Format of the Output

Goal

The format <format> is used in almost all the Work Task rules, and describes how the output of the rule is formatted when stored into the database. E.g. the output format of the mask, randomize, shuffle, etc.

The <format> part will be a combination of

• Format specifiers %d, %.2f, %s, %tF, %tT
• Literal strings: "My literal string"

By default, each format specifier refers to its own <input source>. It is possible to draw data from one input source into multiple format specifiers (using 1$, 2$, etc.), as is the case for DateTime input sources.

Note

• Format specifiers alone can be written without double quotes "". Else it should be quoted ("my phone number is: %d")
• When a transform <transformation> is used, the formatted output is the input to the java transformation method specified in <transformation>. The result of the transformation is what will be stored back to the database
• Without any format specifications the value is regarded as a constant
• The text constant NULL is regarded as SQL NULL
• Each format specifier must be matched with one input source

Constructing the format string

Deciding the format specifier

The <input source> most often decides for you which format specifier you want.

1. %d - random-integer, sequence, randomize (integer)
2. %f - random-decimal, randomize (decimal)
3. %s - file, column
4. %tF - random-date, randomize (date)
5. %tT - random-time, randomize (time)
6. "%1$tF %1$tT" - random-datetime, randomize (datetime)

ANO format <format> Examples

Numbers

// ---- Numbers ----
    <rule>
        format %d               // integers
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format %f               // decimals
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format %.2f             // decimals with 2 decimal places
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format %.4f             // decimals with 4 decimal places
        <input-source>

Strings

// ---- text strings ----
    <rule>
        format %s               // simple text string
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%s"             // same as above
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%d"             // integer stored as text string
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "hello world!"   // literal. No input source
    <rule>
        format "hello %s!"      // literal + text string input source
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "+47 %d"         // literal + integer stored as string
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%s: %d"         // two input sources
        <input-source>          // <- %s
        <input-source>          // <- %d

Dates/Times/DateTimes

// ---- Date / Time / DateTime ----
    <rule>
        format %tF                      // “yyyy-MM-dd“ "2030-01-31"
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td“      // Same “yyyy-MM-dd“
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format %tD                      // "MM/dd/YY" "01/31/2030"
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%1$tm/%1$td/%1$ty"      // same "MM/dd/YY"
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format %tT                      // “HH:mm:ss“ "16:00:00" (24-hours time format)
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS"      // same “HH:mm:ss“
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%1$tF %1$tT"            // “yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss“ 2030-01-31 16:05:00“ (Database timestamp format)
        <input-source>
    <rule>
        format "%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td %1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS"  // same  “yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss“
        <input-source>

Multiple Input Sources

    <rule>
        format "%s: %d"         // two input sources
        <input-source>          // <- %s
        <input-source>          // <- %d
    <rule>
        format "%s %s (%d)"     // three input sources
        <input-source>          // <- first %s
        <input-source>          // <- second %s
        <input-source>          // <- %d

Multiple Specifiers

    <rule>
        format "%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td“      // '1$' means use first input source
        <input-source>                  // Date type input source
    <rule>
        format "%1$tm/%1$td/%1$ty"      //  %tm/%td/%ty fails since we expect 3 input sources
        <input-source>                  // Date type input source
    <rule>
        format "%1$tF %1$tT"            // “yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss“ 2030-01-31 16:05:00“ (Database timestamp format)
        <input-source>                  // DateTime type input source
    <rule>
        format "%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$td %1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS"  // same  “yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss“
        <input-source>                  // DateTime type input source
    <rule>
        format "%1$tF %2$s %1$tT"       // second input source in the middle
        <input-source>
        <input-source>

Java Formatter Documentation

For a thorough guide on the definition of different flags (e.g., %f, %tT, ... ), see

• Java String Format Examples
• Java Formatter Flags