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Introduction
In this tutorial, we want to find the common cars in two groups of Model and Make of cars.
We expect to see the list below:
- Ford Pickup
- Ford T
- Ford Taurus
- Hyundai Santa Fe
Input and Output
In an IRD we can define as many inputs and outputs as required, then we connect different data sources to inputs and the network/graph of operators will navigate these to the output results.
In this example, we are going to have one input (list of cars) and two outputs (command and all unique cars).
Operator Nodes
There are many different data operators pre-built into IRD (i.e., Group, Filter, Select, Minus, Union, Intersect, etc.). These can be used as many times as required. All operators must be connected to a source of information.
In the first step of this task, we need to separate the cars into two groups by “Group” value. So let’s select the Group operator from the toolbox and add it to our model:
Associations
There are two types of associations between any node in an IRD:
- Information
- Knowledge
These pass data/information to the next nodes either ‘as is’ or process them further before passing. As mentioned previously, all operator nodes must have a source. If the source of a node comes from another node, it is an Information association. Otherwise, it is a Knowledge association. Knowledge allows the result of a node (operator) to be passed to other nodes as known information. This will be shown in the next section.
Select
In an IRD you can have many operators that you need to navigate to the output nodes. In this example, the result of the group has two lists based on the “Group” value. Let’s select ‘Make’ and ‘Model’ from each:
Select node requires a list of properties in order to select them. That is in the “Parameters” part of the properties window. Once you have added the select nodes, in the properties window you will see parameters:
Then add the two following parameter values:
- Make
- Model
You will then have the result shown below:
Once you press the “OK” button, the properties window will be refreshed:
You need to repeat this for both Select nodes.
Intersect
For common cars, we just need to find the commonalities in each selection, so we use the Intersect operator and connect each select node to that. This then becomes the answer to ‘common cars’.
In the end, the output parameter contains the list of cars.
Download the sample project
You can download the sample from the attachment at the end of this page. Use Logic Run Template to run the project.