Groovy Evaluator

Supported pipeline types: Data Collector

The Groovy Evaluator processes data based on Groovy code. Use the Groovy Evaluator processor to use Groovy code to perform custom processing. The Groovy Evaluator supports Groovy version 2.4.

You can develop the following scripts for the processor:

Initialization script - Optional initialization script that sets up any required resources or connections. The initialization script is run once when the pipeline starts.
Main processing script - Main script that processes data. The main script is run for each record or each batch of data, based on the configured processing mode.
Destroy script - Optional destroy script that closes any resources or connections that were opened by the processor. The destroy script is run once when the pipeline stops.

When you use a Groovy Evaluator in a pipeline, the Data Collector passes a batch of data to the processor and converts the data to a scripting-friendly data structure for processing.

You can call external Java code from the script. You can also configure the processor to use invokedynamic bytecode instruction.

The processor provides extensive sample code that you can use to develop your script.

Processing Mode

You can choose the processing mode that the Groovy Evaluator uses to process the main script. You can use the same script in each processing mode. However, you should include error handling in the main script before you run in batch mode.

The Groovy Evaluator provides the following processing modes for the main script:

Record by Record: The processor calls the script for each record. The processor passes the record to the script as a map and processes each record individually.; The script does not require error handling logic. Error records are passed to the processor for error handling. The processor handles error records based on the On Record Error property.; Use this mode to avoid including error handling logic in the code. Since this mode calls the script for each record, pipeline performance will be negatively affected.
Batch by Batch: The processor calls the script for each batch. The processor passes the batch to the script as a list and processes the batch at one time.; Include error handling logic in the script. Without error handling logic, a single error record sends the entire batch to the processor for error handling. The processor handles error records based on the On Record Error property.; Use this mode to improve performance by processing a batch of data at a time.

Groovy Scripting Objects

You can use different scripting objects in the Groovy Evaluator, based on the type of script:

Script Type	Valid Scripting Objects
Init	You can use the following scripting objects in the initialization script: state log sdcFunctions - All methods, such as `getFieldNull`, `createMap`, and `pipelineParameters`.
Main	You can use the following scripting objects in the main script: records state log output error sdcFunctions - All methods.
Destroy	You can use the following scripting objects in the destroy script: state log sdcFunctions - All methods, such as `getFieldNull`, `createMap`, `createEvent`, `toEvent`, and `pipelineParameters`.

The scripting objects work the same within each script type:

records

A collection of records to process. The records object includes different elements based on the processing mode that you use:

Record by Record - The records array includes one record element. A record includes a single value element. The value element contains the data for the record.
Batch by Batch - The records array includes all records in the batch.

Map and list record fields are mapped to Groovy maps and lists, respectively.

state

An object to store information between invocations of the init, main, and destroy scripts. A state is a map object that includes a collection of key/value pairs. You can use the state object to cache data such as lookups, counters, or a connection to an external system.

The state object functions much like a member variable:

The information is transient and is lost when the pipeline stops or restarts.
The state object is available only for the instance of the processor stage it is defined in. If the pipeline executes in cluster mode, the state object is not shared across nodes.

The same instance of the state object is available to all three scripts. For example, you might use the init script to open a connection to a database and then store a reference to that connection in the state object. In the main script, you can access the open connection using the state object. Then in the destroy script, you can close the connection using the state object.

Warning: The state object is best used for a fixed or static set of data. Adding to the cache on every record or batch can quickly consume the memory allocated to Data Collector and cause out of memory exceptions.

log

An object to write messages to the log. Includes four methods: info(), warn(), debug(), and trace().

The signature of the four methods is as follows:

(message-template, arguments...)

