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    Common Properties of Transformers

    Transformers have both input and output ports. They can:

    Metadata can be propagated through some of these transformers, whereas the same is not possible in such components that transform data flows in a more complicated manner. You must have the output metadata defined prior to configuring these components.

    Some of these transformers use transformations that have been described above. For detailed information about how transformation should be defined, see Defining Transformations.

    • Some Transformers can have a transformation attribute defined, it may be optional or required. For information about transformation templates for transformations written in CTL, see CTL Templates for Transformers.

    • Some Transformers can have a transformation attribute defined, it may be optional or required. For information about transformation interfaces that must be implemented in transformations written in Java, see: Java Interfaces for Transformers.

    Below is an overview of all Transformers:

    Table 56.1. Transformers Comparison

    ComponentSame input metadataSorted inputsInputsOutputsJavaCTLAuto-propagated metadata
    Aggregate-
    no
    		11
    no
    no
    no
    Concatenate
    yes
    no
    		1-n1
    no
    no
    yes
    DataIntersection
    no
    yes
    		23
    yes
    yes
    yes
    DataSampler-
    no
    		1n
    no
    no
    yes
    Dedup-
    yes
    		11-2
    no
    no
    yes
    Denormalizer-
    no
    		11
    yes
    yes
    no
    ExtSort-
    no
    		11-n
    no
    no
    yes
    FastSort-
    no
    		11-n
    no
    no
    yes
    Filter-
    no
    		11-2
    no
    no
    yes
    LoadBalancingPartition-
    no
    		11-n
    no
    no
    yes
    Merge
    yes
    yes
    		2-n1
    no
    no
    yes
    MetaPivot-
    no
    		11
    no
    no
    yes
    Normalizer-
    no
    		11
    yes
    yes
    no
    Partition-
    no
    		11-n[1][1]
    yes
    Pivot-
    no
    		11
    yes
    yes
    no
    Reformat-
    no
    		11-n
    yes
    yes
    yes
    Rollup-
    no
    		11-n
    yes
    yes
    no
    SimpleCopy-
    no
    		11-n
    no
    no
    yes
    SimpleGather
    yes
    no
    		1-n1
    no
    no
    yes
    SortWithinGroups-
    yes
    		11-n
    no
    no
    yes
    XSLTransformer-
    no
    		0-10-2
    no
    no
    no

    [1]  Partition can use either a transformation or two other attributes (Ranges or Partition key). The transformation must be defined unless one of these is specified.