String – One or more printable characters
  • Datetime – A date or time
  • Array – A table of multiple occurrences of a single data type
    Note: Single-character strings are treated as a String; the “char” datatype is not supported by Sterling B2B Integrator Map Editor extended rules.

Variable Declaration and Initialization Examples

This list contains a sample declaration and initialization of variables of each data type:

  • Declare i as an integer and initialize i

    integer i;

    i = 0;

  • Declare r as a real number and initialize r

    real r;

    r = 0;

  • Declare d as a date or time and initialize d

    datetime d;

    d = date(0,0,0);

  • Declare s as a 20-character string and initialize s

    string[20] s;

    s = “”;

  • Declare a as an array of 10 integers and initialize each occurrence

    integer x;

    x = 0;

    while x < 11 do

    a[x] = 0;

  • Declare p as an array of 50 10-character strings and initialize each occurrence

    string[10] p[50];

    integer x;

    x = 0;

    while x < 50 do

    p[x] = “”;

Statements Section

The statements section defines the actual work performed by an extended rule. The section consists of a statement or a combination of statements (to perform more complex operations). A statement is a single operation that combines expressions, keywords, commands, operators, and symbols.

Note: A statement must be terminated with a semicolon (;).

An expression is a logical unit (for example, A = B or A + B) evaluated by the translator. The statements section contains a sensible combination of expressions, keywords, commands, operators, and symbols. Each of these components is explained in detail in Extended Rule Keywords and Commands.