LAE

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Originally posted by: roeperg

Hi all

I am new to Brain graphs and I am looking for the most efficient way to validate multiple columns in a spreadsheet against a table (or list) of valid entries. Each column has it's own unique set of values which are allowable. I know I can validate each column separately with an Xref but it seems inefficient to do so for multiple columns. Any suggestions? I am attaching a simplified example. Thanks in advance!

Greg<br><br>Post edited by: roeperg, at: 2008/06/09 20:50
Attachments:
test.zip

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Originally posted by: mmarinelli

If you have a fixed set of validation values, then you can do all of this with the Split node, with the boolean expression containing all the individual test values, like the following:

(LEVEL &gt;= 1 and LEVEL &lt;=5) or
(LEVEL == "A" or LEVEL == "B" or ...)

If the set is variable, you can employ Lookup nodes, which are optimized for this sort of operation, and as such are much efficient than a series of Xrefs. This node doesn't require sorting, and does not traverse the entire key sets for each input like the Xref can. The combination of a Lookup node and a Static Text node (or another input node, if the valdation set is maintained in a dynamic file) will give you what you want.

Best practice would suggest that any approach employ one node per field test, as you then achieve the visual separation of the individual rules. If this is a big impediment to speedy execution, you can of course combine into a single filter, but you then lose the ability to isolate records based upon which field validation failed.

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Originally posted by: roeperg

Worked great, thanks for the quick response!

Greg