How data flows through the editor (pull model)

Here’s the easiest way to picture how data moves in the editor: think of a spider’s web. The central node is the spider, sitting in the middle, and every thread of your graph runs toward it. When it’s time to produce a value, the spider pulls the threads – and the data comes to it.

The spider and the web

You build your nodes out along the threads – reading fields, formatting text, making decisions. None of it runs on its own. It runs because the spider at the center pulls it in when a value is needed. Data is gathered toward the central node, not pushed out from the edges.

That’s why this is called a pull model: the center asks, and the answer travels in along the threads.

What it means in practice

• The central node is always the destination – build your graph toward it.
• Only the threads that lead to the spider matter. A node that isn’t connected toward the center never runs.
• It happens per record. For each row in your data, the spider pulls the web again, producing that record’s result.
• Everything is traceable. Follow any thread back from the center and you can see exactly where a value came from.

Reading your graph

You read a graph left to right, like a sentence – but remember that everything ultimately flows into the spider at the center. Find the central node, and you’ve found where it all ends up.

Next

Meet the spider itself: What Is a Central Node?