Doing simple tasks with the Java Class step

Just as the JavaScript step, the User Defined Java Class step is also meant to insert code into your transformations but in this case, it's Java code. Whether you need to implement a functionality not provided in built-in steps or want to reuse some external Java code, or to access Java libraries, or to increase performance, this step is what you need. In this section, you will learn how to use it.

Using the Java language in PDI

Java—originally developed at Sun Microsystems, which then merged into Oracle Corporation—is one of the most popular programming languages in use, particularly for client-server web applications. In particular, PDI and the whole Pentaho platform have been developed using Java as the core language.

It was to be expected that eventually, a step would appear that allows you to code Java inside PDI. This step is User Defined Java Class, which we will call UDJC or Java Class step for short. The goal of this step is to allow you...