Using a Subflow as a Sink
You can use a subflow as the last stage in a flow to write data to a file or database and even perform some processing on the data before writing the data to the output destination. You can create a subflow as simple as a single sink stage that is configured in a way that you want to reuse in multiple flows, or you could create a more complex subflow that processes data in some way before writing it to the output destination.
- In Spectrum Enterprise Designer, click .
- Drag an Input stage from the palette to the canvas.
- Double-click the Input stage and add the fields that the subflow will receive from the flow in which it is used.
- After configuring the Input stage, add additional stages as needed to perform the post-processing that you want.
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At the end of the subflow, add the appropriate sink.
For example, if you created a subflow that uses a Transformer stage to trim white space and standardize the casing of a field then writes it to a database, you would have a subflow that looks like this:
- Select and save the subflow.
- Select to make the subflow available to include in flows.
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In the flow where you want to include the subflow, drag the subflow from
the palette to the canvas and connect it to the last stage in the
flow.
Note: Since the subflow contains a sink stage rather than an Output stage, the subflow icon only has an input port. It can only be used as a sink in the flow.
The parent flow now uses the subflow you created as a sink. For example, if you created a subflow named "Transform and Write to DB" and you add the subflow and connect it to a Geocode US Address stage, your flow would look like this: