Normalizer Properties

Most normalizers have several common properties, such as a name, description, and a default value. Balance normalizers and string normalizers have extra properties specific to the value that they are normalizing. This topic lists all common properties and properties specific to the balance and string normalizers.

Common Normalizer Properties

Common Normalizer Properties lists the properties common to most normalizers.

Table 1. Common Normalizer Properties
Property Description
Name A descriptive name for the normalizer. The name is displayed in My MATRIXX.
External ID (Optional) Use this field to identify this item in MATRIXX pricing items. An External ID is saved to the pricing configuration file and loaded into the Pricing Database. Set the External ID value to any alphanumeric character that is meaningful to your implementation. An External ID can be used, for example, to relate offers in the MATRIXX system to products in an external pricing plan. It can be used, for example, by the Subscriber Management API to query and purchase product offers and bundle IDs.
Start Date/Time The start date/time on which the normalizer becomes valid in the pricing plan. Rating uses the start date to determine which rating formula to use. If you create multiple revisions of the same object at one time, each of which becomes active at a future date, it allows you to roll out additional pricing plans for each change in your rating structure. If the start date/time of the earliest revision of a normalizer is after the valid period of the price component that references it, the price component is not examined during rating. The default is 2000-01-01 00:00:00.
Normalization Algorithm A normalization formula that defines the set of rules that transform the specified MATRIXX Data Container (MDC) field value into an index in a filter, rate table, or decision table. The normalization algorithm guides the specified field value to the correct result during rating. The algorithm can be based on usage, balance quantities, numeric values, string values, dates, time, zones, and the like.
Value If Field Not Present One of the normalizer values to use when the value calculated during normalization does not match one of the defined values.
Default The parameter value to use when the field being normalized does not contain a value that matches any of the defined parameter values. In such cases, if a default value is not defined, rating skips the rate table, and examines the next valid rate table.
MDC Container The MDC that holds the field on which to base normalization. You define MDCs in the MATRIXX configuration file.
Note: The balance range and balance distribution normalizers do not use an MDC container or MDC field value to normalize balance values.
MDC Field The MDC field that holds the value to examine and perform normalization on. This value determines which result rating chooses. Use a network message MDC, subscriber MDC, group MDC, or device MDC.
Note: The balance range and balance distribution normalizers do not use an MDC container or MDC field value to normalize balance values.
Result Info fields Optional fields that you configure in the normalizer template. The Result Info fields give a way to copy the description and name values associated with the normalized value chosen during rating to another MDC field. This enables MATRIXX to add the name and description to the MATRIXX event file (MEF) generated during rating. You can perform further normalizations based on these field values (normalizer chaining). The Result Info fields in the normalizer edit page are non-editable.
Parameter Value Definitions Normalizer parameter values have the following properties, which you define by clicking Edit Values in the normalizer definition.
  • ID — A system-generated unique identifier for the parameter value.
  • Name — A descriptive name for the parameter value. For example, if the parameters are for ranges of balance amounts, the value names might be Low, Medium, and High.
  • Description — A description of the purpose of the value. For example, if the parameter values are phone patterns for a phone pattern match normalizer, the description can include information about what equals a match and the purpose of that match. Parameter value descriptions have no character limit.

Default Metadata Properties

Default Metadata Properties lists the default metadata properties. They apply to all normalizers except multiplexing normalizers.

Table 2. Default Metadata Properties
Property Description
Name The name of the metadata as defined in the normalizer template.
Type The datatype of the metadata as defined in the normalizer template.
Value The default value of the metadata.

Balance Normalizer Properties

Balance Normalizer Properties lists the additional properties for balance normalizers. Not all properties apply to all types of balance normalizers.

Table 3. Balance Normalizer Properties
Value Description
Balance to Normalize The balance template to use as the basis for normalization.
Quantity Unit The measurement unit to use for performing normalizations. Asset balances impacted by services having a duration or volume have an associated unit.
  • If deriving the difference from two balances and this unit is different from the balance unit for either balance, the normalizer converts the balance unit to this quantity unit before normalizations. If you specify a unit that is not compatible with the unit of either Balance 1 or Balance 2, the normalizer returns an error. If you do not specify a unit, the default is none.
  • If deriving the difference from a balance and an MDC field or parameter, it is assumed that the field's or parameter's unit is the same as the Quantity Unit value and no conversion is done. If the balance unit is different from the quantity unit of the MDC field/parameter, then the balance unit is converted to the quantity unit of the MDC field/parameter.
From Period/To Period Optional period that you define only for periodic balances for basing normalizations on the amount in an earlier periodic balance interval instead of the current interval. You must use the same balance interval for both periods, where:
  • 0 to 0 is the current period.
  • 1 to 1 is the previous period.
  • 2 to 2 is two periods before the current period.
    Note: For most normalizers, you define the From and To periods in the normalizer template.
Value If Balance/Field Not Present A balance/field range to use when the required balance/field is unavailable at the time of rating. Rating examines this balance/field range to decide how to impact another balance/field. For example, if you are granting a subscriber an asset based on a loyalty points balance and the loyalty points balance is not available, rating uses this value to decide how much to grant.
Normalized Value Balance Amount — Rating uses the current amount in the specified balance. If the subscriber's wallet has multiple valid balances, the value used is the sum of all current balance amounts in the valid balances.

Available Amount — Rating uses the available amount in the specified balance. This is equal to the credit limit minus the current balance amount, or 0 if the current amount is greater than the credit limit. If the balance is a virtual balance that aggregates to a group G/L balance, the value used is the minimum of the available amount in the balance and the available amounts of all balances above it in the hierarchy. Where multiple valid instances of the balance exist, the value used is the sum of the available amounts for the individual balances.

Tier (Optional) For balance and field amount normalizations only, configures the group tier to use for retrieving the balance or field amount.
Tier Parameter (Optional) For balance and field amount normalizations only, configures the group tier parameter used for retrieving the balance or field amount.

String Normalizer Properties

String Normalizer Properties lists the additional properties for string normalizers.

Table 4. String Normalizer Properties
Value Description
Case Sensitive Require same-case characters to select a match. The match is case sensitive by default.
Match Mode Sets the comparison mode for matching a string/phone number or list/array of strings/phone numbers with the strings/phone numbers in a list, one of:
  • Exact — The field values must match exactly. This is the default option.
  • Prefix — Perform case sensitive matching of the beginning of the string(s) in the first field with the prefix strings in the second field.
  • Suffix — Perform case sensitive matching of the end of the string(s) in the first field with the suffix strings in the second field.
  • Prefix Ignore Case — Perform case insensitive matching of the beginning of the string(s) in the first field with the prefix strings in the second field.
  • Suffix Ignore Case — Perform case insensitive matching of the end of the string(s) in the first field with the suffix strings in the second field.
Match Prefix/Suffix Sets whether to match the string starting from the beginning of the string (Prefix) or from the end of the string (Suffix). The default is Prefix.