Internal Formats(4.0)

   uses internal formats to represent data entities that it can process. All processing agents (for instance, Analysis and Aggregation) work with these internal formats.

A syntax for the  internal format  is declared as follows:

internal <name> [: (<class specifications> | <format inheritance>) ] {
  <field_type> <field_name> [:optional] ;
  ...
}; 

The field types may be any of the following:

Field TypeDescription

any

Any type.

bigint

Big integer.

bigdec
Big decimal.

boolean

Boolean.

bytearray

Byte array.

byte

Integer type (8-bit signed).

char

Integer type (16-bit unsigned).

short

Integer type (16-bit signed).

int

Integer type (32-bit signed).

long

Integer type (64-bit signed).

float

Float type (32-bit).

double

Float type (64-bit).

date

Date type, with capability to hold date parts, time parts or both.

bitset

A set of bits.

ipaddress

An IP address.

drudr

An instance of any other internal (all internal are drudr instances).

string

String.


field_type
 can also be any other internal or list type that is defined in either the same ultra file or in another. See the example below.

Example - Internal formats

Case 1:

internal I1 {
  I2 f1;
};
internal I2 {
  list<int> f1;
};

Case 2:

In file A
internal I1 {
  <foldername>.<filename>.I2 f1;
  //When referring an internal from another file
  that is in the same folder, the folder name can be omitted.
};
In file B
internal I2 {
  list<int> f1;
};


List types are declared as follows:

list< ElementType >


where ElementType may be any of the previous, including an internal format identifier, or another list type.

Example - List type

internal I1 {
  list<list<I2> > f1;
};

It is also possible to specify a field as optional:

Example - Specifying a field as optional

internal I1 {
  drudr f1: optional;
};

Similarly, you declare a map field type this way:

map< ElementType, ElementType >

Example - Declaring a map field

internal I1 {
  map<string, int> f1;
};

Internal formats can also be automatically generated from in_map definitions. For further information, see target_internal specification in In-maps(4.0).

Class Specifications

All internal formats will be compiled into Java classes. It is possible to specify additional interfaces for the class to implement:

Example - Class specifications

internal I1 : 
    implements("Interface1"), implements("Interface2") {
    ...
}; 

However, this requires that Interface1 and Interface2 only declare methods that are later generated by Ultra when it creates the Java class. For further information about methods and types for UDR type methods, see the /wiki/spaces/MD/pages/3214984.

Format Inheritance

It is possible to use alternative base UDR definitions for the generated Ultra classes by use of the extends_class or extends option.

extends_class is used by some agents (for instance, the HTTP agent) for better processing support.

Example - extends_class

internal I1 : 
    extends_class( com.mysite.myDTKUltraFormat ) {
    ...
};

extends  lets a format inherit fields defined in an ancestor.

Example - extends

internal A {
    int a;
    ...
};
internal B : extends ( A ) {
    int b;
    ...
};

Multiple inheritance is not supported, i e you can only use the extends or extends_class option once in the definition of an internal format. 

Event Types

It is possible to declare user defined event types in Ultra by using the event keyword instead of internal. Such an event is a special type of internal format with added event processing support.


This chapter includes the following sections: