Release Notes - expressor 3.5

• validate attributes
• large number of attributes
• table schema
• delimited schema
• lookup keys
• output attributes
• earlier versions
• error handling
• datascript module reference
• function rule

What's new in expressor 3.5

• expressor Extensions: Custom libraries that implement new operators, connections, and/or schemas for the purpose of extending the functionality of expressor Studio and the expressor Data Integration Engine.
• Salesforce Dot Com extension: An expressor extension that supports reading and writing to Salesforce Dot Com databases.
  
  • Dataflows using this functionality may be developed with any expressor edition. To run dataflows using this functionality requires either Desktop or Standard licensing.
  
  
• The Read Custom and Write Custom operators can now reject records through a reject port similar to the file and database table input and output operators.
• The Write Custom operator can now be configured to manage records in batches as well as individually.
• Support for Teradata 13.10.
• Integration with Melissa Data Web services.

Installation

• Use the Windows Control Panel utility to uninstall expressor Studio.
• Delete the directories:
  
  • Windows 7:
    
    • C:\Usersusername\AppData\Roaming\expressor
    • C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\expressor
    • C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\expressor_software
    
    
  • Windows XP:
    
    • C:\Documents and Settings\username\ApplicationData\expressor
    
    
  
  
• Discard the download file expressorStudioInstaller.exe from prior installations.
• Delete, or rename, the Workspaces directory.
  
  • Windows 7:
    
    • C:\Users\username\Documents\expressor\Workspaces
    
    
  • Windows XP:
    
    • C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\expressor\Workspaces
    
    
  
  

The following known issues have been identified.

1. STU-3628
   After opening a Workspace with Studio 3.5, cannot open it in the earlier version of Studio with which it was created.
   Workaround 1: Create a backup copy of Workspaces before opening them in Studio 3.5.
   Workaround 2: In Studio 3.5, disable all Extensions in the Workspace. The Workspace can then be reopened in the version of Studio in which it was created.
2. STU-3585
   When a joiner function in a Join operator changes the data type of a parameter, the new data type is correctly assigned to the mapped Attribute. But the Dataflow's Message panel displays an error indicating that data types do not match.
   The same error is displayed when a Join operator output Attribute does not have the same data type as an identically named Attribute on Input1, even though the two Attributes are not mapped to one another.
3. STU-3186
   Rules Editor's type-ahead feature does not recognize changes to input parameters. It displays old input parameter names instead of the current input parameter names. [validate attributes]
4. STU-3112
   In the Rules Editor, selecting and dragging a large number of output attributes to a rule's output parameters takes a long time to process.
5. STU-3106
   Noticable delay when opening the Rules Editor for an operator that has a large number of input attributes. [large number of attributes]
6. STU-3085
   Changes to dataflows are not indicated in Deployment Packages the dataflows are contained in.
7. STU-2951
   Studio does not always activate the most permissive license installed; it sometimes activates the Studio-only license even though a more permissive license has been installed.
8. STU-2776
   Join operator in Studio 3.4 does not always run as expected in dataflows created with earlier versions of Studio.
9. STU-2773
   Input attributes are not available in the Function Rule datascript editor if the Function Rule was created by conversion from another type of rule. Even if inputs are added manually to the rule, they do not appear when typing datascript. However, all works fine if the Function Rule is created from scratch.
