About nested datasets

The input and output of different web services and APIs can range from simple and flat to highly-nested and complex.

An example of a nested data object:

[
  {
    "firstName":"Duke",
    "lastName":"Java",
    "test":[
      {
        "who":"duke",
        "why":"because"
      }
    ],
    "age":18,
    "streetAddress":"100 Internet Dr",
    "city":"JavaTown",
    "state":"JA",
    "postalCode":"12345",
    "phoneNumbers":[
      {
        "type":"Mobile",
        "phoneNumber":"111-111-1111"
      },
      {
        "type":"Home",
        "phoneNumber":"222-222-2222"
      }
    ]
  }
]

In relational databases and flat files (such as CSV, Excel, etc.), the data is represented as datasets with columns and rows:

EMPNO   FIRSTNME    MIDINIT LASTNAME    WORKDEPT    PHONENO
10      CHRISTINE   I       HAAS        A00         3978
20      MICHAEL     L       THOMPSON    B01         3476
30      SALLY       A       KWAN        C01         4738
50      JOHN        B       GEYER       E01         6789
60      IRVING      F       STERN       D11         6423
70      EVA         D       PULASKI     D21         7831

What if the PHONENO column is an array of phones such as below?

"PHONENO":[
  {
    "type":"Mobile",
    "phoneNumber":"111-111-1111"
  },
  {
    "type":"Home",
    "phoneNumber":"222-222-2222"
  }
]

As you can see below, this column can be easily represented as a dataset:

type    phoneNumber 
mobile  111-111-1111
home    222-222-2222

Now, if we say that the PHONENO column has an ARRAY data type and each PHONENO value in a row is a dataset, we have found a way to encode nested data objects.

This is exactly how nested data objects are represented in Integrator.

There is no limit to "nestedness" (or numbers of levels) in Integrator, so each column anywhere in the nested object can be a nested object itself.

In Integrator, the inner datasets (PHONENO in the example above) are also called dimensions. The outer dataset (the root nested object) is also called a driving dataset.

Disabling streaming when working with nested datasets

Integrator can read and write nested data objects, which are encoded in all the supported data exchange formats, such as JSON, XML, HL7, etc.

By default, Integrator attempts to use streaming, which is another way of saying "please keep as little data in memory as possible." Generally speaking, streaming is faster and has a very low memory footprint. Unfortunately, streaming is not always possible, especially when dealing with complex nested data objects, which are typically returned by web services. In this case, it is always a good idea to disable the streaming.

Step 1. Create a transformation.

Step 2. Select the Parameters tab.

Step 3. Uncheck Stream Data.

Working with nested datasets

Articles in this section

About nested datasets