Web Client

The Web Client target writes data to an HTTP endpoint. The target sends requests to a request endpoint URL. For information about supported versions, see Supported systems and versions.

The Web Client target provides much of the same functionality as the HTTP Client target. It also provides functionality not available in the HTTP Client target. For more information, see Comparing Web Client and HTTP Client targets.

Use the Web Client target to perform a range of standard requests or use an expression to determine the request for each record.

When you configure the Web Client target, you define the request endpoint, optional headers, and method to use for the requests. You can also use a connection to configure the target.

You configure the target to generate one request for each record or to generate a single request containing all records in the batch.

You define the pagination mode and optional status response actions.

You can configure the timeout, request transfer encoding, and authentication type for both requests and responses.

You can optionally use a proxy server and configure TLS properties. You can also configure the target to use the OAuth 2 protocol to connect to an HTTP service.

Comparing Web Client and HTTP Client targets

Data Collector provides two targets that write to HTTP endpoints. The HTTP Client target was the first target. The new Web Client target includes key functionality available in the older target, as well as improvements and new features.

The following is a list of key differences between the two targets:

The Web Client target allows you to configure different data formats for request data and response data.
The Web Client target allows you to configure per-status and per-timeout actions.
The HTTP Client target can be configured to use Kerberos and Universal authentication. Both targets can be configured to use Basic, Digest, OAuth 1, and OAuth 2 authentication.

HTTP method

You can use the following methods with the Web Client target:

GET
POST
PUT
PATCH
DELETE
HEAD
Expression - An expression that evaluates to one of the other methods.

Expression method

The Expression method allows you to write an expression that evaluates to a standard HTTP method. Use the Expression method to generate a workflow. For example, you can use an expression that passes data to the server using the PUT method based on the data in a field.

Headers

You can configure optional headers to include in the request made by the stage. Configure the headers in the following properties on the Request tab:

Security Headers
Common Headers

You can define headers in either property. However, only security headers support using credential functions to retrieve sensitive information from supported

If you define the same header in both properties, security headers take precedence.

Grouping style

The Web Client target can generate one HTTP request for each record, or it can generate a single request containing all records in the batch.

Configure the target to generate requests in one of the following ways:

Multiple requests per batch: If you set the Grouping Style property to One Request per Record, the target generates one HTTP request for each record in the batch and sends multiple requests at a time. To preserve record order, the target waits until all requests for the entire batch are completed before processing the next batch.
Single request per batch: If you set the Grouping Style property to One Request per Batch, the target generates a single HTTP request containing all records in the batch.

Event generation

The Web Client target can generate events that you can use in an event stream. When you enable event generation, the target generates event records each time the target completes processing all available data.

You can use events generated by the Web Client target in any logical way. For example:

With the Email executor to send a custom email after receiving an event.
For an example, see Sending email during flow processing.
With a target to store event information.
For an example, see Preserving an audit trail of events.

For more information about dataflow triggers and the event framework, see Dataflow triggers overview.

Event records

Event records generated by the Web Client target include the following event-related record header attributes. Record header attributes are stored as String values:

Record Header Attribute	Description
sdc.event.type	Event type. Uses one of the following types: finished - Generated when the target finishes writing data. start - Generated when the target starts writing data.
sdc.event.version	Integer that indicates the version of the event record type.
sdc.event.creation_timestamp	Epoch timestamp when the stage created the event.

The target can generate the following types of event records:

finished

The target generates a finished event record when the target finishes writing data to the endpoint.

The finished event record generated by the target has the sdc.event.type record header attribute set to finished and includes the following fields:

Field	Description
webclient.pagination.calls.count	Not applicable.
webclient.offset	Not applicable.
webclient.last.page	Not applicable.
webclient.time	The time the write finished.

start

The target generates a start event record when the target starts writing data to the endpoint.

The start event record generated by the target has the sdc.event.type record header attribute set to start and includes the following fields:

Field	Description
webclient.endpoint	The instance the data is read from.
webclient.offset	Not applicable.
webclient.method	The HTTP method used.
webclient.body	The body of the request.
webclient.time	The time the request was made.

Per-status actions

The Web Client target accepts only responses that include a status code that has been configured to be read as successful by the stage. When the response includes any other status code, the target generates an error and handles the record based on the error record handling configured for the stage.

You can configure the target to perform one of several actions when it encounters an unsuccessful status code.

To configure a per-status action, you enter a HTTP status code, such as 504 for gateway timeouts, and then select one of the following actions for the stage to perform for that code:

Retry with constant backoff
Retry with linear backoff
Retry with exponential backoff
Generate output record
Generate error record
Abort flow

When defining the retry with a constant, linear, or exponential backoff action, you also specify the backoff interval to wait in milliseconds. When defining any of the retry actions, you specify the maximum number of retries and a status failure response. If the stage receives a successful status code during a retry, then it processes the response. If the stage doesn't receive a successful status code after the maximum number of retries, then the stage performs the specified status failure action. You can only specify a status failure action for a retry action.

