Dictionary (.DCT file)

The dictionary (previously called the .DCT file) defines the output columns that the rule set provides on the output page of the Standardize stage.

The dictionary holds a list of domain, matching, and reporting fields. Each field is identified by a unique descriptive name. The dictionary also provides the data type, such as character or integer, and length information.

The following example shows the format for the dictionary.


field-identifier field-type field-length
 missing-value-identifier [ description ;comments]

The table explains the dictionary format.

Table 1. Dictionary format
Format Description
field-identifier A descriptive field name that follows the package rules and is unique for all dictionaries.
field-type The type of information in the field. For more information about field types see Field types.
field-length The field length in characters.
missing-value-identifier Optional. Serve as placeholders. The possible values are:
  • S - spaces
  • Z - zero or spaces
  • N - negative number, such as -1
  • 9 - all nines, such as 9999
  • X - no missing value

Generally, use X or S for this argument.
description Optional. Describe the field.
; comments Optional. Any additional comments about the field. Comments can continue on separate lines if the comments are preceded by a semicolon.

The following string must appear as the first two lines of a dictionary:


;;QualityStage vn.n
\FORMAT\ SORT=N

The following example shows part of a USADDR dictionary:


;;QualityStage v8.0
\FORMAT\ SORT=N
;----------------------------------
; USADDR Dictionary File
;----------------------------------
; Total Dictionary Length = 411
;----------------------------------
; Business Intelligence Fields
;----------------------------------
HouseNumber C 10 S HouseNumber ;0001-0010
HouseNumberSuffix C 10 S HouseNumberSuffix ;0011-0020
StreetPrefixDirectional C 3 S StreetPrefixDirectional ;0021-0023
.
.

The order of fields in the dictionary is the order in which the fields appear on the output tab in the stage. When you map input data to the output columns, you can change the order.