Supported Mapping Functions

This topic describes the mapping functions that Anzo supports. For information about adding functions to mappings, see Transforming Data in Mappings.

Aggregate Functions

Aggregate functions rely on the groups that you define by configuring a GROUP BY statement for the mapping. All aggregate functions use the GROUP BY that you specify. Follow these instructions to configure a GROUP BY statement:

  1. Click the cell to the left of the target table name to open the menu. For example:

  2. Click the Cog icon () in the menu to open the configuration section of the mapping.

  3. In the configuration section, click the cell that contains the join, filter, group by... text in the Target column. If necessary, click the drop-down arrow next to the cell to open the Configure text box.

  4. In the Configure text box, start typing "group by." Anzo completes the text and displays group by in the box. Click the up arrow to enter group by in the cell.

  5. Click the cell in the Source column that corresponds to the group by you entered in the Target column. Anzo enters GROUP BY in the Source text box.

  6. In the Source text box, click under GROUP BY and start typing column names for the columns that you want to group on. Press Ctrl + to enter multiple columns. Then click the up arrow to enter the columns in the cell. For example:

When you finish configuring the GROUP BY, save the mapping. When you use aggregate functions in the mapping, the functions group data according to the configured GROUP BY.

The table below describes the supported aggregate functions.

Function & Arguments Description
AVG

number

This function calculates the arithmetic mean for the group of numeric values that you specify in the number argument.
  • number: The column or expression that evaluates to a numeric value. The average is computed for the group or groups in the mapping's GROUP BY statement.

For example, the following source mapping calculates the average NUMBER_OF_BYTES for each event. The GROUP BY statement for the mapping includes EVENTID.

COUNT

value

This function counts the number of instances for a grouped value. This function does not perform COUNT DISTINCT.
MAX

value

This function calculates the maximum value for the group of numeric values that you specify in the value argument.
MIN

value

This function calculates the minimum value for the group of numeric values that you specify in the value argument.
SUM

number

This function calculates the sum of the group of numeric values that you specify in the number argument.

Boolean Operators

This section describes the boolean operators that you can use to target specific data and expand or reduce the number of records that are returned.

Function & Arguments Description
EQUAL

value1
value2

This function compares numeric values and returns "true" if value1 is equal to value2 and "false" if the values are not equal (value1 = value2).
  • value1: The numeric value to compare to value2.
  • value2: The numeric value to compare to value1.
GE

value1
value2

This function compares numeric values and returns "true" if value1 is greater than or equal to value2 and "false" if value1 is less than value2 (value1 >= value2).
  • value1: The numeric value to compare to value2.
  • value2: The numeric value to compare to value1.
GT

value1
value2

This function compares numeric values and returns "true" if value1 is greater than value2 and "false" if value1 is less than or equal to value2 (value1 > value2).
  • value1: The numeric value to compare to value2.
  • value2: The numeric value to compare to value1.
IN

value
set to check

This function checks whether a given value exists in a set of values (set to check). If the value exists in the set, IN returns "true." If the value does not exist in the set, IN returns "false." IN does not do comparisons on string values.
  • value: The value to look for in the set.
  • set to check: The set of values to compare the value against. After typing a character, press Enter to submit the value, then press Ctrl + to add the next value. All items in the set must be the same data type.

For example, the following source mapping checks to see if PATIENTID falls in the set of 1, 100, 1000:

ISNULL

expression

This function evaluates the source column values in expression and returns "true" if the value is null and "false" if it is not null. You must choose a column in the expression argument; do not type a literal value or a function.
LE

value1
value2

This function compares numeric values and returns "true" if value1 is less than or equal to value2 and "false" if value1 is greater than value2 (value1 <= value2).
  • value1: The numeric value to compare to value2.
  • value2: The numeric value to compare to value1.
LT

value1
value2

This function compares numeric values and returns "true" if value1 is less than value2 and "false" if value1 is greater than or equal to value2 (value1 < value2).
  • value1: The numeric value to compare to value2.
  • value2: The numeric value to compare to value1.
NOT_EQUAL

value1
value2

This function compares numeric values and returns "true" if value1 does not equal value2 and "false" if the values are equal (value1 != value2).
  • value1: The numeric value to compare to value2.
  • value2: The numeric value to compare to value1.

Conditional Expressions

This section describes the functions that you can use to perform different computations based on whether a conditional expression evaluates to true or false.

