Transformations > Sorter transformation > Advanced properties
  

Advanced properties

You can specify additional sort criteria in the Sorter transformation advanced properties. The mapping task applies the properties to all sort fields. The Sorter transformation properties also determine the system resources that the mapping task allocates when it sorts data.
The properties that are available vary based on the mapping mode.
You can configure the following advanced properties for a Sorter transformation:
Property
Description
Tracing Level
Detail level of error and status messages that Data Integration writes in the session log. You can choose terse, normal, verbose initialization, or verbose data. Default is normal.
Sorter Cache Size
The maximum amount of memory required to perform the sort operation. The mapping task passes all incoming data into the Sorter transformation before it performs the sort operation. If the mapping task cannot allocate enough memory, the mapping fails.
You can configure a numeric value for the sorter cache. Allocate at least 16 MB of physical memory. Default is Auto.
Case Sensitive
Determines whether the mapping task considers case when sorting data. When you enable a case-sensitive sort, the mapping task sorts uppercase characters higher than lowercase characters. Default is Case Sensitive.
On an advanced cluster, sorting is always case-sensitive.
Work Directory
The mapping task uses the work directory to create temporary files while it sorts data. After the mapping task sorts data, it deletes the temporary files.
You can specify any directory on the Secure Agent machine to use as a work directory. Allocate at least 16 MB (16,777,216 bytes) of physical memory for the work directory. You can configure a system parameter or a user-defined parameter in this field. Default is the TempDir system parameter.
Distinct
Treats output rows as distinct. If you configure the Sorter transformation for distinct output rows, the mapping task configures all fields as part of the sort condition. The mapping task discards duplicate rows compared during the sort operation.
Null Treated Low
Treats a null value as lower than any other value. For example, if you configure a descending sort condition, rows with a null value in the sort field appear after all other rows.
On an advanced cluster, null values are treated as high.
Transformation Scope
The transaction is determined by the commit or rollback point. The transformation scope specifies how the mapping task applies the transformation logic to incoming data:
  • - Transaction. Applies the transformation logic to all rows in a transaction. Choose Transaction when the results of the transformation depend on all rows in the same transaction, but not on rows in other transactions.
  • - All Input. Applies the transformation logic to all incoming data. When you choose All Input, the mapping task drops incoming transaction boundaries. Choose All Input when the results of the transformation depend on all rows of data in the source.
Optional
Determines whether the transformation is optional. If a transformation is optional and there are no incoming fields, the mapping task can run and the data can go through another branch in the data flow. If a transformation is required and there are no incoming fields, the task fails.
For example, you configure a parameter for the source connection. In one branch of the data flow, you add a transformation with a field rule so that only Date/Time data enters the transformation, and you specify that the transformation is optional. When you configure the mapping task, you select a source that does not have Date/Time data. The mapping task ignores the branch with the optional transformation, and the data flow continues through another branch of the mapping.