Using XPaths for XML Input in Talend Open Studio

If you have an XML document based on a schema that requires transformation, consider using XPaths in Talend Open Studio to flatten the hierarchical file for loading.

A Talend Open Studio Walkthrough: Producing XML

XML is used for data transfer because it carries with it metadata and structure.  Talend Open Studio is well-suited to forming XML from sources like relational databases.

[AUDIO] Integration Tools Podcast, Episode 20: WhereScape. Talend. Pitney Bowes. DataFlux.

Episode 20 of the Integration Tools Podcast is available. The podcast is on integration tools' product releases, research, and events. Episode 20 covers WhereScape, Talend, Pitney Bowes, DataFlux.

Spend one or two minutes a week to keep on top of the data integration tools market.

Integration Tools Podcast Episode 20

For more podcasts, visit http://www.bekwam.com.

[TUTORIAL] Using Styles in Jaspersoft iReport Designer

Tutorial on creating and applying styles to a report in Jaspersoft iReport Designer

Procedural Update in Talend Open Studio

For optimal performance, have the database do most of the work when updating.  Sometimes, this won't be feasible and you'll need to create loops and parameterize queries in a Talend Open Studio job.

Outline View in Talend Open Studio

Use the Outline View in Talend Open Studio to keep track of component return values.  This includes user-defined values configured in a tSetGlobal.

Mapping the Auto Increment Column in Talend Open Studio

When you're working with an auto-incremented column in Talend Open Studio, you must be careful not to map the column if it's used as an output.

Passing Parameters and Variables to Child Jobs in Talend Open Studio

Jobs written in Talend Open Studio communicate with child jobs using Context Variables.  To return data from a child job using a Context Variable, define an Object variable that is a java.util.Map.

[AUDIO] Integration Tools Podcast, Episode 19: Informatica, IBM, Syncsort, SnapLogic.

Episode 19 of the Integration Tools Podcast is available. The podcast is on integration tools' product releases, research, and events. Episode 19 covers Informatica, IBM, Syncsort, SnapLogic.

Spend one or two minutes a week to keep on top of the data integration tools market.

Integration Tools Podcast Episode 19

For more podcasts, visit http://www.bekwam.com

Protecting Yourself in Talend Open Studio

Every once and a while, I run the wrong job in Talend Open Studio.  tMsgBox can prevent any damage by requiring a confirmation before proceeding.

BRules 0.3 Released for Talend Open Studio

BRules is a collection of routines that validates data elements in Talend Open Studio. Version 0.3, which includes the new validation routines isXML(), okChars(), and isBlank(), was uploaded to the Talend Exchange.

Technique for Ordering Records in Talend Open Studio

With a load timestamp or auto-incremented counter, you can often infer a record ordering.  However, for maintenance purposes, you may want to break out the ordering data.

Using Talend as a Datasource for a Jasper Report

In Talend Open Studio, the tJasperOutput component can be used to create a Jasper Report created in iDesigner.  Talend's flows -- say from a tAccessInput -- provide the data.

Java Collection Shorthand with Closures

For a shorthand technique to checking a Java Collection for an element or counting a number of instances, use the Commons Lang CollectionUtils class.

Calling a Jasper Report from Talend Open Studio

Use the tJasperOutput component to run a Jasper Report from Talend Open Studio.  This component allows a report to be produced after a data flow is executed.

Bekwam Consultant Featured on Talend Web Site

Bekwam, Inc. President and Principal Engineer Carl Walker is featured on the Talend community web site (talendforge.org).

Visit http://www.talendforge.org/community_member.php to read about Carl's work with Talend Open Studio.

Large Chunks of Text in Talend Open Studio

You can save large blocks of text in Talend Open Studio using database types like Clob (Oracle) or Memo (Microsoft Access).  However, if the input is a text file, you may need additional processing to gather the Clob data.

[AUDIO] Integration Tools Podcast, Episode 18: Talend. Pentaho. Informatica. Extol. DataFlux. Queplix. expressor.

Episode 18 of the Integration Tools Podcast is available. The podcast is on integration tools' product releases, research, and events. Episode 18 covers Talend, Pentaho, Informatica, Extol, DataFlux, Queplix, expressor.

Spend one or two minutes a week to keep on top of the data integration tools market.

Integration Tools Podcast Episode 18

For more podcasts, visit http://www.bekwam.com.

Validating XML Using Standard Java

XML processing is included in standard Java.  This is a function that can be integrated into applications like Talend Open Studio for a quick of an XML string for well-formedness.

To Iterate or Flow in Talend Open Studio

When working with RDBMS or Web Services components, Talend Open Studio jobs use Flows.  For systems programming -- file operations, etc. -- jobs use Iterators.  Use a Flow where possible, but keep things as Iterate if most of the components are Iterate connection-based.

Comparing 2 File Lists in Talend Open Studio

This post uses the add() and remove() Java Collections calls to the set difference of two lists of files.  Files from 2 directories are listed and one directory's files are removed from the other.  The result is a difference used in later processing.

[AUDIO] Integration Tools Podcast, Episode 17: Pervasive. Informatica. expressor. Talend. Syncsort. QueplixCorp.

Episode 17 of the Integration Tools Podcast is available. The podcast is on integration tools' product releases, research, and events. Episode 17 covers Pervasive, Informatica, expressor, Talend, Syncsort, and Queplix.

Spend one or two minutes a week to keep on top of the data integration tools market.

Integration Tools Podcast Episode 17

For more podcasts, visit http://www.bekwam.com.

Reset Windows in Jaspersoft iReport Designer

If you have trouble docking the Palette in Jaspersoft's iReport Designer, reset the windows using Windows > Reset Windows.

In 4.0.2, the Palette docker wouldn't dock with the Properties docker.  After "Reset Windows", the Palette and the Properties docker appear in the right side of the screen with the Palette on top and the Properties below.

Integration Tools Podcast to be Published on Mondays

(Update : I'll publish this on Saturdays and Tweet again on Mondays. -Carl)

The Integration Tools Podcast will be published and available on the Bekwam web site -- http://www.bekwam.com -- on Saturdays.  Notifications by Twitter and Blogger will be moved to Monday mornings so that they aren't lost in the weekend traffic.

Different Locales (US, Europe) in Talend Open Studio

The Java Runtime Environment is fully localized, and that capability can be used in Talend Open Studio jobs.

Running Count in Talend Open Studio

Most Talend components keep a count of the records processed using variables like NB_LINE or NB_LINE_OK.  But these are only available after all processing is completed.  Define your own counter variable to keep a running count for use in a tMap.