Function & Arguments Description
AND

logical1
logical2

This logical function evaluates two or more logical statements (logical1, logical2) and returns "true" if all conditions are met or "false" if any condition is not met. All logical statements must evaluate to the same data type.
  • logical1: The first logical condition to evaluate. This argument needs to include a logical function that returns a boolean value, such as AND, OR, GT, GE, LE, LT, EQUAL, NOT_EQUAL, ISNULL, NOT, IN.
  • logical2: The second logical condition to evaluate. This argument also needs to include a logical function that returns a boolean value.
IF

test
value if true
value if false
value if error

This function evaluates the condition in the test argument and assigns the value in value if true or value if false based on the results.
  • test: Use boolean columns or functions that return boolean: LE, LT, GE, GT, EQUALS, NOT_EQUAL, ISNULL, NOT, IN.
  • value if true: The value to output if test returns true.
  • value if false: The value to output if test returns false.
  • value if error: Cambridge Semantics recommends that you leave this argument blank.
OR

logical1
logical2

This logical function evaluates two or more logical statements (logical1, logical2) and returns "true" if any of the conditions are met or "false" if none of the conditions are met. All logical statements must evaluate to the same data type.
  • logical1: The first logical condition to evaluate. This argument needs to include a logical function that returns a boolean value, such as AND, OR, GT, GE, LE, LT, EQUAL, NOT_EQUAL, ISNULL, NOT, IN.
  • logical2: The second logical condition to evaluate. This argument also needs to include a logical function that returns a boolean value.
NOT

logical

This logical function evaluates whether data does not meet the condition (logical) that you specify.
  • logical: The logical condition to evaluate. This argument needs to include a logical function that returns a boolean value, such as AND, OR, GT, GE, LE, LT, EQUAL, NOT_EQUAL, ISNULL, NOT, IN.
REPLACEIFNULL

expression
if null expression

This function evaluates the expression. If the result is null, Anzo replaces the null with the value in if null expression.
  • expression: The source column or expression to evaluate.
  • if null expression: The expression to replace null values with. The resulting value must be the same data type as the target. For example, if mapping to a target with a double data type, "10.01" is valid but the string "missing" is not.

For example, the source mapping below replaces any null values in the PATIENTID integer column with the integer 999:

REPLACEIFNULLOREMPTY

string expression
if null or empty expression

This function evaluates the string expression. If the result is null or empty (""), Anzo replaces the empty or null with the value in if null or empty expression.
  • string expression: The source column or expression that evaluates to string.
  • if null or empty expression: The expression to replace null or empty values with. The resulting value must be a string.

For example, the source mapping below replaces any null or empty values in the GENDER column with "Not Specified":

Data Type Conversion Functions

This section describes functions that you can use to convert values from one data type to another.

Function & Arguments Description
BOOLEANPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains "true" and "false" values to boolean format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain "true" or "false" values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEBOOLEAN unless you are certain that all instances of value contain the words "true" or "false."

DATEPARSE

date text
date format

This function converts a string that contains a date value (date text) to the specified date format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain date values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEDATE unless you are certain that all instances of date text contain a date.

  • date text: The property that contains the date value in string format.
  • date format: The format that you want the date to follow. Specify days as "d," months as "M," and years as "y." For example, "yyyy-MM-dd."

For example, the source mapping below converts the MovieReleaseDate values from strings to dates in the format "dd-MM-yyyy":

The format that you specify for dates is flexible. For example, typing the format "dd-MMM-yy" displays values such as "01-JAN-19."

DATETIMEPARSE

date text
date format

This function converts a string that contains a datetime value (date text) to the specified date format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain datetime values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEDATETIME unless you are certain that all instances of date text contain a datetime.

  • date text: The property that contains the datetime value in string format.
  • date format: The format that you want the datetime to follow. For the date, specify days as "d," months as "M," and years as "y." For the time, specify "H" for hours, "m" for minutes, and "s" for seconds. For example, "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss."

For example, the source mapping below converts the PATIENTLASTPMODATE from a string value to a datatime value in the format "MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm:ss":

DECIMALPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains a decimal value to decimal format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain decimal values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEDECIMAL unless you are certain that all instances of value contain a decimal.

DOUBLEPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains a double value to double format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain double values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEDOUBLE unless you are certain that all instances of value contain a double.

FLOATPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains float values to float format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain float values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEFLOAT unless you are certain that all instances of value contain floats.

INTPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains integer values to integer format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain integer values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSEINT unless you are certain that all instances of value contain integers.

LONGPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains a long integer value (from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647) to long format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain long values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSELONG unless you are certain that all instances of value contain long data.

SHORTPARSE

value

This function converts a string (value) that contains a short integer value (from -32,678 to 32,767) to short format.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain short values can cause the ETL job to fail. Cambridge Semantics recommends using TRYPARSESHORT unless you are certain that all instances of value contain short data.

TIMEPARSE

time text
time format

This function converts a string that contains time text to a time value in the time format that you specify.

Specifying a source column for which some instances do not contain time values can cause the ETL job to fail. Use this function only when all instances of time text contain a time value.

  • time text: The property that contains the time value in string format.
  • time format: The format that you want the time value to follow. Specify "H" for hours, "m" for minutes, and "s" for seconds. For example, "HH:mm:ss."
TOSTRING

value
format

This function converts a value that is a double data type to string format.
  • value: The double type values that you want to convert to string format.
  • format: The format code for the new string value. For example, "%.0f".
TRYPARSEBOOLEAN

value
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a boolean data type. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains "true" or "false" values.
  • if error: The boolean value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSEDATE

value
date format
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a date data type in the date format that you specify. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains date data.
  • date format: The format that you want the date to follow. Specify days as "d," months as "M," and years as "y." For example, "yyyy-MM-dd." Or if your data has values such as 09APR2020, specify the date format "ddMMMyyyy."
  • if error: The date value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSEDATETIME

value
date format
if error

This function attempts to convert a datetime string value to a date data type in SQL date format (yyyy-MM-dd). If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains datetime data.
  • date format: Anzo outputs values in SQL date format, yyyy-MM-dd.
  • if error: The date value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSEDECIMAL

value
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a decimal data type. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains decimal data.
  • if error: The decimal value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSEDOUBLE

value
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a double data type. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains double data.
  • if error: The double value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSEFLOAT

value
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a float data type. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains float values.
  • if error: The float value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSELONG

value
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a long data type. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains long data (-2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647).
  • if error: The long value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
TRYPARSESHORT

value
if error

This function attempts to convert a string value to a short data type. If an instance cannot be converted, Anzo replaces the string with the value in if error.
  • value: The string value that contains short data (-32,678 to 32,767).
  • if error: The short value to replace the string with if an error occurs with the conversion.
URI() When specified in the Source column in mappings, this function transforms the property values to URI format by concatenating each of the components that you specify in the function. To ensure that values with spaces and other characters are encoded as valid URIs, the URI function is often used with the ENCODE function.

For example, the following mapping for a "tickit_events" table transforms an "eventname" string to URI format by prepending "http://csi.com/" to the encoded event names:

This example mapping results in triples such as:

<tickit_events> <eventname> "http://csi.com/Rolling+Stones"

You can also enter URI() in the Target column to specify that the Expression in the Source column should be the URI of the entity that is being created. For example, the mapping below generates an entity URI by prepending "http://csi.com/Flight" to the flight number value:

The example URI specification results in triples such as:

<http://csi.com/Flight1234> <FLIGHT_NUMBER> 1234
<http://csi.com/Flight1234> <ORIGIN_AIRPORT> "BOS"

Lookup and Mapping Functions

This section describes the lookup and map functions that Anzo supports.

Function & Arguments Description
LOOKUP

from
get
fields
values

This function enables you to look up values in a supplemental table. LOOKUP joins the from lookup table to a source table on the columns specified in the fields and values arguments. The function returns the value from get in the lookup table that corresponds to each row’s value in the values argument.
  • from: The lookup table to perform the join against.
  • get: The field or property to retrieve from the lookup table in the from argument.
  • fields: The field or fields from the lookup table to compare with the values from the primary table.
  • values: The values from the primary table to compare with the fields from the lookup table.
MAKELIST

expression

This function maps multiple source columns to a single target property. The function does not create a list; it creates new rows, one for each column that is mapped to the target.
  • expression: The list of columns that you want to map to the target. After adding a source column press Ctrl + to select the next column.
MAP

value
map

This function retrieves values from a map that you define. The map is a collection of key/value pairs. The function uses the specified value as a key in the map and returns the value associated with the key.
  • value: The key or keys to use to look up the value from the map.
  • map: The map to use to look up the values. You can click the map argument name to open the Edit Map dialog box and define or change a map.

Numeric Functions

This section describes functions that operate on values with numeric data types.

