A dictionary is a flat file or relational table that contains the substitute data for each row in the file. The Data Masking transformation generates a number to retrieve a dictionary row. The Data Masking transformation generates a hash key for repeatable substitution masking or a random number for non-repeatable masking. You can configure an additional lookup condition.
You can configure a dictionary to mask more than one port in the Data Masking transformation.
The following example shows a flat file dictionary that contains first name and gender:
SNO,GENDER,FIRSTNAME
1,M,Adam
2,M,Adeel
3,M,Adil
4,F,Alice
5,F,Alison
In this dictionary, the first field in the row is the serial number, and the second field is gender. You can add gender as a lookup condition. The Integration Service retrieves a row from the dictionary using a hash key, and it finds a row with a gender that matches the gender in the source data.
Use the following rules and guidelines when you create a dictionary:
The first row of a flat file dictionary must have column labels to identify the fields in each record. The fields are separated by commas. If the first row does not contain column labels, the Integration Service takes the values of the fields in the first row as column names.
A flat file dictionary must be in the $PMLookupFileDir lookup file directory. By default, this directory is in the following location:
<PowerCenter_Installation_Directory>\server\infa_shared\LkpFiles
If you create a flat file dictionary on Windows and copy it to a UNIX machine, verify that the file format is correct for UNIX. For example, Windows and UNIX use different characters for the end of line marker.
If you configure substitution masking for more than one port, all relational dictionaries must be in the same database schema.
The line sequential buffer length of a flat file dictionary must be less than or equal to 600 characters.
You cannot change the dictionary type or the substitution dictionary name in session properties.