External Source stage (DataStage)

The External Source stage is a file stage that you use to read data that is output from one or more source programs.

Note: To use the External Source stage on IBM Cloud, you must set up a remote runtime engine with DataStage as a Service Anywhere. For more information, see DataStage as a Service Anywhere.

The External Source stage calls the program and passes appropriate arguments. The stage can have a single output link, and a single rejects link. It can be configured to run in parallel or sequential mode. You can also use the External Target stage to write to an external program (see External Target stage (DataStage)).

Use the External Source stage to do things like interfacing with databases that are not currently supported by DataStage.

When IBM® DataStage reads output from a program, it needs to know something about the output format. The information that is required is how the data is divided into rows and how rows are divided into columns. You specify this information in the Format section. Settings for individual columns can be overridden in the Columns section by using the Edit columns page.

The stage editor has two tabs:

Stage tab. This tab is always present and is used to specify general information about the stage.
Output tab. This tab is where you specify details about the program or programs whose output data you are reading.

There are one or two special points to note about using runtime column propagation (RCP) with External Source stages. See "Using RCP With External Source Stages" for details.