You can add multiple status codes and configure a specific action for each code.

Note: When using OAuth, all per-status actions configured for 401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden statuses are ignored. Instead, the stage generates a new OAuth token. If the same error occurs again, the stage generates a stage error.

Per-timeout actions

By default, the Web Client target retries an operation five times before generating an error. You can configure the stage to use different timeout criteria and perform one of several actions when a specific type of timeout has reached its configured timeout limit.

To configure a per-timeout action, you select a timeout type, such as request, enter a timeout interval, and then select one of the following actions for the stage to perform for that code:

Retry with constant backoff
Retry with linear backoff
Retry with exponential backoff
Generate output record
Generate error record
Abort flow

When defining the retry with a constant, linear, or exponential backoff action, you also specify the backoff interval to wait in milliseconds. When defining any of the retry actions, you specify the maximum number of retries and timeout failure action. If the stage receives a response during a retry, then it processes the response. If the stage doesn't receive a response after the maximum number of retries, then the stage performs the specified timeout failure action.

You can add multiple timeout types and specify timeout criteria and actions for each of them.

Pagination

The Web Client target can use pagination to retrieve a large volume of data from a paginated API.

When configuring the Web Client target to use pagination, use the pagination type supported by the API of the HTTP client. You will likely need to consult the documentation for the source system API to determine the pagination type to use and the properties to set.

The Web Client target supports the following common pagination types:

Link in Header

After processing the current page, the stage uses the link in the HTTP header to access the next page. The link in the header can be an absolute URL or a URL relative to the next page link base URL configured for the stage. For example, let's say you configure the following next page link base URL for the stage:

https://myapp.com/api/objects?page=1

The next link in the HTTP header can include an absolute URL, as follows:

link:<https://myapp.com/api/objects?page=2>; rel="next"

Or the next link can include a URL relative to the resource URL, as follows:

link:<objects?page=2>; rel="next"

Link in Body

After processing the current page, the stage uses the link in a field in the response body to access the next page. The link in the response field can be an absolute URL or a URL relative to the next page link base URL configured for the stage. For example, let's say you configure the following next page link base URL for the stage:

http://myapp.com/api/tickets.json?start_time=138301982

The next link in the response field can include an absolute URL, as follows:

"next_page":"http://myapp.com/api/tickets.json?start_time=1389078385",

Or the next link can include a URL relative to the resource URL, as follows:

"next_page":"tickets.json?start_time=1389078385",

Page

The stage begins processing with the specified initial page, and then requests the following page. Use the ${startAt} variable in the resource URL as the value of the page number to request. You can optionally set a final page or offset for the stage to stop reading data.

Offset

The stage begins processing with the specified initial offset, and then requests the following offset. Use the ${startAt} variable in the resource URL as the value of the offset number to request.

Page or offset number

When using page or offset pagination, the API of the HTTP client typically requires that you include a page or offset parameter at the end of the response endpoint URL. The parameter determines the next page or offset of data to request.

The name of the parameter used by the API varies. For example, it might be offset, page, start, or since. Consult the documentation for the source system API to determine the name of the page or offset parameter.

The Web Client target provides a ${startAt} variable that you can use in the URL as the value of the page or offset. For example, your resource URL might be any of the following:

http://webservice/object?limit=15&offset=${startAt}
https://myapp.com/product?limit=5&since=${startAt}
https://myotherapp.com/api/v1/products?page=${startAt}

When the flow starts, the Web Client stage uses the value of the Initial Page or Initial Offset property as the ${startAt} variable value. After the stage reads a page of results, the stage increments the ${startAt} variable by one if using page pagination, or by the number of records read from the page if using offset pagination.

Example

Say that you configure offset pagination, set the initial offset to 0, and use the following response endpoint:

https://myapp.com/product?limit=5&since=${startAt}

When you start the flow, the stage resolves the response endpoint to:

https://myapp.com/product?limit=5&since=0

The first page of results includes items 0 through 4. After reading all 5 records from the first page, the stage increments the ${startAt} variable by 5, such that the next response endpoint is resolved to:

https://myapp.com/product?limit=5&since=5

The second page of results also includes 5 items, starting at the 5th item.

OAuth 2 authentication

The Web Client target can use the OAuth 2 protocol to connect to an HTTP service that uses the following authentication types:

OAuth 2 client credentials
OAuth 2 access token
OAuth 2 owner credentials

The OAuth 2 protocol authorizes third-party access to HTTP service resources without sharing credentials. The Web Client target uses credentials to request an access token from the service. The service returns the token to the target, and then the target includes the token in a header in each request to the request endpoint.

