Define data flows
A Data Flow is a commonly used activity type to define data flow and transformation. Data flows consist of:
- Sources - The input data to be transferred.
- Transformations – Various operations that you can apply to data as it streams through the data flow.
- Sinks – Targets into which the data will be loaded.
When you add a Data Flow activity to a pipeline, you can open it in a separate graphical design interface in which to create and configure the required data flow elements.
An important part of creating a data flow is to define mappings for the columns as the data flows through the various stages, ensuring column names and data types are defined appropriately. While developing a data flow, you can enable the Data flow debug option to pass a subset of data through the flow, which can be useful to test that your columns are mapped correctly.
Tip
To learn more about implementing a Data Flow activity, see Data Flow activity in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics in the Azure documentation.