Using context variables in Talend Studio - 7.3

Creating a project is the first step to using Talend Studio. Projects allow you to better organize your work.

1. Select Create a new project.
2. Enter a name for your project.

   Example

   TalendDemo
3. Click Create.
4. Click Finish.

Context groups contain values which change according to the context (prod or staging for example) in which you run a Job.

1. In the Repository, right-click Contexts and click Create context group.
2. In the Name field, enter a name.

   Example

   databasePropertyType
3. Optional: In the Purpose field, enter a purpose.

   Example

   Fetching context from a database
4. Optional: In the Description field, enter a description.

   Example

   Setting up context variables for different situations
   Tip: Enter a Purpose and Description to stay organized.
5. Click the plus button to add a context value.
   1. In the Name field, enter a name.

      Example

      1. host
      2. port
      3. database
      4. username
      5. password
   2. Select the Type property of your context value.

      Example

      1. For host, select Directory.
      2. For port, select Integer.
      3. For password, select Password.
   3. Enter the Value property of your context value.

      Example

      1. For host, enter 127.0.0.1.
      2. For port, enter 3306.
      3. For database, enter csv_db 6.
      4. For username, enter root.
6. Click Finish.

You can use context groups to run Jobs according to different predetermined parameters. By taking the example of deployment environments, you can configure passwords or usernames following a Job execution on your production or staging environment.

1. In the Repository, expand Contexts, right-click a context group and click Edit context group.
2. Click Next.
   You are brought to Step 2 in the wizard.
3. Click Configure Contexts...
   
4. Click New...
5. Enter a context name.

   Example

   prod
6. Click OK.
   You are brought back to the Configure Contexts window.
7. Define your context parameters.

   Example

   Link your context to a database.
8. Optional: Select the Default context environment.
9. Click Finish.
10. In the Run view, select a Context.
    
11. Click Run.

You can export metadata definitions as context groups to use their parameters on a Job level, rather than a component level.

1. In the Repository, expand Metadata > File delimited, right-click the file delimited metadata of your choice and click Edit file delimited.
2. The metadata has already been set up, click Next twice.
   You are brought to Step 3 in the wizard.
3. Click Export as context.
   
4. Select Create a new repository context.
5. Click Next.
6. In the Name field, enter a name.

   Example

   moviesContextGroup
7. Optional: In the Purpose field, enter a purpose.

   Example

   Reusing my movie metadata as context
8. Optional: In the Description field, enter a description.

   Example

   File delimited metadata as a context group
   Tip: Enter a Purpose and Description to stay organized.
9. Click Next.
   All parameters have been changed to variables with the default values.
10. Click Finish
    You are brought back to the Edit an existing Delimited file window.
11. Click Finish.
    1. Optional: Select if you want to propagate the modifications to all Jobs.
    2. Optional: Select the items you want to update.
    3. Optional: Click OK.
    4. Optional: Select if you want to add the context parameters to Jobs using this connection.

You can import a context group into a preexisting Job to standardize the use of your environments. You can configure an access to your staging and production environments, for example.

1. In the Contexts view, click the Import Context button at the bottom of the screen.
   
   The Select Context Variables window appears.
2. Select individual variables or groups of variables.

   Example

   Context: databasePropertyType
   Tip: You can access the imported variables by using the prefix context. followed by the variable name (for example: context.database).