The credentials that you enter to request an access token depend on the credentials grant type required by the HTTP service. You can define the following OAuth 2 credentials grant types for Web Client stages:

Client credentials grant: The stage sends its own credentials - such as the client ID and client secret, or the basic or digest authentication credentials - to the HTTP service. For example, use the client credentials grant to process data from the Twitter API or from the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) API.; For more information about the client credentials grant, see https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6749#section-4.4.
Access token grant: The stage sends an access token to an authorization service and obtains an access token for the HTTP service. You can specify the details to use in the access token request, such as token headers and claims, and a signing algorithm and key. When using Data Collector 7.2 and later, if you specify a signing key, it must be Base64-encoded.
Owner credentials grant: The stage sends the credentials for the resource owner - such as the resource owner user name, password, client ID, and client secret - to the HTTP service. Or, you can use this grant type to migrate existing clients using basic or digest authentication to OAuth 2 by converting the stored credentials to an access token.; For example, you can use this grant to process data from the Getty Images API. For more information about using OAuth 2 to connect to the Getty Images API, see http://developers.gettyimages.com/api/docs/v3/oauth2.html.; For more information about the resource owner password credentials grant, see https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6749#section-4.3.

Data formats

The Web Client target writes data to HTTP endpoints based on the data format that you select.

The Web Client target processes data formats as follows:

Avro

The stage writes records based on the Avro schema. You can use one of the following methods to specify the location of the Avro schema definition:

In Flow Configuration - Use the schema that you provide in the stage configuration.
In Record Header - Use the schema included in the avroSchema record header attribute.
Confluent Schema Registry - Retrieve the schema from Confluent Schema Registry. The Confluent Schema Registry is a distributed storage layer for Avro schemas. You can configure the target to look up the schema in the Confluent Schema Registry by the schema ID or subject.
If using the Avro schema in the stage or in the record header attribute, you can optionally configure the stage to register the Avro schema with the Confluent Schema Registry. You can also optionally include the schema definition in the message. Omitting the schema definition can improve performance, but requires the appropriate schema management to avoid losing track of the schema associated with the data.

You can include the Avro schema in the output.

You can also compress data with an Avro-supported compression codec. When using Avro compression, avoid configuring any other compression properties in the stage.

Binary

The stage writes binary data to a single field in the record.

Delimited

The target writes records as delimited data. When you use this data format, the root field must be list or list-map.

You can use the following delimited format types:

Default CSV - File that includes comma-separated values. Ignores empty lines in the file.
RFC4180 CSV - Comma-separated file that strictly follows RFC4180 guidelines.
MS Excel CSV - Microsoft Excel comma-separated file.
MySQL CSV - MySQL comma-separated file.
Tab-Separated Values - File that includes tab-separated values.
PostgreSQL CSV - PostgreSQL comma-separated file.
PostgreSQL Text - PostgreSQL text file.
Custom - File that uses user-defined delimiter, escape, and quote characters.
Multi Character Delimited - File that uses multiple user-defined characters to delimit fields and lines, and single user-defined escape and quote characters.

JSON

The target writes records as JSON data. You can use one of the following formats:

Array - Each file includes a single array. In the array, each element is a JSON representation of each record.
Multiple objects - Each file includes multiple JSON objects. Each object is a JSON representation of a record.

Protobuf

Writes one record in a message. Uses the user-defined message type and the definition of the message type in the descriptor file to generate the message.

For information about generating the descriptor file, see Protobuf data format prerequisites.

Text

The target writes data from a single text field to the target system. When you configure the stage, you select the field to use.

You can configure the characters to use as record separators. By default, the target uses a UNIX-style line ending (\n) to separate records.

When a record does not contain the selected text field, the target can report the missing field as an error or to ignore the missing field. By default, the target reports an error.

When configured to ignore a missing text field, the target can discard the record or write the record separator characters to create an empty line for the record. By default, the target discards the record.

XML

The target creates a valid XML document for each record. The target requires the record to have a single root field that contains the rest of the record data. For details and suggestions for how to accomplish this, see Record structure requirement.

The target can include indentation to produce human-readable documents. It can also validate that the generated XML conforms to the specified schema definition. Records with invalid schemas are handled based on the error handling that is configured for the target.

Configuring a Web Client target

About this task

Configure a Web Client target to write data to an HTTP endpoint.

