Defining Template Record Rules

In Best of Breed processing, the template record is the record in a collection that is used to create the best of breed record. The template record is used as the starting point for constructing the best of breed record and is modified based on the best of breed settings you define. The Best of Breed stage can select the template record automatically, or you can define rules for selecting the template record. This topic describes how to define rules for selecting the template record.

Template rules are written by specifying the field name, an operator, a value type, and a value. Here is an example of template record options:

Field Name: MatchScore
Field Type: Numeric
Operator: Equal
Value Type: String
Value: 100

This template rule selects the record in the collection where the Match Score is equal to the value of 100.

The following procedure describes how to define a template record rule in the Best of Breed stage.

  1. In the Best of Breed stage, under Template Record Settings, select the option Define template record.
  2. In the tree, click Rules.
  3. Click Add Rule.
  4. Complete the following fields.
    Option Description

    Field name

    Specifies the name of the dataflow field whose value you want to evaluate to determine if the record should be the template record.

    Field Type

    Specifies the type of data in the field. One of the following:

    Non-Numeric
    Choose this option if the field contains non-numeric data (for example, string data).
    Numeric
    Choose this option if the field contains numeric data (for example, double, float, and so on).

    Operator

    Specifies the type of comparison you want to use to evaluate the field. One of the following:

    Contains
    Determines if the field contains the value specified. For example, "sailboat" contains the value "boat".
    Equal
    Determines if the field contains the exact value specified.
    Greater Than
    Determines if the field value is greater than the value specified. This operation only works on numeric fields.
    Greater Than Or Equal To
    Determines if the field value is greater than or equal to the value specified. This operation only works on numeric fields.
    Highest
    Compares the field's value for all the records group and determines which record has the highest value in the field. For example, if the fields in the group contain values of 10, 20, 30, and 100, the record with the field value 100 would be selected. This operation only works on numeric fields. If multiple records are tied for the longest value, one record is selected.
    Is Empty
    Determines if the field contains no value.
    Is Not Empty
    Determines if the field contains any value.
    Less Than
    Determines if the field value is less than the value specified. This operation only works on numeric fields.
    Less Than Or Equal To
    Determines if the field value is less than or equal to the value specified. This operation only works on numeric fields.
    Longest
    Compares the field's value for all the records group and determines which record has the longest (in bytes) value in the field. For example, if the group contains the values "Mike" and "Michael", the record with the value "Michael" would be selected. If multiple records are tied for the longest value, one record is selected.
    Lowest
    Compares the field's value for all the records group and determines which record has the lowest value in the field. For example, if the fields in the group contain values of 10, 20, 30, and 100, the record with the field value 10 would be selected. This operation only works on numeric fields. If multiple records are tied for the longest value, one record is selected.
    Most Common
    Determines if the field value contains the value that occurs most frequently in this field among the records in the group. If two or more values are most common, no action is taken.
    Not Equal
    Determines if the field value is not the same as the value specified.

    Value type

    Specifies the type of value you want to compare to the field's value. One of the following:

    Note: This option is not available if you select the operator Highest, Lowest, or Longest.
    Field
    Choose this option if you want to compare another dataflow field's value to the field.
    String
    Choose this option if you want to compare the field to a specific value.
    Value

    Specifies the value to compare to the field's value. If you selected Field in the Field type field, select a dataflow field. If you selected String in the Value type field, type the value you want to use in the comparison.

    Note: This option is not available if you select the operator Highest, Lowest, or Longest.
  5. Click OK.
  6. If you want to specify additional rules, click Add Rule.

    If you add additional rules, you will have to select a logical operator to use between each rule. Choose And if you want the new rule and the previous rule to both pass in order for it to be selected as the template record. Select Or if you want either the previous rule or the new rule to pass in order for the record to be selected as the template record.

You have now configured rules to use to select the template record. Configure the best of breed settings to complete the configuration of the Best of Breed stage.