Collection Tools Component

Common collection operations

Component key: collection-tools

Description

The collection tools component contains actions that let you perform common tasks on collections of data (objects and arrays). You can do things like concatenate objects, filter items of lists (arrays), map functions on items, and more.

We use the terms list and array interchangeably on this page. Both describe a set of objects. Similarly, the terms items and elements of a list are used interchangeably.

The functions that you provide these actions for filtering, mapping, etc., should be NodeJS functions. Examples are below.

Actions

Add Key/Value to Object

Add a value to an object with the given key | key: addKey

Input	Notes	Example
Key	My Comments	FirstName
Object
Insert Path	Optionally define a path using dot notation of where to add the key/value	employee.contact
Value		Jake

If you would like to insert a key/value pair into a nested portion of the object, use the Insert Path input to specify where it should be added. For example, if your object reads:

{
  "employee": {
    "id": "123",
    "hired": "2022-03-05T00:08:00",
    "contact": {
      "phone": "6024441234"
    }
  }
}

You can add an email address to contact by specifying "email" for Key, "example@company.com" for Value, and employee.contact for Insert Path. The result will be:

{
  "employee": {
    "id": "123",
    "hired": "2022-03-05T00:08:00",
    "contact": {
      "phone": "6024441234",
      "email": "example@company.com"
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "employee": {
      "id": "123",
      "hired": "2022-03-05T00:08:00",
      "contact": {
        "phone": "6024441234",
        "FirstName": "Jake"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Multiple Key/Value to Object

Add multiple key/value pairs to an object | key: addMultipleKeys

Input	Notes	Example
Dynamic Key/Values	Add an array of key/value pairs to the object. Please take note that the action will favor this input over the 'Key/Values' input.
Key/Values	Key and value of the properties to add to the object. If provided, 'Key' and 'Value' inputs are ignored.	FirstName:Jake,LastName:Doe
Object
Insert Path	Optionally define a path using dot notation of where to add the key/value	employee.contact

{
  "data": {
    "employee": {
      "id": "123",
      "hired": "2022-03-05T00:08:00",
      "contact": {
        "phone": "6024441234",
        "FirstName": "Jake"
      }
    }
  }
}

Aggregate

Apply aggregate function to list | key: aggregate

Input	Notes	Example
Aggregate Function	Aggregate function to apply (choose from AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, MIN, SUM, PRODUCT, MEDIAN).	SUM
Filter Function	Filter out any elements that do not return true
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

This action applies the filter function (if given) first, and then applies the aggregate function to the filtered list. See the Filter action for examples of how to use the filter function.

{
  "data": 117
}

Append

Append element to the end of the list | key: append

Input	Notes	Example
Element	The item to append to the end of the list
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": {
    "list": [
      1,
      2,
      3,
      4
    ]
  }
}

Chunks

Chunk the list into lists of the specified number of elements | key: chunks

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on
Number of Elements	Number of elements to take	3

Combine Collection (Deprecated)

This version of the action is being deprecated. Please replace action with Create Object. | key: combineCollections

Input	Notes	Example
Collections	Returns an object with the specified key and corresponding collection as the value	[ {"key": "CustomerQueryResult", "value": { Customer: { Name: "Acme Contracting" } }}, {"key": "AccountQueryResult", "value": { Account: { AccountId: "123123123" } }}, ]

{
  "data": {
    "CustomerQueryResult": {
      "Customer": {
        "Name": "Acme Contracting"
      }
    },
    "AccountQueryResult": {
      "Account": {
        "AccountId": "123123123"
      }
    }
  }
}

Concatenate

Concatenate two lists together into a single list | key: concatenate

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": [
    1,
    2,
    3,
    4,
    5,
    6
  ]
}

Count

Count the number of occurrences of element in list | key: count

Input	Notes	Example
Element	Reference to an element to look for
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": 3
}

Create List

Create a new list with the given inputs | key: create

Input	Notes	Example
List Items

{
  "data": [
    1,
    2,
    3,
    4
  ]
}

Create Object

Creates a new object from provided key/value pairs | key: createObject

Input	Notes	Example
Key & Value Pairs	Key and value pairs

{
  "data": {
    "first": "value",
    "second": 17
  }
}

De-duplicate

De-duplicate the elements of the list | key: deduplicate

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": [
    1,
    2,
    3
  ]
}

Field Value Mapping

Maps the values from two different collections and returns a key/value list where the 'key' is the value of the Key Mappings input and the 'value' is the value of the Value Mappings input | key: fieldValueMapping

Input	Notes	Example
Key Mappings		[{"key":"AccountName","value":"Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Name__c"},{"key":"AccountValue","value":"Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Value__c"}]
Value Mappings		[{"key":"AccountName","value":"bar"},{"key":"AccountValue","value":"baz"}]

{
  "data": [
    {
      "key": "Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Name__c",
      "value": "bar"
    },
    {
      "key": "Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Value__c",
      "value": "baz"
    }
  ]
}

Filter

Filter elements of a list | key: filter

Input	Notes	Example
Filter Function	Filter out any elements that do not return true
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

This action applies a NodeJS filter function to an array of data. The filter function should use arrow notation, and include an input (an element) and a function that evaluates to true or false. Its return value is an array of elements that evaluated to true.

