DataConnect task
The purpose of the DataConnect task is to invoke IBM® TRIRIGA® DataConnect for moving data from IBM TRIRIGA DataConnect staging tables into IBM TRIRIGA native business object records. The properties of this task determine which record type is processed. For more information about DataConnect, see Application Building for the IBM TRIRIGA Application Platform: Data Management.
The DataConnect task is in the task palette only if the workflow is asynchronous and has the Integration property checked. Asynchronous workflows are described in "Synchronous versus asynchronous workflows". The Integration property is described in "Start task".
One thing to notice about each DataConnect task as it appears in the figure is that there is more of it than just its palette shape. The bottom of the DataConnect task reflects the iterative nature of a DataConnect task.
The purpose of the sample workflow shown in the figure is to import a purchase order body and its purchase order line items. The workflow begins by using the first DataConnect task to import the purchase order body. The second DataConnect task imports the line items for each purchase order body. Within the second DataConnect task are tasks performing business logic on each purchase order line item.
- Retrieves records to work on from the appropriate DataConnect staging table.
- As an iterator, creates a new record or updates an existing record for each row and runs the body of the DataConnect task for each row. Other task steps can be positioned within the body of the DataConnect task.
- Label
- This is the label used to identify this task. This field's text appears on the shape in the drawing that represents this workflow task. Use the standards in "Workflow naming conventions".
- Description
- A description of this task goes in this field.
- Module
The value of this property is the module containing the business object DataConnect is to process.
Set the value of this property by clicking the Module icon. Clicking the Module icon causes a list of modules to pop up. Click the module name you want to be the value of this property.
- Object
The value of this property is the business object DataConnect is to process. Select the appropriate business object from the drop-down list.
This indicates the DataConnect staging table to pull from and what IBM TRIRIGA business objects will be created or updated by the integration process.
- Initial State
For the value of this field select the state in which the record for the business object should be created by DataConnect. The drop-down list displays the valid states for the business object configured in Object.
Keep in mind the record created or updated will not be transitioned to the state, it will be put into that state. If you want the record to be transitioned, use null in the Initial State and use a Trigger Action task within the DataConnect task body to transition the record to the desired state. On update, the Initial State property is ignored.
- Use Temporary Data
This property determines whether the DataConnect task uses permanent or temporary data. When the DataConnect task applies the incoming data, if the Use Temporary Data check box is selected, the platform inserts or applies updates to temporary data rather than to the permanent record. In this scenario, within a DataConnect task, referring to the DataConnect task allows access to permanent values and referring to a Get Temp Record task allows access to the incoming values. This enables data validation and cleansing of incoming values within the workflow and even data mapping on update if fields are blank in the staging tables.
If you leave a DataConnect task that is processing temporary data either through a Break task or by running out of iterations, and have not used a Save Permanent Record task, the temporary data is no longer available to the workflow. A Save Permanent task must be executed prior to leaving the DataConnect task to ensure the data is made permanent.
- Formulas
Defines the formula recalculation behavior on this task when the record is saved. The default is Disable Auto Recalculation. To change the value, click the recalculate formulas icon.
The three possible values are as follows:- Recalculate as Needed
- Recalculates most formulas only if any input value of the formula changed during the task's activities. Extended formulas that contain query and/or association tokens are recalculated on every save.
- Disable Auto Recalculation
Extended formulas that contain query and/or association tokens are not recalculated. All other formulas are recalculated only if any input value of the formula changed during the task's activities.
Extended formulas that contain query and/or association tokens can take longer to calculate, so this option is an available performance optimization for isolated use cases.
An example of an appropriate use of Disable Auto Recalculation is within a DataConnect task that is importing a large number of space records. You may wish to delay any floor/space rollup recalculations until after all the space records have been imported.
- Recalculate All
Forces every formula to be recalculated during the record's save.
Selecting Recalculate All may slow performance.
An example of an appropriate use of Recalculate All is in a data cleansing workflow that refreshes formula values in the database that are stale for whatever reason. For example, if the definition of a formula changes for a business object, existing records may contain incorrect values as a result of the change. You may wish to use Recalculate All in a maintenance workflow that runs through the records and updates their formula values.