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Lesson 2.5: Creating a parameter set

In the previous lesson, you created parameters for your job. To further simplify your job design and runtime operations, you create a parameter set and store it in the project repository. You can then reuse the parameter set in other job designs.

About this task

Overview

When you create the parameter set, you enter a set of default values for the parameters that are input at run time.

You use parameter sets to define job parameters that you might reuse in other jobs. When you want to use these parameters in a job, you insert them into the job properties from the parameter set. You can create parameter sets from existing job parameters, or you can specify the job parameters when you create a new parameter set.

You can also define different sets of values for each parameter set. Parameter sets are stored as files in the InfoSphere® DataStage® server installation directory and are available to use in your job designs or when you run jobs that use these parameter sets. If you make changes to a parameter set object, the changes are reflected in job designs that use this object when the job is compiled.

Important: The parameters that a job is compiled with are available when the job is run. However, if you change the design after the job is compiled, the job links to the updated version of the parameter set.

Procedure

Before you begin

Ensure that the Dev_CustData_Codes_Lookup job that you created is open in the Designer client.

Procedure

  1. Create a parameter set.
    1. From the Designer client menu, click Edit > Job Properties.
    2. In the Job Properties window, click the Parameters tab.
    3. Hold the Ctrl key, then click each of the parameters that you created in the previous lesson.
    4. Click Create Parameter Set.
    5. In the Parameter Set window, in the Parameter Set name field, type a name for your parameter set, such as CustData_Codes_Lookup_parmset.
    6. Type a short description for your parameter set, such as This parameter set includes parameters that relate to source files and target files for a customer data lookup job.

      Including short descriptions for your parameter sets helps other developers to quickly understand the purpose of your parameter set and when to use it.

    7. Click the Values tab.
    8. In the Value File name field, type a name for your parameter set value file, such as CustData_Codes_Lookup_1.
    9. For each of your job parameters, specify the default path name for the file that the parameter represents. For example, the value for the CountryCode_In_Source parameter might be C:\IBM\InformationServer\Server\Projects\Tutorial\Tutorial_files\CustomerCountry.csv.
    10. Click OK.
    11. In the Save Parameter Set As window, right-click the Tutorial folder and create a new folder named Parameter sets.
    12. Click Save to save your parameter set in the folder that you created.

      A message displays asking if you want to replace the selected parameters with the parameter set that you created. Click No.

      How can I modify my parameter set?: If you modify any parameters in your parameter set, expand the Tutorial\Parameter sets folder that you created and double-click your parameter set. You can add new parameters, modify existing parameters, and change values for any parameters that are included in the parameter set.

      If another developer imports your job and wants to use different source files, the developer opens your parameter set, modifies the values for each of the parameters, and then runs the job with the update source data.

  2. Click OK to close the Job Parameters window.
  3. Save and compile your job.

What's next

You created a parameter set that is available for another job that you create later in this tutorial. The current job continues to use individual parameters rather than the parameter set.

Now that you know how to develop a simple job, you can develop a more complex job. In the next module, you develop a transformation job that adds data typing to the GlobalCo billing data to fix inconsistencies and improve the formatting of the output data.
In this lesson, you completed the following tasks:
  • Created your first job and added stages and links to your job
  • Set stage properties that determine what actions occur when you run your job
  • Imported metadata to use throughout your job
  • Created a parameter set from a set of existing job parameters
  • Specified a set of default values for the parameters in the parameter set
  • Created a parameter set that you use in a subsequent job
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