Methods for converting String to Array in Oracle Integration Cloud

 How to convert String to an Array in OIC? 

Method 1:

Tokenize Function.

The tokenize function is the standard XSLT method to split a string into a sequence based on a delimiter (like a comma, pipe, or space).

It Returns a sequence of strings constructed by splitting the input wherever a separator is found; the separator is any substring that matches a given regular expression.

General Syntax in OIC:

tokenize($arg1 as string?, $arg2 as string?, $flag as string?)

tokenize(input_string1, input_string2,.......delimiter)

Parameters

$arg1: The string to tokenize.

$arg2: The regular expression to be used as a separator.

$flag: An optional string containing character flags.

Example:

tokenize(input_string, delimiter)

tokenize("Welcome to OIC", ",") 

Results in a list: ["Welcome", "to", "OIC"]

Note: 

When using tokenize, if your string might have spaces after the comma 

(Ex,"Apple, Orange"), use normalize-space() or a regex delimiter like tokenize($SourceField, ',\s*') to ensure your array elements are clean.

Steps to use Tokenize function

Open the Data Mapper in your integration.

Locate the target Repeating Element (the array/collection) where you want the data to go.

Drag the source string field to the target repeating element.

In the expression builder, wrap the source field with the tokenize function:

tokenize($SourceField, ',')

OIC will automatically treat the output of tokenize as a sequence, creating one target record for every item in your string.

Method 2:

Handling Complex Strings (Using Stage File)

If your string is very large or formatted like a CSV file, using the Stage File action is more robust.

Action: Choose Stage File and select Read File in Segments or Map to Report Data.

Schema: Define a simple CSV opaque schema (Ex: a single column value).

Process: We can write the string to a temporary file using Write File and then read it back. This is overkill for simple lists but helpful for high-volume data processing.

Method 3:

JavaScript Action (For Custom Logic)

If we need to do more than just split (Ex:- trimming whitespace or filtering empty values during the split), a Library Function (JavaScript) is best.

function stringToArray(inputString, delimiter) {

    if (!inputString) return [];

    return inputString.split(delimiter).map(item => item.trim());

}

How to use JavaScript functions in OIC?

Create a Library in OIC and upload this JS code.

In your integration, call the Library Function.

Map the output of this function to your target array.