Posted On: Nov 26, 2024

Amazon Step Functions announces support for two new capabilities: Variables and JSONata data transformations. Variables allow developers to assign data in one state and reference it in a subsequent state, simplifying state payload management, reducing the need to pass data through multiple intermediate states. With support for JSONata, an open source query and transformation language, customers can now perform advanced data manipulation and transformation such as date and time formatting, and mathematical operations. Additionally, when using JSONata, we have simplified input and output processing by reducing the number of JSON transformation fields required to call services and pass data to the next state.

Amazon Step Functions is a visual workflow service capable of orchestrating over 14,000 API actions from over 220 Amazon Web Services services to build distributed applications and data processing workloads. With support for Variables and JSONata, developers can build distributed serverless applications faster and more efficiently with enhanced payload management capabilities. These features also reduce the need for custom code, lowering costs and reducing the number of state transitions needed to construct and pass data between states. The TestState API in Step Functions gives you instant feedback on your data transformations, allowing you to confirm that your JSONata expressions and variables work as expected.

Variables and JSONata are available at no additional cost to customers in all the Amazon Web Services regions, including the Amazon Web Services China (Beijing) Region, operated by Sinnet and the Amazon Web Services China (Ningxia) Region, operated by NWCD where Amazon Step Functions is available. We have also partnered with LocalStack and Datadog to ensure that their local emulation and observability experiences are updated to support Variables and JSONata. To learn more, please visit the following links:

  1. Amazon Step Functions Documentation
  2. JSONata