What is a Functional?¶
The functional is the basic building block in a brewlytics workflow. A workflow is built by connecting one functional to the next until you reach your desired result. Workflows can range in size from one functional to several hundred.
Functionals Represent...¶
- Queries to on-premise or cloud datasets across the Web
- Calls to external services and APIs
- Data manipulations and conversions
- Statistical or geospatial calculations
- Visualization outputs
Anatomy of a Functional¶
Inputs & Outputs¶
A functional represents a single step in the overall workflow. Every functional has a set of inputs (or parameters) which effect how the functional runs. For example, a functional which queries a database might have parameters such as geographic area of interest, timerange, and other categorical or numerical filters exposed by the database. A functional may have one or more output and in some cases may have no output.
Variables¶
Every functional input/parameter may become a workflow variable. This signifies that the input is prone to change and should not be a hard-coded value. Additionally, workflow variables will be available through the workflow's REST execution URL and as inputs when the workflow is used inside another workflow (sub-workflows).
Workflow Outputs¶
While every output can be downloaded and connected to other inputs, Workflow Outputs have special meaning. Much like Variables, they are exposed outside of the Build environment when your workflow is used within another or via the brewlytics REST API.
Logic Controls¶
- Conditional Hotspot – Attach one or more exception connector(s) and/or complete connector(s) to the conditional hotspot
- Exception Connector – If this functional produces a run-time error the exception connector allows you to handle the error by connecting to a conditional hotspot
- Complete Connector – When this functional is complete, the complete connector will run any functionals connected through a conditional hospot