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10.2.2 Service Pack 1
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Complex Ports

A complex port is a port that is assigned a complex data type. Based on the complex data type, you must specify the complex port properties. Use complex ports in transformations to pass or process hierarchical data in a mapping.

The following image shows the complex ports and complex port properties on the Ports tab for a transformation:

Port

Complex port

Type configuration

Type configuration for an array port

Type configuration for a map port

Type configuration for a struct port

Type configuration for a port of nested data type

Based on the data type, a transformation can include the following ports and port properties:

Port: A port of a primitive data type that you can create in any transformation.
Complex port: A port of a complex or nested data type that you can create in some transformations. Array, map, and struct ports are complex ports. Based on the complex data type, you specify the complex port properties in the type configuration column.
Type configuration: A set of properties that you specify for the complex port. The type configuration determines the data type of the complex data type elements or the schema of the data. You specify the data type of the elements for array and map ports. You specify a complex data type definition for the struct port.
Type configuration for an array port: Properties that determine the data type of the array elements. In the image, the array port emp_phone is a one-dimensional array with an ordered collection of string elements. An array with string elements is also called an array of strings.
Type configuration for a map port: Properties that determine the data type of the key-value pair of the map elements. In the image, the map port emp_id_dept is an unordered collection of key-value pairs of type integer and string.
Type configuration for a struct port: Properties that determine the schema of the data. To represent the schema, you create or import a complex data type definition. In the image, the struct port emp_address references a complex data type definition typedef_adrs.
Type configuration for a port of nested data type: Properties that determine the nested data type. In the image, the array port emp_bonus is a one-dimensional array with an ordered collection of struct elements. The struct elements reference a complex data type definition typedef_bonus. An array with struct elements is also called an array of structs.