Procedure

In the Properties panel, on the General tab, configure the following properties:

General Property	Description
Name	Stage name.
Description	Optional description.
Produce Events	Generates event records when events occur. Use for event handling.
Required Fields	Fields that must include data for the record to be passed into the stage. Tip: You might include fields that the stage uses. Records that do not include all required fields are processed based on the error handling configured for the flow.
Preconditions	Conditions that must evaluate to TRUE to allow a record to enter the stage for processing. Click Add to create additional preconditions. Records that do not meet all preconditions are processed based on the error handling configured for the stage.
On Record Error	Error record handling for the stage: Discard - Discards the record. Send to Error - Sends the record to the flow for error handling. Stop Flow - Stops the flow.

On the Connection tab, configure the following properties:

Connection Property	Description
Connection 7.4 and later	Connection that defines the information that is required to connect to an external system. To connect to an external system, you can select a connection that contains the details, or you can specify the details in local properties. When you select a connection, the flow canvas hides properties that are defined in the connection.
Authentication Scheme	Determines the authentication type that is used to connect to the server: None - Performs no authentication. Basic - Uses basic authentication. Requires a username and password. Use with HTTPS to avoid passing unencrypted credentials. Digest - Uses digest authentication. Requires a username and password. Bearer - Uses bearer authentication. Requires a username and password. OAuth 1 - Uses OAuth 1.0 authentication. Requires OAuth credentials. OAuth 2 - Uses OAuth 2.0 authentication. Requires OAuth credentials.
Request Endpoint	URL of the request resource.
Data Interchange Pattern	Determines whether the request and response share an endpoint: One-Step - The request and response have the same endpoint.
Keystore Management	Determines the authentication and encryption that is used to connect to the HTTP server. Automatic (for most HTTP and HTTPS requests) - Uses automatically-generated keystore and truststore configurations. Manual (for manually configured HTTPS requests) - Manually configure the keystore and truststore to use.
Keystore Location	Where to load the keystore from: Local - Loads the keystore from a local file. Remote - Loads the keystore from the provided key and certificate chain. Required for manual keystore management.
Keystore File	Path to the local keystore file. Enter an absolute path to the file or enter the following expression to define the file stored in the Data Collector resources directory: `${runtime:resourcesDirPath()}/keystore.jks` Available for manual keystore management.
Keystore Type	Type of keystore to use. Use one of the following types: Java Keystore File (JKS) PKCS #12 (p12 file) Default is Java Keystore File (JKS).
Keystore Password	Password to the keystore file. A password is optional, but recommended. Tip: To secure sensitive information such as passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.
Private Key	Private key used in the remote keystore. Enter a credential function that returns the key or enter the contents of the key.
Certificate Chain	Each PEM certificate used in the remote keystore. Enter a credential function that returns the certificate or enter the contents of the certificate.
Keystore Key Algorithm	Algorithm to manage the keystore. Default is SunX509.
Truststore File	Path to the local truststore file. Enter an absolute path to the file or enter the following expression to define the file stored in the Data Collector resources directory: `${runtime:resourcesDirPath()}/truststore.jks` By default, no truststore is used.
Truststore Type	Type of truststore to use. Use one of the following types: Java Keystore File (JKS) PKCS #12 (p12 file) Default is Java Keystore File (JKS).
Truststore Password	Password to the truststore file. A password is optional, but recommended. Tip: To secure sensitive information such as passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.
Truststore Key Algorithm	Algorithm to manage the truststore. Default is SunX509. Required for manual keystore management.
Default Protocol Versions	Use only modern default secure protocol versions. Available for manual keystore management.
Default Cipher Suites	Use only modern default cipher suites. Available for manual keystore management.
Use Proxy Server	Enables using a proxy server to connect to the system.
Proxy Server	Proxy server endpoint.
Proxy User	User name for proxy credentials.
Proxy Password	Password for proxy credentials. Tip: To secure sensitive information such as user names and passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.

For Basic or Digest authentication, on the Connection tab, configure the following properties:

Connection Property	Description
User	Authentication username.
Password	Authentication password. Tip: To secure sensitive information, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.

For Bearer authentication, on the Connection tab, configure the following property:

Bearer Property	Description
Token	Authentication token to access the requested resource.

For OAuth 1 authentication, on the Connection tab, configure the following properties:

OAuth 1 Property	Description
Consumer Key	Name of the OAuth consumer key.
Consumer Secret	OAuth consumer secret.
Access Token	OAuth 1.0 access token.
Token Secret	OAuth 1.0 token secret.

For OAuth 2 authentication, on the Connection tab, configure the following properties.

For more information about OAuth 2, see OAuth 2 authentication.