Simple Filter

For example, if you have an array, ["exuberant", "spray", "limit", "elite", "destruction", "present"], and you would like words with a length greater than 6, your filter function could read:

(word) => word.length > 6;

The result would be ["exuberant", "destruction", "present"] - all words whose length is greater than 6.

Filters on Objects

If your array is comprised of objects, you can apply a filter using each object's properties.

For example, suppose you have an array of objects like this:

[
  {
    "name": "Widget",
    "cost": 80,
    "available": true
  },
  {
    "name": "Whatsits",
    "cost": 90,
    "available": false
  },
  {
    "name": "Whoseits",
    "cost": 120,
    "available": true
  },
  {
    "name": "Whysits",
    "cost": 75,
    "available": true
  }
]

If you want to find items whose cost is less than 100 that have true for availability, you can write a filter function like this:

(item) => item.cost < 100 && item.available;

The return value of this example would be an array of two objects that passed the filter:

[
  {
    name: "Widget",
    cost: 80,
    available: true,
  },
  {
    name: "Whysits",
    cost: 75,
    available: true,
  },
];

First

Get first element from a list | key: first

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

Flatten

Flatten an array of arrays into a single array | key: flatten

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": [
    1,
    2,
    [
      3,
      [
        4
      ]
    ],
    5
  ]
}

Key Value Pair List to Object

Convert a Key Value list to an Object | key: toObject

Input	Notes	Example
Key/Value List

{
  "data": {
    "FirstName": "Foo",
    "LastName": "Bar"
  }
}

Last

Get last element from a list | key: last

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

Length

Count the number of elements in list | key: length

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": 7
}

Map

Transform a list and its elements | key: map

Input	Notes	Example
Context Data	Additional contextual data to supply to the transform and filter functions
Filter Function	Filter out any elements that do not return true
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on
Transform (map) Function	Function to transform each element

This action applies a NodeJS map function to an array of data.

It also has an optional filter function - see the Filter action for examples. The action applies the filter function (if present), and then the map function to your array.

Simple Map Function

If you have an array of integers that represent pennies, like [1234, 567, 890], and you would like to turn all values in dollar amounts, you could divide all values using a map function like this:

(value) => value / 100;

The result of the step would be an array that reads [12.34, 5.67, 8.9]

Mapping on Objects

If you have an array of objects, you can reference the object's fields in your map function. Suppose you have an array of "people" objects, and you'd like to concatenate their names and order in the list.

Your data might look like this:

[
  { "first": "Bob", "last": "Smith", "middle": "Billy" },
  { "first": "John", "last": "Doe" },
  { "first": "Lisa", "last": "Nguyen", "middle": "Sue" }
]

Your map function could look like this:

(person, index) => {
  if (person.middle) {
    return `${index} - ${person.last}, ${person.first} ${person.middle[0]}.`;
  } else {
    return `${index} - ${person.last}, ${person.first}`;
  }
};

The result of the step would be an array of strings:

["0 - Smith, Bob B.", "1 - Doe, John", "2 - Nguyen, Lisa S."]

Providing additional context to the map function

You can provide additional context to the map function by using the context input. context can be anything - a string, number or object.

For example, suppose your data is an array of objects:

[
  { "product": "Item 1", "price": 10 },
  { "product": "Item 2", "price": 11 },
  { "product": "Item 3", "price": 12 },
  { "product": "Item 4", "price": 9 },
  { "product": "Item 5", "price": 15 },
  { "product": "Item 6", "price": 16 }
]

If you provide the context as an object:

{ "minPrice": 10, "prepend": "My" }

And your filter function looks like this:

(item, index, context) => {
  return item.price > context.minPrice;
};

And your map function looks like this:

(item, index, context) => {
  return `${context.prepend} ${item.product}`;
};

Then your result would be the names of all items with a price greater than 10, with "My " prepended to the name:

["My Item 2", "My Item 3", "My Item 5", "My Item 6"]

Object to Key Value Pair List

Convert an Object to a Key Value List | key: fromObject

Input	Notes	Example
Object		{ FirstName: "Foo", LastName: "Bar" }

Process In Order

Ensures that payloads are processed in order across executions according to an ordering specified by a payload attribute. Returns the largest possible set of ordered payloads on the Process branch, and otherwise follows the Skip branch and returns the current item. | key: processInOrder

Input	Notes	Example
Collection ID	A value that uniquely identifies the collection that is being processed out of order.	da41e39f-ea4d-435a-b922-c6aae3915ebe
Collection Length	The number of items in the collection. When processing is finished the interim data for the collection is removed.	100
Item	The current item to consider for processing.	{ Index: 0, Name: "Acme Contracting" }
Item Index	The integer value to consider as the index for the current item that specifies intended processing order. 0 is the first index value.	10

The Process In Order action allows you to send several requests to an instance out of order, and helps to ensure that data runs through your integration in order. Requests with data payloads are collected, and when an ordered set of requests have been received this action processes the requests in the order you specify.