The message template can have positional variables denoted by curly brackets: { }. The arguments are replaced in the message template curly brackets in positional manner, i.e., this is the first argument in the first { } occurrence, and so on.

output

An object that writes the record to the output batch. Includes a write(Record) method.

error

An object that passes error records to the processor for error handling. Includes a write(Record, message) method.

sdcFunctions

An object that runs functions that evaluate or modify data. Includes the following methods:

getFieldNull(Record, 'field path') - Method that checks if a field is assigned a constant such as NULL_INTEGER or NULL_STRING.
createRecord('recordId') - Method that creates a new record with the specified fields and values. The recordId is a string that uniquely identifies the record. It should include enough information to track down the record source.
createMap(boolean listMap) - Method that creates a map for use as a field in a record. Pass true to create a list-map field, or false to create a map field.
createEvent(String type, int version) - Method that creates a new event record with the specified event type and version. Be sure to enable event generation in the stage before implementing event methods.
toEvent(Record) - Method that sends an event record to the Event output stream. Be sure to enable event generation in the stage before implementing event methods.
pipelineParameters() - Method that returns a map of all runtime parameters defined for the pipeline.

Processing List-Map Data

In scripts that process list-map data, treat the data as maps.

List-map is a Data Collector data type that allows you to use standard record functions to work with delimited data. When an origin reads delimited data, it generates list-map fields by default.

The Groovy Evaluator can read and pass list-map data. But to process data in a list-map field, treat the field as a map in the script.

Type Handling

Note the following type information when working with the Groovy Evaluator processor:

Data type of null values

You can associate null values with a data type. For example, if the script assigns a null value to an Integer field, the field is returned to the pipeline as an integer with a null value.

Use constants in the Groovy code to create a new field of a specific data type with a null value. For example, you can create a new String field with a null value by assigning the NULL_STRING type constant to the field as follows:

record.value['new_field'] = NULL_STRING

Date fields

Use the String data type to create a new field to store a date with a specific format. For example, the following sample code creates a new String field that stores the current date using the format YYYY-MM-dd:

 // Define a date object to record the current date
def date = new Date()

for (record in records) {
  try {
    // Create a string field to store the current date with the specified format
    record.value['date'] = date.format('YYYY-MM-dd')
    
    // Write a record to the processor output
    output.write(record)
  } catch (e) {
    // Send a record to error
    log.error(e.toString(), e)
    error.write(record, e.toString())
  }
}

Event Generation

You can use the Groovy Evaluator to generate event records for an event stream. Enable event generation when you want the processor to generate an event record based on scripting logic.

As with any event record, you can pass events downstream to a destination for event storage or to any executor that can be configured to use the event. For more information about events and the event framework, see Dataflow Triggers Overview.

To generate events:

On the General tab, select the Produce Events property.
This enables the event output stream for use.
Include both of the following scripting objects in the script:
- sdcFunctions.createEvent(<String type>, <int version>) - Creates an event record with the specified event type and version number. You can create a new event type or use an existing event type. Existing event types are documented in other event-generating stages.
  The event record contains no record fields. Generate record fields as needed.
- sdcFunctions.toEvent(Record) - Use to pass events to the event output stream.

Working with Record Header Attributes

You can use the Groovy Evaluator processor to read, update, or create record header attributes.

Use a map when creating or updating a header attribute. If a header attribute exists, the script updates the value. If it does not exist, the script creates the attribute and sets it to the specified value.

All records include a set of read-only record header attributes that stages can update as they process the records. Error records also have their own set of read-only header attributes.

Some stages generate custom record header attributes that are meant to be used in particular ways. For example, the Oracle CDC Client origin specifies the operation type for a record in a record header attribute. And event-generating stages create a set of event header attributes for event records. For more information, see Record Header Attributes.

You can use the following record header variables to work with header attributes:

record.<header name> - Use to return the value of a read-only header attribute.
record.attributes - Use to return a map of custom record header attributes, or to create or update a specific record header attribute.

Tip: Use data preview to view the record header attributes included in a record.

Viewing Record Header Attributes

You can use data preview to view the record header attributes associated with a record at any given point in the pipeline. To view record header attributes, enable the Show Record/Field Header data preview property.

For example, the following image shows a record generated by the Directory origin in data preview.

The "Record Header" list displays the set of read-only internal attributes in the record at this point of the pipeline. You can use the record.<header name> variable to return values for these attributes.

