External Target stage (DataStage)

The External Target stage is a file stage that you use to write data to one or more source programs.

Note: To use the External Target 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 Target stage can have a single input link and a single reject link. It can be configured to execute in parallel or sequential mode. You can also use the External Source stage to read from an external program (see External Source stage (DataStage))

Use the External Target stage to perform actions such as interfacing with databases not currently supported by the IBM® DataStage Parallel Extender.

When IBM DataStage writes to a program, it needs to know something about the data format. The information 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 on the Columns tab using the Edit columns page.

The stage editor has up to three tabs:

Stage tab. This tab is always present and is used to specify general information about the stage.
Input tab. This tab is where you specify details about the program or programs you are writing data to.
Output tab. This tab appears if the stage has a rejects link.

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