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Length Check

The Length Check processor provides a quick and easy way for checking an attribute for values of the appropriate length.

The Length Check can check either, or both, of the following:

The total length in characters (including whitespace and control characters)
The number of words

You can choose the way 'words' are counted using options on the Length Check. By default, words are separated by spaces. For example, the word count of 'Oracle Limited' is 2.

Use

Use the Length Check to ensure that the data within the attribute will meet either its technical or business purpose. For example, if migrating an attribute's data to a shorter attribute in a target system, you may choose to truncate the data, and then check that it conforms to the character length restrictions of the target field before migrating. Alternatively, there may be a business reason why a value should not be over a set number of characters, or words. For example, you might wish to check a Surname attribute for all values over 2 distinct words in length, as this might indicate misuse of the attribute - for example to store a Company Name value.

Configuration

Inputs

A single attribute that you wish to check for values that are too short or too long.

Options

Option	Type	Purpose	Default Value
Valid character count	Number range (for example, 10-11), or open ended range (for example, 10- )	Specifies the allowed number of characters (inclusive)	None
Valid word count	Number range (for example, 1-2) or open ended range (for example, 3- )	Specifies the allowed number of words (inclusive)	None
Word delimiters Reference Data	Reference Data	Specifies a list of characters that are used to split up words before counting them	*Delimiters
Word delimiters	Free text	Specified an additional set of characters that are used to split up words before counting them	No default

Outputs

Data attributes

None

Flags

Flag attribute

Purpose

Possible Values

LengthValid

Indicates which data passes the Length Check

Y - Valid length

NC - Invalid character length

NW - Invalid word length

N - Invalid character and word length

Publication to Dashboard

A Length Check's results may be published to the Dashboard.

The following interpretation of results is used by default:

Result	Dashboard Interpretation
Valid	Pass
Invalid character count	Alert
Invalid	Alert
Invalid word count	Alert

Execution

Execution Mode	Supported
Batch	Yes
Real time Monitoring	Yes
Real time Response	Yes

Results Browsing

The Length Check produces a summary view of its results, showing the following statistics:

Statistic	Meaning
Both counts good	The number of records with valid character and word counts.
Bad char, good word count	The number of records with an invalid character count, but a valid word count.
Good char, bad word count	The number of records with a valid character count, but an invalid word count.
Both counts bad	The number of records with invalid character and word counts.

Additional Data

Click on the Additional Data button to see the above statistics as percentages of the number of records analyzed.

Output Filters

The following output filters are available from a List Check:

Valid (records where both counts were valid)
Invalid (records where both counts were invalid)
Invalid character count (records with an invalid character count, but a valid word count)
Invalid word count (records with an invalid word count, but a valid character count)

Example

In this example, Length Check is used to check the length of an Account Number attribute (CU_ACCOUNT) for any values with a character count not in the range 10-11, and any values that do not consist of a single word:

Summary View

Drilldown on Bad char, good word lengths count

Note that the CU_ACCOUNT attribute for the above records is too short.