Export - Substitute language

What is the substitute language? Where does it apply?

What is substitute language?

In the export, a substitute language can now be defined, so that if a value is not present in the requested language, that value is output in the defined substitute language. This functionality is available at main module level for fields that are qualified by a language, and in the submodules for attribute values, feature values, and file attachments.

The substitute language value specification is optional.

There's no special handling of the "language independent" language (key "-1").

How to configure substitute language

Global

There's no possibility to configure a substitute language on a global level.

Export template/ Export profile

You can define a language variable for an export format template and use it for substitute language configuration. If this variable is editable you can change its value in each export profile based on the export format template.

Data field

In the past, it was already possible to output the value of an alternative data field:

{?GetValue {&Item.Short description (German)}, {&Item.Short description (English)}}

But now its much easier by using the substitute language. There's an additional "replacement language" logical key for each language-dependent data field. It's an optional key which can be configured with a language value corresponding to the language key of the data field, or with a variable representing a language.

images/download/thumbnails/513738854/FieldWithSubstituteLanguageValue.png images/download/thumbnails/513738854/FieldWithSubstituteLanguageVariable.png

Sub-module

Some export sub-modules provide the new "Replacement language" data type filter. It's an optional, single value filter. A valid filter value is one of the language variables or languages supported by the corresponding "attribute value language" logical key:

images/download/thumbnails/513738854/DataTypeFilterWithSubstituteLanguageValue.png images/download/thumbnails/513738854/DataTypeFilterWithSubstituteLanguageVariable.png

Substitute language for data fields

Configuration

The export data field qualification dialog provides an additional "Replacement language" logical key for all language dependent data fields. A language dependent data field is a data field with a logical key that supports one of the language enumerations "Enum.Language" or "Enum.Language.WithLanguageIndependent".

You can define only one value for this "Replacement language" logical key, the default value is "<not selected>" which means there's no substitute language specified.

The following values can be used:

  • No value, the logical key has no value

  • One of the values provided by the enumeration of the "Language" logical key of the respective data field

  • One of the variables of the export data type "Language" that are assigned to the export template

  • A new variable that can be created in the data field qualification dialog directly by entering the new variable name

Data output

Without a substitute language

If there's no substitute language specified for a data field, the field value will be exported unchanged.

With a substitute language

When a substitute language has to be considered the following algorithm will be performed to get the value of a requested data field:

  • In addition to the data field, a substitute data field will be requested which is qualified identically to the data field except of the language

  • The value of the requested data field is not empty --> it's the value

  • The value of the requested data field is empty --> the value of the substitute field is used regardless of it's empty or not

  • There's no special handling of the "language independent" language (key "-1").

Customization

A customizing is not possible, the additional logical key is available for all language dependent data fields.

Substitute language for sub-modules

Configuration

The following export sub-data types provide an additional "Replacement language" data type filter:

  • Items

    • Item attribute values

    • Feature values

    • Item file attachments

  • Products

    • Product attribute values

    • Feature values

    • Product file attachments

    • Value list for defining product attributes (part of websphere integration feature)

  • Variants

    • Attribute values

    • Feature values

    • Variant file attachments

  • Structure groups:

    • Group feature values

    • Structure group file attachments

You can define only one value for this "Replacement language" data type filter, the default value is "<none>" which means there's no substitute language specified.

The following values can be used:

  • No value, the data type filter won't be used

  • One of the values provided by the enumeration of the "Language" logical key of the respective "attribute value" data field as configured in the repository. This could be another enumeration as of the "Language" logical key of the "attribute name" data field.

  • One of the variables of the export data type "Language" that are assigned to the export template

  • A new variable that can be created in the data type filter configuration dialog directly by entering the new variable name

Data output

"Language independent" language

There's no special handling of the "language independent" language (key "-1").

File attachment export

Export of file attachment data is described in "Understanding export functionalities". The corresponding sub-data types provide a "replacement language" data type filter, but the algorithm for building the output data differs.

Attribute values/ feature values export

Without substitute language

If there's no substitute language for attribute values specified the language specific attribute data will be merged with the attribute value data by their respective language only. The respective "Attribute language" repository entity is used as master entity, that means entries of the "Attribute value" repository entity will be omitted if there's no corresponding attribute language entry.

