About adapters

You use dimension adapters to load dimension information into your pipeline. Dimension adapters can load dimension information in either XML or binary format.

Record adapters load and save records. Input record adapters can load data in a variety of formats, including delimited, JDBC, ODBC, and so on. Output record adapters are generally used for diagnostic purposes only.

Record to dimension adapters dynamically build hierarchical dimensions from a subset of the information in records loaded into the pipeline. The record to dimension adapter offers an alternative to working with externally created dimensions, and saves you from having to manually create hierarchical dimensions in Developer Studio.

Indexer adapters save data that is ready to be indexed by the Dgidx program. They take all record, dimension hierarchy, and index configuration information from the pipeline and combine it in a format that is ready for the indexer (Agidx or Dgidx).

An indexer adapter will generally be the final component in a baseline update pipeline.

Update adapters process partial update information to perform a live update of volatile information on a running Endeca MDEX Engine.