How to parse information in a field using Astera’s built-in functions

Astera Centerprise has an extensive library of built-in functions that make common data transformation cases incredibly easier and faster. In this article, we will discuss two common cases where users have to parse information contained in a single field into multiple fields.

Case 1: Parse Contact Names

Having a Name field in a data set is very common. Imagine a case where you have Full Name stored in a single data field and you want to separate the first name from the last name. You can easily accomplish the task using a built-in function in Centerprise.

1. Go to Toolbox > Function Transformations > Name and Address > ParseName.

2. Drag-and-drop the ParseName object on the designer.

3. Expand the Input node and map the relevant field from the source dataset to the name field in the Input

4. Now if you preview the output, you’ll be able to see that Centerprise has parsed the information into separate output fields. So, now you have a distinct field for first name, middle name, last name and so on.

5. You can map these output fields to other objects in the dataflow as required.

Case 2: Parse String Separated by a Delimiter

If you have an input field that contains distinct pieces of information separated by a delimiter, you can easily parse the information using SplitString function in Centerprise.

A SplitString function takes the string and the separator information as an input.

1. Go to Toolbox > Function Transformation > String > SplitString.
2. Drag-and-drop the SplitString object on the designer.

3. Expand the input node and you’ll be able to see two inputs – str(string) and separator (delimiter/separator used to separate the information). Map the relevant fields to the input node.

4. Now if you preview the output, you should be able to see the information split in various parts.