As a result, all exported entries contain identical languages in their language specific data and values.

Example:

Attribute 1

Attribute 2

Data

Name de: Farbe
Name en: Color

Value de: rot
Value en: red
Value fr: rouge

Name de: Länge
Name en: Length

Value language independent: 42

Export
Name (Language of the name): Value (Language of the value)

Farbe (de): rot (de)
Color (en): red (en)

Länge (de):
Length (en):

With substitute language

As well as without a substitute language, the language specific attribute data will be merged with the attribute value data by their respective language only. The respective "Attribute language" repository entity is used as master entity, too. But in contrast to the case described above there's a value for the substitute language which will be used to find a corresponding substitute attribute value entry.

There're three cases to be considered:

  1. There's no substitute attribute value entry

  2. There's only a substitute attribute value entry

  3. There're two matching entries: the original entry, and the substitute entry

Case 1 is identical to having no substitute language, it's described above.

If there's only the substitute value entry, it's taken to be merged with the respective language specific attribute entry. The "Attribute 2" example below refers to this case.

The algorithm for the 3rd case covers two situations:

  1. If the attribute value is not empty the original entry will be used.

  2. If the attribute value is empty the values of the "Attribute value", "Attribute value (max)", and "Language of attribute value" fields of the substitute entry will be used, all other values (sequence, reserve field values) of the original attribute value entry stay unchanged

Example:

Attribute 2

Attribute 3

Attribute 4

Data

Name de: Länge
Name en: Length

Value language independent: 42
Sequence: 1

Name de: Besonderheit
Name en: Special feature

Value de

Value: keine
Sequence: 1

Value en

Value: <empty>
Sequence: 2

Value language independent

Value: -
Sequence: 100

Name de: Toleranz
Name en: Tolerance

Value de

Value: 3
Value max:
Sequence: 1

Value en

Value: <empty>
Value max: 42
Sequence: 2

Value language independent

Value: 0
Value max: 180
Sequence: 100

Export
Name (Language of the name): Value (Language of the value),
Value max, Sequence

Substitute language: language independent

Länge (de): 42 (language independent), , 1
Length (en): 42 (language independent), , 1

Besonderheit (de): keine (de), , 1
Special feature (en): - (language independent), , 2

Toleranz (de): 3 (de), ,1
Tolerance (en): 0 (language independent), 180, 2

Customization

If you want to create a new export data type supporting the substitute language filter you need to implement the data type and a data provider that uses the configured substitute language to query the export data.

Data type

The DataType implementation overwrites the getDataTypeFilterGroups() method and adds the substitute language filter to the filter list:

@Override
public DataTypeFilterGroup[] getDataTypeFilterGroups()
{
if ( this.dataTypeFilterGroups == null )
{
// ...
// substitute language
Entity entity = RepositoryUtils.getRepositoryEntity( ENTITY_ARTICLE_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE );
String filterName = "Substitute language";
String filterDescription = "...";
DataTypeFilter substituteLanguageFilter = SubstituteLanguageDataTypeFilter.create( entity, filterName,
filterDescription );
// ...
 List< DataTypeFilterGroup > filterGroups = new ArrayList< DataTypeFilterGroup >();
if ( substituteLanguageFilter != null )
{
filterGroups.add( createAndRegisterDataTypeFilterGroup( substituteLanguageFilter ) );
}
this.dataTypeFilterGroups = filterGroups.toArray( new DataTypeFilterGroup[0] );
}
return this.dataTypeFilterGroups;
}

Data provider

The DataProvider implementation provides an appropriate queryData() method that analyzes and uses the configured substitute language value:

protected ListModel queryMySubListModel( DataType dataType, Pair[] fields, ExecutionContext executionContext )
throws CoreException
{
Map< String, Object > additionalInfoMap = executionContext.getAdditionalInfoMap();
 
Long substituteLanguageId = SubstituteLanguageFilterSupport.getSubstituteLanguage( additionalInfoMap );
 
ListModel result = /* query the list model using substituteLanguageId */;
 
result = postPrepareListModel( result, dataType, fields, executionContext );
 
return result;
}

Compatibility

Export format templates maintained with PIM 7 get a new version number. Older export format templates can be loaded, they will be converted into the newer version. The substitute language value of those export format templates is empty which is the default value.

Permissions

No special permissions are available.