10. STU-2728
    There is no validation to ensure Lookup Tables have at least one attribute that is not a key. However, if a Lookup Table does not have at least one attribute that is not a key, then it contains nothing to lookup. [lookup keys]
11. STU-2163
    No notification of lost Datascript Module reference. When a Project’s Library Reference is removed and the Library contains a Datascript Module that is used by an open dataflow, no validation error is displayed. The broken reference to the Datascript Module is not manifest until the dataflow runs and fails.
12. STU-1942
    When defining “allowed values” for a String data constraint, must include default values in list of allowed values.
13. STU-1566
    Quote character, field delimiter, and record delimiter cannot be the same in a delimited schema, but validation of the schema does not fail if they are the same.
    The characters used as the quotation mark and the field and record delimiters cannot be the same. This restriction is documented in the Create Delimited Schema topic in online help.
    But violation of this restriction is not indicated when the
    settings are specified for the schema. The conflicts will, however, cause an error when the dataflow runs.
14. PRO-2354
    When the Read Table and SQL Query operators reject a record, the CSV representation of the rejected record in the RecordData attribute might not contain valid CSV data.
15. PRO-2333
    The utility.encrypt function incorrecly calls base64 encoding code instead of encryption code.
16. PRO-2296
    The eflowsubst command's -O option places the substitution file in the external directory under the Deployment Package instead of the Deployment Package's dataflow directory.
17. PRO-2294
    Running a dataflow containing a Write Parameters operator in a Free Studio Edition produces vague error message. Error message should indicate that the Write Parameters operator cannot be used with Free Studio.
18. PRO-2287
    When Generate record is chosen as the On Miss action in a Lookup rule, a value must be supplied for all the output parameters in the rule, even those that are not mapped to output attributes. To work around this, a meaningless value can be assigned to the output parameters that are not mapped to output attributes.
19. PRO-2259
    The Unique key value in a Lookup Table gets changed even after an error indicates that changing a Unique key value is not allowed. [lookup keys]
20. PRO-2220
    The eflowsubst command overwrites an existing substitution file without warning.
21. PRO-2140
    When a dataflow created with expressor Studio Version 3.3 is opened in Version 3.4, the comment blocks before and after created in the Transform Editor are visible in the Rules Editor, though they are meaningless in the Rules Editor.
22. PRO-2028
    Reject options for Error handling do not work when a Write Table operator is connected to an Informix database.
23. PRO-1925
    No error is generated when reading in a decimal that contains more digits than the internal representation can handle.
24. PRO-1812
    Cannot write a nil value to a Teradata long varchar column.
25. PRO-1655
    Bulk load mode does not work when writing to a Sybase database.
26. PRO-1628
    Decimal columns in Informix databases import to Read Table operator as SMALLFLOAT data type (was Bug 5659).
27. INS-680
    Studio Version 3.5 will not start when installed after earlier Studio version is uninstalled. Some antivirus programs can cause this behavior when the Studio installation program is run from the administrator account.
    Workaround: uninstall Studio Version 3.5, turn off the antivirus program, reinstall Studio Verseion 3.5, and turn antivirus program back on.
28. INS-644
    Windows Registry sometimes displays error when Studio is launched after installation completes.

