Promoted Property vs Distinguished Field

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Difference between Promoted Property and Distinguished Field in Biztalk Server

S.No	Promoted Property	Distinguished Field
1	Whether it is used for routing ? Used for routing (subscription mechanism) IsPromoted = true	Whether it is used for routing ? Do not participate in routing IsPromoted = false
2	Whether it is used for tracking ? Used for tracking	Whether it is used for tracking ? Not used for tracking
3	Size Limit: Restricted to 255 characters	Size Limit: No size limitation
4	Whether it requires Property Schema ? Require property schema	Whether it requires Property Schema ? Do not require property schema
5	Whether it used by standard / custom Pipeline Components ? Used by standard pipeline components	Whether it used by standard / custom Pipeline Components ? Accessible only by custom pipeline component which would explicitly access them
6	Syntax: msgOrder(BookShop.CustomerId)	Syntax: msgOrder(BookShop.CustomerId)
7	Where it can be accessed ? It can be accessed both in orchestration code and in the messaging configuration (e.g.filters on send ports). i.e., Promoted properties can be accessed in Orchestrations, ports, pipelines, schemas.They Use server resources.	Where it can be accessed ? It can be accessed only in code in orchestrations. i.e., Distingished fields are light weight and can be accessed only in Orchestrations.
8	Storage: A promoted property is stored in the message context.	Storage: Only run-time access.
9	Routable: Yes, as they are attached to the message Context they can be used for routing.	Routable: No
10	Whether it should be constrained by message contents ? No, any type value can be promoted in a pipeline (there is no need for the value to be contained in the message).	Whether it should be constrained by message contents ? It should be constrained by message contents Yes,only values within the message may be accessed.
11	Expensive: Yes, even if they are never used they are always read and inserted into the message context. As the message is passed through the MessageBox and Orchestration the context needs to be copied and stored. In Short,the more Promoted Fields we have the more costly the subscription process is.	Expensive: No
12	.XSD type support: Less than Distinguished Field supports.	.XSD type support: More than promoted property supports.
13	Whether it visible in HAT ? Yes	Whether it visible in HAT ? No
14	When we should go for Promoted Property ? Promoted Property should be used for routing, correlation and/or tracking.	When we should go for Promoted Property ? Distinguished fields should be used when a particular message element is commonly manipulated in one or more orchestration.

Note: HAT stands for Health and Activity Tracking

References:

http://www.malgreve.net/2008/04/10/promoted-property-vs-distinguished-field-tutorial/

http://biztalkprofessionals.blogspot.in/2011_09_01_archive.html

http://www.consultpal.com/networking/groups/viewdiscussion/1931-What+is+the+difference+between+Distinguished+field+and+Promoted+Property?groupid=43