In order to use this action, you will need to know how many total items you are sending ahead of time.

Example: suppose we are updating an inventory system with three updates, and order is important. We want to process widgets first, then gadgets, and finally whatsits. We know that we have three items to import, and due to limitations of our third-party system we can't send them all at once. We're not confident that they'll arrive in any particular order, so we'll use this action to help.

Collection Tools - Process in Order flow

We'll come up with a unique "Collection ID", and begin sending our data in any order:

$ curl 'https://hooks.example.com/trigger/EXAMPLE==' \
    --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
    --data '{"item": "whatsits", "index": 2}' \
    --header 'collectionid: abc-123' \
    --header 'collectionlength: 3'

$ curl 'https://hooks.example.com/trigger/EXAMPLE==' \
    --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
    --data '{"item": "widgets", "index": 0}' \
    --header 'collectionid: abc-123' \
    --header 'collectionlength: 3'

$ curl 'https://hooks.example.com/trigger/EXAMPLE==' \
    --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
    --data '{"item": "gadgets", "index": 1}' \
    --header 'collectionid: abc-123' \
    --header 'collectionlength: 3'

The first time that our integration is invoked, the {"item": "whatsits", "index": 2} payload will be stored for future processing, since items with index 0 and 1 have not yet been processed.

The second time that our integration is invoked, the {"item": "widgets", "index": 0} payload will be processed immediately, since it has index 0, but then our loop will stop since an item with index 1 has not yet been received.

The third time our integration is invoked, the {"item": "gadgets", "index": 1} will be processed right away, since it has index 1 and an item with index 0 has already been processed. The {"item": "whatsits", "index": 2} payload will also be pulled from storage and processed since it is next in line to be processed.

At this point all items will have been processed.

Note: Items must be zero-indexed.

{
  "data": [
    {
      "Index": 0,
      "Name": "Acme Contracting"
    },
    {
      "Index": 1,
      "Name": "FooBar Consulting"
    }
  ],
  "instanceState": {
    "7d577253-3ef0-4a0a-bb7f-8335c2596e70": {
      "da41e39f-ea4d-435a-b922-c6aae3915ebe": {
        "lastIndex": 1,
        "items": []
      }
    }
  },
  "branch": "Process"
}

Remove

Remove all occurrences of an element from a list | key: remove

Input	Notes	Example
Element	Reference to an element to look for
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": [
    1,
    3
  ]
}

Select Item From List by Index

Select an item by index from a list of items, supports nested lists | key: selectItemFromList

Input	Notes	Example
Index
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on

{
  "data": [
    1,
    2,
    3,
    4
  ]
}

Sort

Sort elements using a JavaScript comparison function | key: sort

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on
Sort Comparison Function	Sort elements by the given comparison function. See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/sort for compare function documentation.

Take First

Take first number of elements from a list | key: takeFirst

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on
Number of Elements	Number of elements to take	3

{
  "data": [
    1,
    2,
    3
  ]
}

Take Last

Take last number of elements from a list | key: takeLast

Input	Notes	Example
List	Reference to a list of data to operate on
Number of Elements	Number of elements to take	3

{
  "data": [
    7,
    8,
    9
  ]
}

Validate JSON Schema

Validate a JSON input against a given schema, returning errors if not JSON input is not valid. | key: validateJsonSchema

Input	Notes	Example
JSON Object	The JSON object to validate against the schema.
JSON Schema	The JSON schema to validate the input against.

Validate XML Schema

Validate an XML input against a given XSD schema, returning errors if XML is not valid. | key: validateXmlSchema

Input	Notes	Example
XML	The XML object to validate against the schema.
XML Schema	The XSD schema to use in validation.

Common collection operations

Description​

Actions​

Add Key/Value to Object​

Add Multiple Key/Value to Object​

Aggregate​

Append​

Chunks​

Combine Collection (Deprecated)​

Concatenate​

Count​

Create List​

Create Object​

De-duplicate​

Field Value Mapping​

Filter​

Simple Filter​

Filters on Objects​

First​

Flatten​

Key Value Pair List to Object​

Last​

Length​

Map​

Simple Map Function​

Mapping on Objects​

Providing additional context to the map function​

Object to Key Value Pair List​

Process In Order​

Remove​

Select Item From List by Index​

Sort​

Take First​

Take Last​

Validate JSON Schema​

Validate XML Schema​