OAuth 2 Property	Description
Grant Type	Grant type required by the HTTP service.
Token Endpoint	URL to request the access token.
Client ID	Client ID that the HTTP service uses to identify the HTTP client. Enter for the client credentials grant that uses a client ID and secret for authentication. Or, for the resource owner password credentials grant that requires a client ID and secret. Required for the Client Credentials grant.
Client Secret	Client secret that the HTTP service uses to authenticate the HTTP client. Enter for the client credentials grant that uses a client ID and secret for authentication. Or, for the resource owner password credentials grant that requires a client ID and secret. Tip: To secure sensitive information, you can use runtime resources or credential stores. Required for the Client Credentials grant.
Signing Algorithm	Algorithm used to sign the access token. Default is None. Required for the Access Token grant.
Signing Key	Private key that the selected signing algorithm uses to sign the access token. When using Data Collector 7.2 and later, the key must be Base64-encoded. Tip: To secure sensitive information, you can use runtime resources or credential stores. Required for the Access Token grant using a signing algorithm.
Token Headers	Headers to include in the access token Available for the Access Token grant.
Token Claims	Claims to include in the access token. Specify in JSON format. Enter each claim required to obtain an access token. You can include the expression language in the token claims. For example, to request an access token to read from Google service accounts, enter the following claims with the appropriate values: `{ "iss":"my_name@my_account.iam.gserviceaccount.com", "scope":"https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive", "aud":"https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token", "exp":${(time:dateTimeToMilliseconds(time:now())/1000) + 50 * 60}, "iat":${time:dateTimeToMilliseconds(time:now())/1000} }` Required for the Access Tokens grant.
Owner User	Resource owner user name. Required for the Owner Credentials grant.
Owner Password	Resource owner password. Required for the Owner Credentials grant.
Owner Client ID	Resource owner client ID. Available for the Owner Credentials grant.
Owner Client Secret	Resource owner client secret. Required for the Owner Credentials grant.
Additional Parameters	Optional parameters to send to the token endpoint when requesting an access token. For example, you can define the OAuth 2 `scope` request parameter. Using simple or bulk edit mode, click the Add icon to add additional key-value pairs.

On the Requests tab, configure the following properties:

Request Property	Description
Grouping Style	How to group records to generate requests. One Request Per Record One Request Per Batch
Method	HTTP request method. Use one of the standard HTTP methods.
Security Headers	Security headers to include in the request. Using simple or bulk edit mode, click Add to add additional security headers. You can use credential functions to retrieve sensitive information from supported credential stores. Note: If you define the same header in the Common Headers property, security headers take precedence.
Request Body	Request data to use with the specified method. Available for the Post, Put, Patch, and Head methods. You can use time functions and datetime variables, such as `${YYYY()}`, in the request body.
Wait Time Between Requests (ms)	Milliseconds to wait between requests.
Maximum Parallel Requests	Maximum number of requests to make simultaneously.
Common Headers	Common headers to include in the request. Using simple or bulk edit mode, click Add to add additional common headers. Note: If you define the same header in the Security Headers property, security headers take precedence.
Default Request Content Type	Request content type to set if not specified as a header.
Request Time Zone	Time zone to use in time expressions.
Log Requests	Include HTTP requests in the Data Collector log. Note: If you enable this property, Data Collector may log sensitive data.

On the Request Data tab, configure the following property:

Request Data Property	Description
Request Data Format	Format to use to parse HTTP input data. Use one of the following data formats: Avro Binary Datagram Delimited JSON Protobuf Text XML

Request Data Property

Description

Request Data Format

Format to use to parse HTTP input data. Use one of the following data formats:

Avro
Binary
Datagram
Delimited
JSON
Protobuf
Text
XML

For Avro data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following properties:

Avro Property	Description
Avro Schema Location	Location of the Avro schema definition to use when writing data: In Flow Configuration - Use the schema that you provide in the stage configuration. In Record Header - Use the schema in the avroSchema record header attribute. Use only when the avroSchema attribute is defined for all records. Confluent Schema Registry - Retrieve the schema from Confluent Schema Registry.
Avro Schema	Avro schema definition used to write the data. You can optionally use the `runtime:loadResource` function to load a schema definition stored in a runtime resource file.
Register Schema	Registers a new Avro schema with Confluent Schema Registry.
Schema Registry URLs	Confluent Schema Registry URLs used to look up the schema or to register a new schema. To add a URL, click Add and then enter the URL in the following format: `http://<host name>:<port number>`
Basic Auth User Info	User information needed to connect to Confluent Schema Registry when using basic authentication. Enter the key and secret from the `schema.registry.basic.auth.user.info` setting in Schema Registry using the following format: `<key>:<secret>` Tip: To secure sensitive information such as user names and passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.
Look Up Schema By	Method used to look up the schema in Confluent Schema Registry: Subject - Look up the specified Avro schema subject. Schema ID - Look up the specified Avro schema ID.
Schema Subject	Avro schema subject to look up or to register in Confluent Schema Registry. If the specified subject to look up has multiple schema versions, the target uses the latest schema version for that subject. To use an older version, find the corresponding schema ID, and then set the Look Up Schema By property to Schema ID.
Schema ID	Avro schema ID to look up in Confluent Schema Registry.
Include Schema	Includes the schema in each file. Note: Omitting the schema definition can improve performance, but requires the appropriate schema management to avoid losing track of the schema associated with the data.
Avro Compression Codec	The Avro compression type to use. When using Avro compression, do not enable other compression available in the target.

