Insert excerpt

	_Banners
	_Banners
name	actionflow
nopanel	true

What are Loop Actions?

Image Removed

Advanced Actionflow Settings

Additional options can be found in the Advanced section of certain action node

Insert excerpt

	_actionproperty_loopsettings
	_actionproperty_loopsettings
name	loop
nopanel	true

actions repeat an action or set of actions multiple times.

In PhixFlow, there are three types of supported looping:

Advanced

Prioritise throughput over ordering

When enabled, records are processed in parallel to optimise performance. This means the order records are processed is nondeterministic.

When disabled (default), records are processed in the order they are provided.

Available on the following actions:

Section

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Section

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Section

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Section

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Column
Image Removed

Section

Column
Image Removed

Allow Parallel Runs from One Client

and in the Properties for the Actionflow itself, as specified below.

Allow Parallel Runs from One Client

This setting is available in the

Insert excerpt

	_property_settings
	_property_settings
nopanel	true

for the Actionflow.

When enabled, allows an Actionflow to be run multiple times in parallel from the same client, i.e. another run can be started while the previous run is still being processed.

This option is disabled by default.

Advanced Settings - Node specific

FieldDescriptionConnection Timeout (s)The maximum time to wait to while attempting to create a connection, measured in seconds. The default for this is set to 300 seconds.Response Packet Timeout (s)The maximum time to wait between responses from the data packets, measured in seconds. The default for this is set to 180 seconds.

Start Loop and End Loop

Loops consist of a

Image Added

Prioritise Throughput Over Ordering

This setting is available in the

Insert excerpt

	_property_settings
	_property_settings
nopanel	true

for the Actionflow and the action nodes, as specified below.

When enabled, records are processed in parallel to optimise performance. This means the order records are processed is nondeterministic.

Image Added

When disabled (default), records are processed in the order they are provided.

This option is available on the following actions:

Section

Column

Insert excerpt
_

action

run_

loop

analysis_

start

icon
_

action

run_

loop

analysis_

start

icon
nopanel true

and an

Analysis
Insert excerpt
_action_

loop

bulk_

end

delete
_action_

loop

bulk_

endOn the

delete
nopanel true

,joined by a loop connector which returns the result of the End node back to the Start node. The Start and End Loop each have their own properties.

Insert excerpt
_action_

loop_end

bulkupdate
_action_

loop_end

bulkupdate
nopanel true

, the Records to output can be set, either outputting All Records from the loop or just the Final Record. The icon on the end loop node shows which option is set.

Image Removed

Loop Mappings

Attributes passed into a loop are available as passthrough, as well as attributes mapped in from the End Loop. This allows the original passthrough values to be referenced and if the loop is manipulating the incoming attributes, for example, incrementing a number, this is also available.

The mapped attributes that are manipulated by the loop are shown with a loop icon on the Mappings window, and passthrough attributes are shown with the icon of where they have come from, for example, a

Insert excerpt
_action_calculate
_action_calculate
nopanel true
Insert excerpt
_action_

calculate

converge
_action_

calculate

Image Removed

Tip
Loops wait until all their internal nodes have completed their tasks before beginning the next iteration of the loop.

Creating Loop Actions

Click and drag the

converge
nopanel true

action.

Insert excerpt
_delete
_delete
nopanel true
Insert excerpt
_action_

loop

email
_action_

loop

email

nameloop

nopanel true

icon from the toolbar onto the canvas

In the Create Loop Action window:

Enter a Name
Select Create Action

Map attributes from other actions to the

Column

Insert excerpt
_action_for_each
_action_for_each
nopanel true
Insert excerpt
_action_

loop_start

gateway
_action_

loop_startOn the

gateway
nopanel true

to be processed by the loop

Insert excerpt
_action_

loop_end

http
_action_

loop_end

http
nopanel true

, set:

Records to output: Choose whether to output all records from the loop or just the final record
Until Expression: An expression that is checked on each cycle of the loop, and once the expression returns true, the loop will end
1. Example: in.myValue == 10
Max Loops: This is a safety net designed to stop infinite loops. After the number of loops set here, the loops will stop
1. This default to 10000

Worked Example

Here's a worked example using the Company Data (available from the Learning Centre).

In this example, we are using:

A Company Bank Holiday API - Loops screen containing a grid backed by an empty Bank_Holiday_Results table, drop down fields for the user to select the Year From and Year To values and a Run button - this screen was created using the Tile no Buttons template

Tip
If you are completing this chapter as part of the Actionflow course and using a training instance, the data and screens have already been pre-loaded into the Actionflow Advanced Application. For this example, we'll be working on the Company Bank Holiday API - Loops screen.

Loop Through Selected Years and Return Bank Holidays

In this example, a user selects two year parameters to obtains the UK bank holidays for. We'll create an Actionflow that takes in these two parameters and loops through each year. For the purposes of this example, our Actionflow will call an API that exists within PhixFlow but this API represents an external API.

Image Removed

Obtain the API URL

We have provided an Actionflow that acts as a UK Bank Holiday API. This can be called by a Actionflow, in the same way that an external API can be called. The UK Bank Holiday API has been configured to receive a year parameter and use that parameter to pass out the bank holiday dates for the corresponding year.

See 3.01 Setting up an API End Point for more details on how this API has been setup or to set one up yourself.

Search for the Bank Holiday API Actionflow on the Actionflow page

Image Removed

Open the Actionflow Insert excerpt_property_settings_property_settingsnopaneltrue and in the API section, copy the URL and save it locally to be used later

Actionflow Setup

Create an Actionflow using a

Insert excerpt
_action_json
_action_json
nopanel true
Insert excerpt
_action_save
_action_save
nopanel true
Insert excerpt
_action_xml
_action_xml
nopanel true

Advanced Settings - Action Node Specific

Insert excerpt

	Bulk Delete Action Configuration
	Bulk Delete Action Configuration
name	BatchSize
nopanel	true

Connection Timeout (s)

On the

Insert excerpt

	_action_http
	_action_http
nopanel	true

action, in the Advanced section, a maximum time to wait while attempting to create a connection can be set, measured in seconds. The default is 300 seconds.

Response Packet Timeout (s)

On the

Insert excerpt

	_action_

loop

http
	_action_

loop

http

nameactionSelect the Year From and Year To criteria and press Run

nopanel	true

to poll the API and retrieve the bank holidays for the years selected on the Company Bank Holidays API - Loops screen.

Open the Company Bank Holidays API - Loops screen
Add an Actionflow to the Run button
1. Name: Get Bank Holidays

Testing

Close all screens and reopen the Company Bank Holidays API - Loops screen

action, in the Advanced section, a maximum time to wait between responses from the data packets can be set, measured in seconds. The default is 180 seconds.

Image Modified

Version	Old Version 2	New Version Current
Changes made by	Zoe Baldwin	Zoe Baldwin
Saved on	May 31, 2024	Aug 09, 2024

Versions Compared

Key

What are Loop Actions?

Advanced Actionflow Settings

Advanced