[[flatpack-dataformat]]
= Flatpack DataFormat
:docTitle: Flatpack
:artifactId: camel-flatpack
:description: Marshal and unmarshal Java lists and maps to/from flat files (such as CSV, delimited, or fixed length formats) using Flatpack library.
:since: 2.1
:supportLevel: Stable
include::{cq-version}@camel-quarkus:ROOT:partial$reference/dataformats/flatpack.adoc[opts=optional]

*Since Camel {since}*

The xref:ROOT:flatpack-component.adoc[Flatpack] component ships with the Flatpack data
format that can be used to format between fixed width or delimited text
messages to a `List` of rows as `Map`.

* marshal = from `List<Map<String, Object>>` to `OutputStream` (can be
converted to `String`)
* unmarshal = from `java.io.InputStream` (such as a `File` or `String`)
to a `java.util.List` as an
`org.apache.camel.component.flatpack.DataSetList` instance. +
 The result of the operation will contain all the data. If you need to
process each row one by one you can split the exchange, using
Splitter.

*Notice:* The Flatpack library does currently not support header and
trailers for the marshal operation.

== Options

// dataformat options: START
The Flatpack dataformat supports 8 options, which are listed below.



[width="100%",cols="2s,1m,1m,6",options="header"]
|===
| Name | Default | Java Type | Description
| definition |  | String | The flatpack pzmap configuration file. Can be omitted in simpler situations, but its preferred to use the pzmap.
| fixed | false | Boolean | Delimited or fixed. Is by default false = delimited
| ignoreFirstRecord | true | Boolean | Whether the first line is ignored for delimited files (for the column headers). Is by default true.
| textQualifier |  | String | If the text is qualified with a character. Uses quote character by default.
| delimiter | , | String | The delimiter char (could be ; , or similar)
| allowShortLines | false | Boolean | Allows for lines to be shorter than expected and ignores the extra characters
| ignoreExtraColumns | false | Boolean | Allows for lines to be longer than expected and ignores the extra characters.
| parserFactoryRef |  | String | References to a custom parser factory to lookup in the registry
|===
// dataformat options: END

== Usage

To use the data format, simply instantiate an instance and invoke the
marshal or unmarshal operation in the route builder:

[source,java]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  FlatpackDataFormat fp = new FlatpackDataFormat();
  fp.setDefinition(new ClassPathResource("INVENTORY-Delimited.pzmap.xml"));
  ...
  from("file:order/in").unmarshal(df).to("seda:queue:neworder");
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sample above will read files from the `order/in` folder and
unmarshal the input using the Flatpack configuration file
`INVENTORY-Delimited.pzmap.xml` that configures the structure of the
files. The result is a `DataSetList` object we store on the SEDA queue.

[source,java]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FlatpackDataFormat df = new FlatpackDataFormat();
df.setDefinition(new ClassPathResource("PEOPLE-FixedLength.pzmap.xml"));
df.setFixed(true);
df.setIgnoreFirstRecord(false);

from("seda:people").marshal(df).convertBodyTo(String.class).to("jms:queue:people");
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the code above we marshal the data from a Object representation as a
`List` of rows as `Maps`. The rows as `Map` contains the column name as
the key, and the corresponding value. This structure can be created
in Java code from e.g. a processor. We marshal the data according to the
Flatpack format and convert the result as a `String` object and store it
on a JMS queue.

== Dependencies

To use Flatpack in your camel routes you need to add the a dependency on
*camel-flatpack* which implements this data format.

If you use maven you could just add the following to your pom.xml,
substituting the version number for the latest & greatest release (see
the download page for the latest versions).

[source,java]
-----------------------------------------
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.camel</groupId>
  <artifactId>camel-flatpack</artifactId>
  <version>x.x.x</version>
</dependency>
-----------------------------------------

include::camel-spring-boot::page$flatpack-starter.adoc[]