For binary data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following property:

Binary Property	Description
Binary Field Path	Field that contains the binary data.

For delimited data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following properties:

Delimited Property	Description
Header Line	Indicates whether to create a header line.
Delimiter Format	Format for delimited data: Default CSV - File that includes comma-separated values. Ignores empty lines in the file. RFC4180 CSV - Comma-separated file that strictly follows RFC4180 guidelines. MS Excel CSV - Microsoft Excel comma-separated file. MySQL CSV - MySQL comma-separated file. Tab-Separated Values - File that includes tab-separated values. PostgreSQL CSV - PostgreSQL comma-separated file. PostgreSQL Text - PostgreSQL text file. Custom - File that uses user-defined delimiter, escape, and quote characters.
Replace New Line Characters	Replaces new line characters with the configured string. Recommended when writing data as a single line of text.
New Line Character Replacement	String to replace each new line character. For example, enter a space to replace each new line character with a space. Leave empty to remove the new line characters.
Charset	Character set to use to write data.

For JSON data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following properties:

JSON Property	Description
JSON Content	Method to write JSON data: JSON Array of Objects - Each file includes a single array. In the array, each element is a JSON representation of each record. Multiple JSON Objects - Each file includes multiple JSON objects. Each object is a JSON representation of a record.
Charset	Character set to use to write data.

For protobuf data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following properties:

Protobuf Property	Description
Protobuf Descriptor File	Descriptor file (.desc) to use. The descriptor file must be in the Data Collector resources directory, `$SDC_RESOURCES`. For information about generating the descriptor file, see Protobuf data format prerequisites.
Message Type	Fully-qualified name for the message type to use when writing data. Use the following format: `<package name>.<message type>`. Use a message type defined in the descriptor file.

For text data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following properties:

Text Property	Description
Text Field Path	Field that contains the text data to be written. All data must be incorporated into the specified field.
Record Separator	Characters to use to separate records. Use any valid Java string literal. For example, when you write to Windows, you might use `\r\n` to separate records. By default, the target uses `\n`.
On Missing Field	When a record does not include the text field, determines whether the target reports the missing field as an error or ignores the missing field.
Insert Record Separator if No Text	When configured to ignore a missing text field, inserts the configured record separator string to create an empty line. When not selected, discards records without the text field.
Charset	Character set to use to write data.

For XML data, on the Request Data tab, configure the following properties:

XML Property	Description
Pretty Format	Adds indentation to make the resulting XML document easier to read, which also increases the record size.
Validate Schema	Validates that the generated XML conforms to the specified schema definition. Records with invalid schemas are handled based on the error handling that is configured for the target. Important: Regardless of whether you validate the XML schema, the target requires the record in a specific format. For more information, see Record structure requirement.
XML Schema	The XML schema to use to validate records.

On the Response tab, configure the following properties:

Response Property	Description
Pagination Mode	Method of pagination to use. Use a method supported by the API of the HTTP client.
Continue Without Data	Continues pagination even when a page returns empty results. Available when using pagination.
Next Page Link Base	Base URL to use for next page relative links. For link in header and link in body pagination.
Next Page Link Header	Name of the response header that contains the link to the next page. For link in header pagination.
Next Page Link Field Path	Field path in the response that contains the URL to the next page. For link in body pagination.
Stop Condition	Condition that evaluates to true when there are no more pages to process. For example, let's say that the API of the HTTP client includes a count property that determines the number of items displayed per page. If the count is set to 1000 and a page returns with less than 1000 items, it is the last page of data. So you'd enter the following expression to stop processing when the count is less than 1000: `${record:value('/count') < 1000}` For link in header and blink in body pagination.
Final Offset	Offset from which the stage will stop processing records. Use -1 to opt out of this property. For page pagination.
Initial Page	Initial page number for pagination. For page pagination.
Final Page	Page from which the stage will stop processing records. Use -1 to opt out of this property. For page pagination.
Initial Offset	Initial offset for pagination. For offset pagination.
Result Field Path	Field path in the response that contains the data that you want to process. Must be a list or array field. Required when using pagination.
Keep All Fields	Includes all fields from the response in the resulting record when enabled. Available when using pagination.
Per-Status Actions	Actions to apply to specified HTTP status codes. Click Add to add per-status actions.
Per-Timeout Actions	Actions to apply to specified timeout types. Click Add to add per-timeout actions.
Error Field	Name of the field to store the error response body in when generating protocol error records.
Log Responses	Include HTTP responses in the Data Collector log. Note: If you enable this property, Data Collector may log sensitive data.

