How is a connector used as a data source?

A connector serves as a crucial mechanism within the Pega platform, specifically designed to interface with external data sources. When leveraging a connector as a data source, it facilitates the retrieval of data from various systems or services, such as databases, APIs, or web services. This functionality is contingent upon the specific type of connector being used—whether it's a REST connector, SOAP connector, or another type tailored to the external service.

The primary role of the connector is to ensure that the application can seamlessly access and integrate necessary data that resides outside of the Pega environment. This capability is essential for creating rich, data-driven applications that provide users with relevant information dynamically.

In contrast, options that suggest using a connector to source data only from internal databases or to populate data pages with static values do not accurately capture the purpose and flexibility of connectors. Similarly, while merging data is important, it typically involves different mechanisms such as data transforms or other processing logic rather than solely relying on connectors. Thus, opting for the use of a connector to acquire data from an external source aligns with the fundamental principles of data integration and the overall design of Pega's architecture.