Table Looping Functoid Reference

Use the Table Looping functoid ( ), in conjunction with one or more Table Extractor functoids, to create a repeating structure in an output instance message by using constant values, values from an instance message, and values that are output from other functoids. The Table Looping functoid can also be used to add records to the output structure when there is no input record. For more information, please refer to the Table-Driven Looping Example.

Input

Parameter 1: A link from a repeating node in the source schema. The number of instances of this structure that occur in a particular input instance message defines the number of times that the associated table looping grid is processed.

Parameter 2: A constant input parameter that defines the number of columns in the associated table looping grid.

Parameters 3 – 100: A link from a node in the source schema or from another functoid, such as a Value Extractor functoid, or a constant input parameter. The relative order of parameters 3 – 100 is unimportant.

Output

Output 1: A link to a repeating node in the destination schema, identifying the location of the repeating structure in output instance messages that is constructed by using values configured in the associated table looping grid.

Outputs 2 – N: One or more links to the associated Table Extractor functoids, one per such functoid.

Remarks

You must use this functoid in conjunction with one or more Table Extractor functoids.

This functoid accepts multiple inputs, such as links from the source schema, constants, and the output of other functoids. You use these inputs to configure the table looping grid from which the associated Table Extractor functoids extract the data used to build the relevant portion of the output instance message You configure the table looping grid by using the Configure Table Looping Functoid Dialog Box, Table Looping Grid Tab. You access this dialog box by using the Table Looping Grid (Functoid Property). The Table Looping Grid is a property of Table Looping functoids.

Every cell in the table looping grid is a drop-down list that is populated by input parameters 3 through 100. How the entries in the drop-down list are represented depends on the type of the corresponding input parameter and, where applicable, on whether the Label property of the link is assigned a value. There are three possibilities:

1. Constant input parameters are displayed as their values.

2. Input parameters that are links from nodes in the source schema and for which no Label link property value is supplied are displayed by using the value of their Link Source functoid property.

3. Input parameters that are links from another functoid and for which no Label link property value is supplied are displayed by using the value of their (Name) property.

In the case of 2 and 3 above, and especially in the case of 2, where the input parameters are links from nodes in the source schema, the effort involved in providing descriptive values for the Label property of the relevant link is generally well spent when the time comes to configure the table looping grid.

The Table Looping Configuration dialog box also has a check box with the label Gated. When you select this check box, you are specifying that the value of the data specified for column 1 controls whether any processing is performed for that row. When this is output from a logical functoid, if the value specified in column 1 evaluates to False, the associated row of the grid is skipped (meaning that the associated Table Extractor functoids are not invoked for that row). When column 1 is a field, then the functoid treats the presence of data as True; it treats the absence of data as False.

See Also

Advanced Functoids Reference
Advanced Functoids
Table Looping and Table Extractor Functoids
How to Add Table Looping and Table Extractor Functoids to a Map