IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Defining and transforming data > Transforming data > Transforming data using XML maps > Automatically mapping elements

Mapping by Same Name

There are certain rules that apply when you automatically map inputs and outputs of the same name or similar names, however you can control the output by selecting appropriate options.

When you select Create transforms when the names of inputs and outputs are the same , the following rules apply:

1. Any output field that has a fixed value is excluded in name matching. Any output that is already mapped, or under a container that is already mapped, is excluded from name matching.

2. If an input and an output have the same name, it is a match, regardless of the kind of, and XSD type of, the input and output.
3. XML namespaces are excluded from name matching. Therefore, abc:something and xyz:something are considered the same, as are {http://www.abc.com}:something and {http://www.xyz.com}:something.

4. When multiple inputs have the same name as one output, one transform is created. However, when multiple outputs have the same name as one input, multiple transforms are created, each having one input and one output.

5. When performing auto map for a selected input and a selected output, some for and if statements might be inserted based on the repeatability (maximum occurrences) of the selected input and output, and their containers.

   However, there are not any for or if statements inserted on descendants of the selected input and output.

6. When you select the Map the immediate children of the selected elements option, the following steps are taken to match names:
   1. Compare the path name starting after the selected input or output.
   2. Compare the item name without path

   For example, if you invoke the action Create transforms when the names of inputs and outputs are the same and have a:

   • Input path for partNum of $source/po:purchaseOrder/items/item/partNum, where items is the selection made in the input.
   • Output path for partNum of $target/po:purchaseOrder/items/item/partNum, where po:purchaseOrder is the selection made in the output.

   During step a) the input and output path names involved in the same-name test are item/partNum and /items/item/partNum.

   During step b) the input and output item names that are involved in same-name test are partNum and partNum; that is, name matches are done using short names without their paths.

   If that inputs and outputs matched in a previous step do not participate in a later step.

Mapping by similar name

1. Fixed value outputs and mapped outputs are excluded in name matching; see Point 1 in the preceding section.

2. The similarity test is done using the name of an element or attribute regardless of its type; see Point 2 in the preceding section.

3. The similarity test applies in the same way to case sensitivity and alphanumeric characters as for Mapping by same name.
4. Namespace or namespace prefixes do not participate in the similarity test; see Point 3 in the preceding section.

5. The behavior for the situation when multiple inputs are similar to one output, and when multiple outputs are similar to one input, is the same as Point 4 in the preceding section.

6. The repeatability (maximum occurrences) of containers and descendants of the selected input and output are handled in the same way as in Point 5 in the preceding section.

7. When you select the option Create transforms when the names of inputs and outputs are more similar than, you must also select Create transforms when the names of inputs and outputs are the same.

8. When you select Map the immediate children of the selected elements, the following steps are taken to match names.

   Inputs and outputs matched in a previous step do not participate in a later step:

   • The path names starting after the selected input and output are the same.

   • The item names excluding the path are the same.

   • The item names excluding the path are similar.

9. You can select the similarity threshold for two words to be considered similar.

10. You cannot use any other similarity algorithm.

Automatically mapping elements

Related tasks:
Automatically mapping elements by name