Interoperability Issues.

1. STU-3635
   Using an ODBC driver for an old Excel format (.xls) to connect to a later version Excel file produces an error message and might cause Studio to stop working.
2. STU-3566
   Oracle Table Schema fields with the NUMBER data type can generate constraints on Composite Type Attributes that cause valid data from the table to be rejected. The constraints are the result of the ODBC driver's interpretation of NUMBER when precision and scale are not defined. For Attributes mapped to Oracle Table Schema fields that have the NUMBER data type, users should set the constraints manually to ensure they match the table data.

The following issues identified in earlier product releases have been resolved.

1. DOC-269
   Version 3.5 BETA uses a new method to encrypt passwords. Encrypted values saved in substitution files from earlier versions of expressor software must be regenerated
   with Version 3.5 BETA.
2. STU-3327
   Studio stops working when user selects an operator that uses a Shared Type that was modified while the dataflow was open.
3. STU-3322
   Studio allows user to create artifacts with spaces in the names. Dataflows that use those artifacts then fail to run.
4. STU-3283
   Renaming an output attribute creates new attribute and leaves mapping in place to the attribute with the original name.
5. STU-3272
   Rules Editor underlines groups of characters that it interprets as email or web addresses.
6. STU-3270
   Move Up and Move Down buttons enabled when mapping lines and output attributes are selected but not when input attributes are selected.
7. STU-3261
   Renaming an attribute upstream causes confusion in the propagation of the attribute downstream.
8. STU-3256
   Join operator allows function rules to be marked Iterative, even though doing so does not make ssense for a join operation.
9. STU-3252
   Rules Editor selecting attributes from wrong input port on Join operator.
10. STU-3230
    Error message reports missing mappings after a Schema is changed even though appear correctly in the Schema Editor.
11. STU-3229
    Cannot resize text box for entering SQL Query and so sometimes cannot see the entire query.
12. STU-3215
    Mapping line not fully highlighted in the Schema Editor after an attribute has been modified.
13. STU-3194
    Rules Editor takes up to 20 seconds to open when the operator contains a rule with a large number of input or output parameters. [large number of attributes]
14. STU-3189
    When using Auto Generate to mape a Schema to Composite Type attributes in the Schema editor, the mapping lines do not appear even though the Schema shows that a change has been made and not saved. The Schema must be saved, closed, and reopened for the mapping lines to become visible.
15. STU-3170
    A new Table Schema created from a Type is placed in the first project in the workspace, regardless of which project contains the Type used to create the Schema.
16. STU-3167
    When selecting a large number of attributes in the Rules Editor with the Select All option on the Edit toolbar, only the nonvisible attributes are highlighted. Until you scroll, it appears no additional attributes were selected.
17. STU-3166
    Validation of Required attributes (those propagated upstream) does not work. To workaround this issue, set the Schemas in both the input and output operators, then disconnect both the input and output links to the transformation operator and reconnect them. This resets all the output attributes. [validate attributes]
18. STU-3163
    The Move Up and Move Down actions in the Rules Editor move output attributes one position, and then the attribute must be reselected to move it further.
19. STU-3090
    Existing attributes should appear in bold font when referred to in datascript in the Rules Editor.
20. STU-3066
    Performance is slow when large number of output attributes are selected and mapped simultaneously to a rule's output parameters.
21. STU-3063
    The New Table Schema from Upstream Output option on the Schema property in the Write Table operator presents the wrong Schema wizard. It presents the New Table Schema from Type rather than the New Table Schema from Upstream Output. [table schema]
22. STU-3044
    Duplicate field or column names might cause wizards for New Delimited Schema and New Table Schema to stop at the naming step. The error message indicating that a duplicate name has been entered is not always visible. [table schema, delimited schema]
23. STU-3033
    Save as Template dialog box saves last operator template rather than current operator template. The dataflow must be saved, closed, and reopened to save another operator template.
24. STU-3024
    Lookup Table key names containing space characters are not flagged as invalid until the dataflow fails. [lookup keys]
25. STU-3018
    Error message persists after a disconnected input parameter on a rule is deleted.
26. STU-3013
    Data types for output attributes are not adjusted appropriately when an upstream operator is disconnected.
27. STU-2968
    Saved dataflows marked as changed when reopened.
28. STU-2638
    Lookup rules do not display the data types of on input and output attributes, which makes it difficult for users to match them to appropriate input and output parameters in the rule.
29. STU-2629
    Validation for the names of dataflow Steps restricts them the same as artifact names, which is unnecessarily restrictive.
30. STU-2291
    A validation warning is not issued when Error handling is set to Reject and the reject port is not connected.
31. PRO-2349
    All properties for Read and Write Custom operators that can be managed with substitution files must be visible in the datascript for the operators.
32. PRO-2345
    Previously successful dataflow hangs when run after valid Schemas have been switched.
33. PRO-2343
    Dataflows crash when a Join operator reads two separate database tables and writes to a third table.
34. PRO-2302
    Lookup Expression rules do not handle Generate Record and Update Record correctly.
35. PRO-2279
    Initialization of dataflows processing more than one megabyte gets much slower as more operators are used.
36. PRO-2262
    When Datascript Module cannot be found, error messages do not indicate clearly or in a timely manner that the require statement cannot be executed. [datascript module reference]
37. PRO-2250
    When writing an oversized string to a Teradata database with the batch size set to the default (4096), the Reject Record error handling option does not send the oversized record to the reject port.
38. PRO-2246
    The Write Table operator's Reject Record error handling does not work when it is connected to an Oracle database and Merge Mode has been set.
39. PRO-2232
    The Write Table operator's Reject Record error handling does not work when it is connected to a DB2 database and Merge Mode has been set.
40. PRO-2225
    The etask -N option does not exist and should not be in the list of options produced by etask -h.
41. PRO-1900
    Numeric Sign displays both prefix and suffix even when Sign setting specifies only one.
42. INS-658
    Warning message indicates .NET Framework 3.5R1 or later must be installed on Windows 2008 R2 64-bit system but 3.5 is required.