The CALL EXE operator allows you to invoke an external program in EXE format in the context of each record present on the input bus. For each record, the operator launches an external process, passing data to it as parameters, which can come directly from bus bits or from project parameters.
This makes it possible to:
- integrate with external applications,
- run custom helper tools or data analyzers,
- communicate with operating system components or legacy systems.
The operator allows you to define:
- the path to the executable file,
- the list of invocation parameters (which may be dynamic and built based on values from the bus),
- how to wait for the process to complete.
The CALL EXE operator is particularly useful in scenarios where it is necessary to use existing external tools or perform operations that are not available in GRAVITY’s native operators.
An example of a GRAVITY project using the CALL EXE operator:
OPERATOR CONFIGURATION
In the options, you set the path to the external program in Program path, either by entering it manually or by using the Choose button to browse the disk.
In the Column as arguments field, select the bus bits that you want to use as invocation arguments for the specified EXE file. Arguments are applied in the Formatting arguments field using the format {[argumentIndex]}.
With the above configuration, the contents of the file whose path is stored in the path bit will be printed using Notepad.