On the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Response Data Property	Description
Collect Mode	Method for collecting response data.
Response Data Format	Format to use to read HTTP response data. Use one of the following data formats: Avro Binary Datagram Delimited JSON Protobuf Text XML

For Avro data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Avro Property	Description
Avro Schema Location	Location of the Avro schema definition to use when processing data: Message/Data Includes Schema - Use the schema in the message. In Flow Configuration - Use the schema provided in the stage configuration. Confluent Schema Registry - Retrieve the schema from Confluent Schema Registry. Using a schema in the stage configuration or in Confluent Schema Registry can improve performance.
Avro Schema	Avro schema definition used to process the data. Overrides any existing schema definitions associated with the data. You can optionally use the `runtime:loadResource` function to load a schema definition stored in a runtime resource file.
Schema Registry URLs	Confluent Schema Registry URLs used to look up the schema. To add a URL, click Add and then enter the URL in the following format: `http://<host name>:<port number>`
Schema Registry Security Option	Authentication and encryption used to connect to the schema registry.
Truststore Type	Type of truststore to use. Use one of the following types: Java Keystore File (JKS) PKCS #12 (p12 file) Default is Java Keystore File (JKS).
Truststore File	Path to the local truststore file. Enter an absolute path to the file or enter the following expression to define the file stored in the Data Collector resources directory: `${runtime:resourcesDirPath()}/truststore.jks` By default, no truststore is used.
Truststore Password	Password to the truststore file. A password is optional, but recommended. Tip: To secure sensitive information such as passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.
Basic Auth User Info	User information needed to connect to Confluent Schema Registry when using basic authentication. Enter the key and secret from the `schema.registry.basic.auth.user.info` setting in Schema Registry using the following format: `<key>:<secret>` Tip: To secure sensitive information such as user names and passwords, you can use runtime resources or credential stores.
Lookup Schema By	Method used to look up the schema in Confluent Schema Registry: Subject - Look up the specified Avro schema subject. Schema ID - Look up the specified Avro schema ID. Embedded Schema ID - Look up the Avro schema ID embedded in each message. Overrides any existing schema definitions associated with the message.
Schema Subject	Avro schema subject to look up in Confluent Schema Registry. If the specified subject has multiple schema versions, the stage uses the latest schema version for that subject. To use an older version, find the corresponding schema ID, and then set the Look Up Schema By property to Schema ID.
Schema ID	Avro schema ID to look up in Confluent Schema Registry.
Skip Union Indexes	Omits header attributes identifying the index number of the element in a union that data is read from. If a schema contains many unions and the flow does not depend on index information, you can enable this property to avoid long processing times associated with storing a large number of indexes.

For datagram data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Datagram Properties	Description
Charset	Character encoding of the messages to be processed.
Ignore Control Characters	Removes all ASCII control characters except for the tab, line feed, and carriage return characters.

For delimited data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Delimited Property	Description
Header Line	Indicates whether to create a header line.
Lines to Skip	Number of lines to skip before reading data.
CSV Parser	Parser to use to process delimited data: Apache Commons - Provides robust parsing and a wide range of delimited format types. Univocity - Can provide faster processing for wide delimited files, such as those with over 200 columns. Default is Apache Commons.
Max Record Length (chars)	Maximum length of a record in characters. Longer records are not read. This property can be limited by the Data Collector parser buffer size. For more information, see Maximum record size. Available when using the Apache Commons parser.
Root Field Type	Root field type to use: List-Map - Generates an indexed list of data. Enables you to use standard functions to process data. Use for new flows. List - Generates a record with an indexed list with a map for header and value. Requires the use of delimited data functions to process data. Use only to maintain flows created before 1.1.0.
Parse NULLs	Replaces the specified string constant with null values.
Charset	Character set to use to write data.
Ignore Control Characters	Removes all ASCII control characters except for the tab, line feed, and carriage return characters.

