A record is a single unit of data that filters exchange with each other in Ferrite. Filters are wired in such a way that when an upstream filter writes a record to its output channel, that record appears on the input channel of the downstream filter.
A record is an abstract entity whose format depends entirely on the filters exchanging the data. Thus, a record could be a single line read from a file, a row of data read from a database, or an XML node. The following types of records are currently supported in Ferrite.
String: This is the most common form of record exchanged between filters. A string record need not be comprised of a single line; it could be comprised of multiple line. For example, an entire paragraph could be treated as a single record. Another example could be: an entire email could be exchanged between filters as a single record.
An Array of Strings: This form of records are exchanged between filters which primarily work on row and column data. For example, a field splitter filter could read a string record from its input channel, and split the string into fields depending on a field delimiter, and write the array of fields to its output channel.