Collection Tools Component

Common collection operations
Component key: collection-tools#
DescriptionThe 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 interchangably on this page. Both describe a set of objects. Similarly, the terms items and elements of a list are used interchangably.
The functions that you provide these actions for filtering, mapping, etc., should be NodeJS functions. Examples are below.
#
Actions#
Add Key/Value to ObjectAdd a value to an object with the given key | key: addKey
Input | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|
Input Key string / Required | Notes My Comments | Example FirstName |
Input Object code / Required | Notes | Example
|
Input Insert Path string | Notes Optionally define a path using dot notation of where to add the key/value | Example employee.contact |
Input Value string / Required | Notes | Example 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" } }}
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": { "FirstName": "Foo", "LastName": "Bar" }}
#
AggregateApply aggregate function to list | key: aggregate
Input | Default | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Input Aggregate Function string / Required | Default | Notes Aggregate function to apply (choose from AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, MIN, SUM, PRODUCT, MEDIAN). | Example SUM |
Input Filter Function code | Default
| Notes Filter out any elements that do not return true | Example
|
Input List code / Required | Default | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example |
This action applys 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.
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": 117}
#
AppendAppend element to the end of the list | key: append
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input Element data / Required | Notes The item to append to the end of the list |
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": { "list": [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ] }}
#
ChunksChunk the list into lists of the specified number of elements | key: chunks
Input | Default | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Input List code / Required | Default | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example |
Input Number of Elements string / Required | Default 1 | Notes Number of elements to take | Example 3 |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ [ 1, 2, 3 ], [ 4, 5, 6 ], [ 7, 8 ] ]}
#
Combine Collection[Deprecated - use 'Create Object'] | key: combineCollections
Input | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|
Input Collections string / Required Key Value List | Notes Returns an object with the specified key and corresponding collection as the value | Example [
{"key": "CustomerQueryResult", "value": { Customer: { Name: "Acme Contracting" } }},
{"key": "AccountQueryResult", "value": { Account: { AccountId: "123123123" } }},
] |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": { "CustomerQueryResult": { "Customer": { "Name": "Acme Contracting" } }, "AccountQueryResult": { "Account": { "AccountId": "123123123" } } }}
#
ConcatenateConcatenate two lists together into a single list | key: concatenate
Input | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example
|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example
|
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ]}
#
CountCount the number of occurrences of element in list | key: count
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input Element data / Required | Notes Reference to an element to look for |
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": 3}
#
Create ListCreate a new list with the given inputs | key: create
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input List Items data Value List | Notes |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ]}
#
Create ObjectCreates a new object from provided key/value pairs | key: createObject
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input Key & Value Pairs data / Required Key Value List | Notes Key and value pairs |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": { "first": "value", "second": 17 }}
#
De-duplicateDe-duplicate the elements of the list | key: deduplicate
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 1, 2, 3 ]}
#
Field Value MappingMaps 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 |
---|---|---|
Input Key Mappings data | Notes | Example [{"key":"AccountName","value":"Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Name__c"},{"key":"AccountValue","value":"Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Value__c"}] |
Input Value Mappings string Key Value List | Notes | Example [{"key":"AccountName","value":"bar"},{"key":"AccountValue","value":"baz"}] |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ { "key": "Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Name__c", "value": "bar" }, { "key": "Deploy_Time_Specified_Account_Value__c", "value": "baz" } ]}
#
FilterFilter elements of a list | key: filter
Input | Default | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Input Filter Function code | Default
| Notes Filter out any elements that do not return true | Example
|
Input List code / Required | Default | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example
|
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 FilterFor 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 ObjectsIf 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, },];
#
FirstGet first element from a list | key: first
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
FlattenFlatten an array of arrays into a single array | key: flatten
Input | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example
|
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 1, 2, [ 3, [ 4 ] ], 5 ]}
#
Key Value Pair List to ObjectConvert a Key Value list to an Object | key: toObject
Input | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|
Input Key/Value List code / Required | Notes | Example
|
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": { "FirstName": "Foo", "LastName": "Bar" }}
#
LastGet last element from a list | key: last
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
LengthCount the number of elements in list | key: length
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": 7}
#
MapTransform a list and its elements | key: map
Input | Default | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Input Context Data data | Default | Notes Additional contextual data to supply to the Transform Function | Example |
Input Filter Function code | Default
| Notes Filter out any elements that do not return true | Example
|
Input List code / Required | Default | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example |
Input Transform (map) Function code | Default
| Notes Function to transform each element | Example
|
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 FunctionIf 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 ObjectsIf 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."]
#
Object to Key Value Pair ListConvert an Object to a Key Value List | key: fromObject
Input | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|
Input Object data / Required | Notes | Example { FirstName: "Foo", LastName: "Bar" } |
#
Process In OrderEnsures 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 |
---|---|---|
Input Collection ID string / Required | Notes A value that uniquely identifies the collection that is being processed out of order. | Example da41e39f-ea4d-435a-b922-c6aae3915ebe |
Input Collection Length data / Required | Notes The number of items in the collection. When processing is finished the interim data for the collection is removed. | Example 100 |
Input Item data / Required | Notes The current item to consider for processing. | Example { Index: 0, Name: "Acme Contracting" } |
Input Item Index data / Required | Notes The integer value to consider as the index for the current item that specifies intended processing order. 0 is the first index value. | Example 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 to Prismatic in any particular order, so we'll use this action to help.

We'll come up with a unique "Collection ID", and begin sending our data in any order:
$ curl 'https://hooks.prismatic.io/trigger/EXAMPLE==' \ --header "Content-Type: application/json" \ --data '{"item": "whatsits", "index": 2}' \ --header 'collectionid: abc-123' \ --header 'collectionlength: 3'
$ curl 'https://hooks.prismatic.io/trigger/EXAMPLE==' \ --header "Content-Type: application/json" \ --data '{"item": "widgets", "index": 0}' \ --header 'collectionid: abc-123' \ --header 'collectionlength: 3'
$ curl 'https://hooks.prismatic.io/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.
#
Output Example Payload{ "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"}
#
RemoveRemove all occurrences of an element from a list | key: remove
Input | Notes |
---|---|
Input Element data / Required | Notes Reference to an element to look for |
Input List code / Required | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 1, 3 ]}
#
SortSort elements using a JavaScript comparison function | key: sort
Input | Default | Notes |
---|---|---|
Input List code / Required | Default
| Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on |
Input Sort Comparison Function code | Default
| Notes 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 FirstTake first number of elements from a list | key: takeFirst
Input | Default | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Input List code / Required | Default | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example |
Input Number of Elements string / Required | Default 1 | Notes Number of elements to take | Example 3 |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 1, 2, 3 ]}
#
Take LastTake last number of elements from a list | key: takeLast
Input | Default | Notes | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Input List code / Required | Default | Notes Reference to a list of data to operate on | Example |
Input Number of Elements string / Required | Default 1 | Notes Number of elements to take | Example 3 |
#
Output Example Payload{ "data": [ 7, 8, 9 ]}