Posted by Andy Smy
Posted on 2014-02-07 in MashZone

I've found a problem with the treatment of missing values in feeds. Steps to re-create:

  1. Create a data source in a feed
  2. Use a Filter operator to filter the feed until there are no rows returned
  3. Use a Feed to Value operator to convert to a single value

A preview of the output shows the Single Value is missing/blank/null (the UI doesn't make it clear). Now when you attach that value to another operator you get inconsistent results:

  • Attaching this as a condition in a Filter operator, the value is treated as an empty string and will filter using that value
  • Attaching this as a condition to a Replace Values operator, the value is treated as missing, and the condition will default according to the option you select (met, not met)

In contrast:

  1. Create a User Input operator in the feed
  2. Do not assign a user input to it in the display

Now when you attach this value as a condition to the Filter or Replace Values operator, they work in the same way, as if the value is missing.

What this means is that you can't have a missing value generated by a feed, only by user input, and even then, only by using the display elements "no selection" or "delete selection" options.

Is there any other way to generate a missing value within a feed to get round these problems?

Andy

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