Linked connectors

Linked connectors represent a link between existing connectors and thus allow a more precise definition of the data flow (definition of sender and receiver).

Examples:

  • Person import from Interflex - defines the criteria by which person master data is transferred from the time management system into Webdesk.
  • Department import from Interflex
  • Export of employee master data to a CSV file

Structure

A linked connector basically consists of the following elements:

  • Source connector (supplies the data)
  • Restriction (query) of the source connector
  • Field links
  • Target connector
  • Restriction (query) of the target connector

Source connector

A source connector can be static or configurable and supplies data in the form of records that are passed on to the target connector via a linked connector. Any connector that can serve as a source is possible.

Restriction of the source connector

The restriction of the source connector is a connector-specific expression that restricts the set of records the source connector supplies. This expression is to be specified in the language of the source connector and can also contain dynamic elements by means of Velocity.

In the case of a DBConnector, SQL is used here to define an additional WHERE clause, which is appended to any WHERE clause that already exists.

Field links

The field links specify which fields (columns) of the source connector are transferred to which fields (columns) of the target connector. During the transfer, the following processing steps can also be performed:

  • Type conversion
  • Manipulation by means of a JavaScript expression

Type conversion

Type conversions often have to be performed in order to transfer data from one connector to the next. The classic use case is the export to a CSV file. The content of the file is basically only strings, which means that during field mapping you have to define exactly which patterns and locales are to be used for serialization into the string.

Manipulation by means of a JavaScript expression

The JavaScript expression is used to manipulate the field value transferred to the target connector. The entire Webdesk API can be accessed by means of server-side JavaScript.
Use cases are:

  • Simple if/then decisions
  • Passing static values to a particular field
  • Calling business logic.

In principle, all fields of the source connector can be addressed directly by their names as variables in the JS context. If the name contains a character that means it cannot be a JS variable name, it is possible to obtain the value of the field with sourceObjMap.get( 'My Odd VariableName1').

Target connector

A target connector can be static or configurable and has the task of receiving and storing data in the form of records. It must be defined in advance what the fields it expects are called and what type they have.

Target connectors can write text files, write to the database, or also start workflows.

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