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Variables

Variables supply rules (and rule conditions) with values for their Inputs and Outputs parameters. A variable can hold system-generated information that is likely to change at runtime; it can also hold a user-defined initial value (in effect, making it a constant) – but that value too may change, if desired, at runtime.

Variables can be used like any other data node. For example, they can be used to:
  • provide source data or hold target data in the Properties view's Inputs and Outputs areas.
  • hold a formula result, and then as a parameter to perform a second calculation.
  • hard-code an initial value into a document.
Note: Hard-coding an initial value in a Rule is somewhat like using a "constant," but there are no true constants in the CIC Studio. An initial value defined in one Rule can still be overwritten if a later Rule affects the same node.

Variables can also be used as source or target values.

Variable panel

The Variables panel presents displays that can be used to populate rule properties. Variables contain data that does not appear in your local data files or incoming documents. From this panel you can add, edit, delete, expand or collapse variables. When creating Ruleset Data Objects (RDO), they will be placed in the glb folder and be available for use in rules.

The panel contains different folders:
  • sys (System): Contains variables that capture Studio program information, such as Collection List, Current Source Element, and Current date and time. There are powerful Actions and Variables, including DateTime, List, and Duration types.
  • glb: Empty by default. Contains any Ruleset Data Objects you create.    
  • env (Environment): Contains variables specific to the document syntax of the source Schema. For example, a Ruleset using an EDI Schema as its source contains variables such as Acknowledgement ID, Sender ID, and Version Release. 

    User Reference fields: There are five User Reference fields available, which can be used to add custom fields to your Ruleset. One important example is using these fields (for Cloud integrations) to pass data from the Cleo Cockpit Projects (CCP) to the Integration Server so that data can make its way to the CIC Cockpit.

Creating Custom Variables

To create a custom (on-the-fly) variable, just click the Add Variable button and define the values (making sure nothing is already selected in the Variables panel). These variables will be displayed outside of the three folders noted above.  Note that these are local to the specific Ruleset being used, and are not available to others.

Variable Types

Related Topics

Using Variables as Context Points in the Ruleset Editor

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