The header attributes under "values" are the attributes created by the Directory origin. You can use the record.attributes variable to return or modify these attributes. When you use the record.attributes variable to create a header attribute, it displays in this location during data preview.

Accessing Whole File Format Records

In a pipeline that processes the whole file data format, you can use a Groovy Evaluator to read the whole file data.

The processor can access the fileref field in a whole file record by creating an input stream using the getInputStream() API. For example, you might use the processor to read the file data in the fileref field and then create new records with the data. The processor can access the fileref field, but cannot modify information in the field.

Use the following lines to create and then read the input stream:

input_stream = record.value['fileRef'].getInputStream()
input_stream.read()

After the processor reads the input stream, include the following line in the code to close the input stream:

input_stream.close()

Calling External Java Code

You can call external Java code from the Groovy Evaluator. Simply install the external Java library to make it available to the Groovy Evaluator. Then, call the external Java code from the Groovy script that you develop for the processor.

For information about installing additional drivers, see Install External Libraries.

To call external Java code from a Groovy script, simply add an import statement to your script, as follows:

import <package>.<class name>

For example, let's say that you installed the Bouncy Castle JAR file to compute SHA-3 (Secure Hash Algorithm 3) digests. Add the following statement to your script:

import org.bouncycastle.jcajce.provider.digest.SHA3

For more information, see the following StreamSets blog post: Calling External Java Code from Script Evaluators.

Granting Permissions on Groovy Scripts

If Data Collector is using the Java Security Manager and the Groovy code needs to access network resources, you must update the Data Collector security policy to include Groovy scripts.

The Java Security Manager is enabled by default. For more information, see Security Manager.

In the Data Collector configuration directory, edit the security policy:
```
$SDC_CONF/sdc-security.policy
```
Add the following lines to the file:
```
// groovy source code
grant codebase "file:///groovy/script" { 
  <permissions>;
};
```
Where <permissions> are the permissions you are granting to the Groovy scripts.
For example, to grant read permission on all files in the /data/files directory and subdirectories, add the following lines:
```
// groovy source code
grant codebase "file:///groovy/script" { 
  permission java.util.PropertyPermission "*", "read";
  permission java.io.FilePermission "/data/files/*", "read";
};
```
Restart Data Collector.

Configuring a Groovy Evaluator

Configure a Groovy Evaluator to use custom Groovy code in a pipeline.

In the Properties panel, on the General tab, configure the following properties:

General Property	Description
Name	Stage name.
Description	Optional description.
Produce Events	Generates event records when events occur. Use for event handling.
Required Fields	Fields that must include data for the record to be passed into the stage. Tip: You might include fields that the stage uses. Records that do not include all required fields are processed based on the error handling configured for the pipeline.
Preconditions	Conditions that must evaluate to TRUE to allow a record to enter the stage for processing. Click Add to create additional preconditions. Records that do not meet all preconditions are processed based on the error handling configured for the stage.
On Record Error	Error record handling for the stage: Discard - Discards the record. Send to Error - Sends the record to the pipeline for error handling. Stop Pipeline - Stops the pipeline. Not valid for cluster pipelines.

On the Groovy tab, configure the following properties:

Groovy Evaluator Property	Description
Record Processing Mode	Determines how the Groovy Evaluator processes the main script: Record by Record - Processes records individually. Performs error handling. Batch by Batch - Processes records in batches. Requires error handling code in the script. Default is Batch by Batch.
Init Script	Optional initialization script to use. Use to set up any required connections or resources. Runs once when the pipeline starts.
Script	Main processing script to use. Runs for each record or each batch of data, based on the configured processing mode.
Destroy Script	Optional destroy script to use. Use to close any connections or resources that were used. Runs once when the pipeline stops.
Enable invokedynamic Compiler Option	Enables the use of the invokedynamic bytecode instruction. This can affect performance differently depending on the use case. For more information about Groovy invokedynamic support, see http://groovy-lang.org/indy.html.