Resolving Data
There is a utility that resolves the data from the data file and the data from the command line. For example, to retrieve a value for the new attribute that was added for NewClass, use the following:
String my_attribute = LoadServerHelper.getValue("my_new_attribute",
nv,cmd_line,LoadServerHelper.REQUIRED);
The first parameter is the string from the map file. The last parameter is used to indicate if the field is required, not required, or a blank value is acceptable.
If the field is required or the load should fail, use LoadServerHelper.REQUIRED and check if the return value is null. LoadServerHelper.getValue generates an error message if the value is required and the field value is null or an empty string.
If the field is not required and you want the return set to null for no value or empty strings, use LoadServerHelper.NOT_REQUIRED.
If you want to know the difference between no value being given for a field and an empty string, use LoadServerHelper.BLANK_OKAY. The BLANK_OKAY option returns null if the attribute is not found in the hash table, meaning there could be a format issue with the map and data files. The blank okay option returns the message: “If the attribute is found in the hash table but the value was blank, which, depending on the attribute, could be okay.”