Function & Arguments Description
CEILING

value

This function rounds the value up to the next whole number if the value has a fractional part.
  • value: The source values that you want to round up to the next whole number.
DIVIDE

v1
v2

This function divides the values of the numeric expressions that you specify (v1/v2).
  • v1: The divisor in the equation.
  • v2: The dividend in the equation.
FLOOR

value

This function rounds the value down to a whole number if the value has a fractional part.
  • value: The source values that you want to round down to a whole number.
MULTIPLY

v1
v2

This function multiplies the values of the numeric expressions that you specify (v1 x v2).
  • v1: The multiplicand in the equation.
  • v2: The multiplier in the equation.
NUMERIC_ADD

v1
v2

This function adds the values of the numeric expressions that you specify (v1 + v2).
  • v1: The first addend in the equation.
  • v2: The second addend in the equation.
NUMERIC_SUBTRACT

v1
v2

This function subtracts the values of the numeric expressions that you specify (v1 - v2).
  • v1: The minuend in the equation.
  • v2: The subtrahend in the equation.
RANDOM

value
min range
max range

This function replaces value with a random integer from within the min range and max range that you specify.
  • value: The source values that you want to replace with a random integer.
  • min range: The integer that is the lowest number in the range that the function can choose from.
  • max range: The integer that is the highest number in the range that the function can choose from.
ROUND

value

This function rounds the value up or down to the closest whole number.
  • value: The source values that you want to round up or down.

String Functions

This section describes functions that operate on values with string data types.

Function & Arguments Description
CONCATENATE

text

This function concatenates multiple string values (text) and returns a single string.
  • text: The string values to concatenate, including any delimiters that you want to use. Press Ctrl + to enter multiple values.

For example, the source mapping below concatenates PATIENTHOMESTATE and PATIENTHOMEZIP:

DATEPARSE

date text
date format

This function converts a string that contains a date value (date text) to the specified date format.
  • date text: The property that contains the date value in string format.
  • date format: The format that you want the date to follow. Specify days as "d," months as "M," and years as "y." For example, "yyyy-MM-dd."

For example, the source mapping below converts the MovieReleaseDate values from strings to dates in the format "dd-MM-yyyy":

The format that you specify for dates is flexible. For example, typing the format "dd-MMM-yy" displays values such as "01-JAN-19."

DATETIMEPARSE

date text
date format

This function converts a string that contains a datetime value (date text) to the specified date format.
  • date text: The property that contains the datetime value in string format.
  • date format: The format that you want the datetime to follow. For the date, specify days as "d," months as "M," and years as "y." For the time, specify "H" for hours, "m" for minutes, and "s" for seconds. For example, "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss."

For example, the source mapping below converts the PATIENTLASTPMODATE from a string value to a datatime value in the format "MM-dd-yyyy HH:mm:ss":

LEFT

text
num chars

This function starts on the left side of a text string, keeps the number of characters in num chars, and returns the truncated string.
LOWER

value

This function converts a string value to lower case letters.
REGEX

input
regex
replace

This function finds all patterns in the input string that match the specified regular expression (regex). It replaces the input patterns with the value in replace and returns the resulting string.
  • input: The source column or expression that evaluates to a string.
  • regex: The regular expression to use to find matches in the input string. For information about REGEX syntax, see the W3C Regular Expression Syntax specification.
  • replace: The string that should replace the input patterns that match regex.

For example, the source mapping below uses the REGEX function to search for the pattern "PS" in the COMPLAINTSTRING values and replaces each PS with a hyphen (-):

RIGHT

text
num chars

This function starts on the right side of a text string, keeps the number of characters in num chars, and returns the truncated string.
SPLIT

string
delimiter

This function splits a string value into multiple values based on the specified delimiter.
  • string: The source column or function that evaluates to a string.
  • delimiter: The character to use to delimit the string.
SPLITARRAY

string
delimiter
index

This function splits a string value into an array based on the delimiter. From the array, the function retrieves only the portion of the value that you specify in the index.
  • string: The source column or function that evaluates to a string.
  • delimiter: The character to use to delimit the string.
  • index: An integer that specifies the portion of the array to retrieve. Indexes start at zero. The first portion of the array is 0, the second is 1, and so on. Choose an index that you know exists or the mapping becomes invalid.

For example, the following source mapping retrieves only the last four digits of social security numbers:

STRLEN

term

This function returns the number of characters in the specified text string (term).
UPPER

value

This function converts a string value to upper case letters.
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