Sorter Transformation Advanced Properties
You can specify additional sort criteria in the Sorter transformation advanced properties. The Mapping Configuration task applies the properties to all sort fields. The Sorter transformation properties also determine the system resources that the Mapping Configuration task allocates when it sorts data.
You can configure the following advanced properties for a Sorter transformation:
- Tracing Level
- Amount of detail that appears in the log for this transformation. You can choose terse, normal, verbose initialization, or verbose data. Default is normal.
- Sorter Cache Size
- Determines the maximum amount of memory required to perform the sort operation. The Mapping Configuration task passes all incoming data into the Sorter transformation before it performs the sort operation. If the Mapping Configuration 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 Configuration task considers case when sorting data. When you enable a case-sensitive sort, the Mapping Configuration task sorts uppercase characters higher than lowercase characters. Default is Case Sensitive.
- Work Directory
- The Mapping Configuration task uses the work directory to create temporary files while it sorts data. After the Mapping Configuration 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 Configuration task configures all fields as part of the sort condition. The Mapping Configuration 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.
- Transformation Scope
The transaction is determined by the commit or rollback point. The transformation scope specifies how the Mapping Configuration 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 Configuration task drops incoming transaction boundaries. Choose All Input when the results of the transformation depend on all rows of data in the source.
- Optional
- Specifies whether the transformation is optional. If a transformation is required and there are no incoming fields, the Mapping Configuration task fails. If a transformation is optional and there are no incoming fields, the Mapping Configuration task can run. The data can go through another branch in the data flow.
- For example, you configure a parameter for the source connection. In one branch of the data flow, you add a Sorter transformation with a field rule so that only Date/Time data enters the transformation. You specify that the Sorter transformation is optional. When you configure the Mapping Configuration task, you select a source that does not have Date/Time data. The Mapping Configuration task ignores the branch with the Sorter transformation, and the data flow continues through another branch of the mapping.
- Default is Optional.