For JSON data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

JSON Property	Description
JSON Content	Type of JSON content. Use one of the following options: Multiple JSON Objects JSON Array of Objects
Compression Format	The compression format of the files: None - Processes only uncompressed files. Compressed File - Processes files compressed by the supported compression formats. Archive - Processes files archived by the supported archive formats. Compressed Archive - Processes files archived and compressed by the supported archive and compression formats.
Maximum Object Length (chars)	Maximum number of characters in a JSON object. Longer objects are diverted to the flow for error handling. This property can be limited by the Data Collector parser buffer size. For more information, see Maximum record size.
Charset	Character encoding of the files to be processed.
Ignore Control Characters	Removes all ASCII control characters except for the tab, line feed, and carriage return characters.

For log data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Log Property	Description
Log Format	Format of the log files. Use one of the following options: Common Log Format Combined Log Format Apache Error Log Format Apache Access Log Custom Format Regular Expression Grok Pattern Log4j Common Event Format (CEF) Log Event Extended Format (LEEF)
Compression Format	The compression format of the files: None - Processes only uncompressed files. Compressed File - Processes files that are compressed by the supported compression formats. Archive - Processes files that are archived by the supported archive formats. Compressed Archive - Processes files that are archived and compressed by the supported archive and compression formats.
Max Line Length	Maximum length of a log line. The source truncates longer lines. This property can be limited by the Data Collector parser buffer size. For more information, see Maximum record size.
Retain Original Line	Determines how to treat the original log line. Select to include the original log line as a field in the resulting record. By default, the original line is discarded.
Charset	Character encoding of the files to be processed.
Ignore Control Characters	Removes all ASCII control characters except for the tab, line feed, and carriage return characters.

For protobuf data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Protobuf Property	Description
Protobuf Descriptor File	Descriptor file (.desc) to use. The descriptor file must be in the Data Collector resources directory, `$SDC_RESOURCES`. For information about generating the descriptor file, see Protobuf data format prerequisites.
Message Type	The fully-qualified name for the message type to use when reading data. Use the following format: `<package name>.<message type>`. Use a message type defined in the descriptor file.
Delimited Messages	Indicates if a message might include more than one protobuf message.
Compression Format	The compression format of the files: None - Processes only uncompressed files. Compressed File - Processes files that are compressed by the supported compression formats. Archive - Processes files that are archived by the supported archive formats. Compressed Archive - Processes files that are archived and compressed by the supported archive and compression formats.

For text data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

Text Property	Description
Compression Format	The compression format of the files: None - Processes only uncompressed files. Compressed File - Processes files compressed by the supported compression formats. Archive - Processes files archived by the supported archive formats. Compressed Archive - Processes files archived and compressed by the supported archive and compression formats.
Charset	Character encoding of the files to be processed.
Ignore Control Characters	Removes all ASCII control characters except for the tab, line feed, and carriage return characters.

For XML data, on the Response Data tab, configure the following properties:

XML Property	Description
Delimiter Element	Delimiter to use to generate records. Omit a delimiter to treat the entire XML document as one record. Use one of the following: An XML element directly under the root element. Use the XML element name without surrounding angle brackets ( < > ) . For example, msg instead of <msg>. A simplified XPath expression that specifies the data to use. Use a simplified XPath expression to access data deeper in the XML document or data that requires a more complex access method. For more information about valid syntax, see Simplified XPath syntax.
Compression Format	The compression format of the files: None - Processes only uncompressed files. Compressed File - Processes files that are compressed by the supported compression formats. Archive - Processes files that are archived by the supported archive formats. Compressed Archive - Processes files that are archived and compressed by the supported archive and compression formats.
Preserve Root Element	Includes the root element in the generated records. When omitting a delimiter to generate a single record, the root element is the root element of the XML document. When specifying a delimiter to generate multiple records, the root element is the XML element specified as the delimiter element or is the last XML element in the simplified XPath expression specified as the delimiter element.
Include Field XPaths	Includes the XPath to each parsed XML element and XML attribute in field attributes. Also includes each namespace in an xmlns record header attribute. When not selected, this information is not included in the record. By default, the property is not selected.
Namespaces	Namespace prefix and URI to use when parsing the XML document. Define namespaces when the XML element being used includes a namespace prefix or when the XPath expression includes namespaces. For information about using namespaces with an XML element, see Using XML elements with namespaces. For information about using namespaces with XPath expressions, see Using XPath expressions with namespaces. Using simple or bulk edit mode, click the Add icon to add additional namespaces.
Output Field Attributes	Includes XML attributes and namespace declarations in the record as field attributes. When not selected, XML attributes and namespace declarations are included in the record as fields. By default, the property is not selected.
Max Record Length (chars)	The maximum number of characters in a record. Longer records are diverted to the flow for error handling. This property can be limited by the Data Collector parser buffer size. For more information, see Maximum record size.
Charset	Character encoding of the files to be processed.
Ignore Control Characters	Removes all ASCII control characters except for the tab, line feed, and carriage return characters.