DC 12.3 | EDIFACT (eDoc)

User Guide > Map Connectors > Source and Target Map Connectors > EDIFACT (eDoc)

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EDIFACT (eDoc)

EDI uses standard formats to pass data between the disparate business systems. Third parties provide EDI services that enable organizations with different equipment to connect. Although interactive access may be a part of it, EDI implies direct computer-to-computer transactions into vendors' databases and ordering systems. The EDI standard is ANSI X12, developed by the Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA). ANSI X12 is either closely coordinated with or is being merged with an international standard, EDIFACT. With the EDIFACT connector, Map Designer can read and write EDIFACT data files.

Note: EDIFACT is a Unicode-enabled connector.

An EDI message contains a string of data elements, each of which represents a singular fact, such as a price, product model number, and so forth, separated by delimiters. The entire string is called a data segment. One or more data segments framed by a header and trailer form a transaction set, which is the EDI unit of transmission (equivalent to a message). A transaction set often consists of what is usually contained in a typical business document or form. The parties who exchange EDI transmissions are referred to as trading partners.

Note: When creating a new map (manually or using the Map Wizard) and the target has no schema, DataConnect attempts to create one using the source schema. This is a straightforward process with a single record source to a single record target. The process differs with a multi-record (or hierarchical) source to multi-record target. In this case, DataConnect locates the first “flat” source record type (a record where none of the fields are themselves a record) and uses it to generate a basic schema for the target. Users can then build out the schema.

Connector-Specific Notes

EDIFACT structure has similarities to EDI X12 structure, but there are some special considerations that relate only to EDIFACT structural components. The EDIFACT connector has been tailored to recognize the unique characteristics of EDIFACT so that you can have more control over your EDIFACT data. See the following notes for details:

Default separators - Segment UNA is used to define EDIFACT separators: Element separator, Data element separator, Decimal notation, Release indicator, Segment terminator. In EDIFACT, Segment UNA is optional and dependent on charsets (UNOA, UNOB, UNOC, UNOD, UNOE and UNOF). If the EDIFACT file does not contain a UNA segment, it uses default separators. Only UNOA and UNOB define default separators. Other charsets have to define separators.

UNOA Default separators

• Element Separator +

• Data Element Separator :

• Decimal Notation .

• Release Indicator ?

• Segment Terminator '

UNOB Default separators

• Element Separator \x1D (1S3)

• Data Element Separator \x1F (1S1)

• Decimal Notation .

• Release Indicator

• Segment Terminator \x1C (1S4)

Note: If you want to use other separators, you must define the UNA segment.

Limitations

The limitations are:

• Real-Time Messaging Support - The EDIFACT connector is designed to work with only a discrete set (message) at a time. Files containing two or more separate messages must be split to process them with Map Designer. Each message begins with a MSH segment and the MSH must exist only once in a message as the first segment. EDIFACT was designed to be a real-time messaging interface where discrete messages are generated and routed immediately to their destination. Some users employ a batch mode process, where multiple messages are written to a single file before transport occurs. This is not the intended use for EDIFACT; Map Designer provides real-time messaging support (for example, processing one message at a time). Therefore, batch files must first be split into discrete messages for processing.

• Double-Byte Character Support - You may need to produce double-byte Excel output from a double-byte EDIFACT source. To do this, create and run two maps in sequence:

• EDIFACT to Unicode (Delimited) - Set the Unicode Encoding property to UTF-8.

• Unicode (Delimited) to Excel: Set the Encoding property for both source and target to UTF-8.

Connector Parts

Connector parts are the fields you configure to connect with a data source or target. The fields that are available depend on the connector you select.

For a list of all parts for source connectors, see Specifying Source Connector, Parts, and Properties.

For a list of all parts for target connectors, see Specifying Target Connector, Parts, and Properties.

Connector Propertie

You can specify the following source (S) and target (T) properties:

Property Name	S/T	Description
Encoding	S/T	The selected code page translation table tells Map Designer the tables that must be used when reading the source data and writing the target data. The default value is OEM, which allows Map Designer to use the active code page on the system. To use ANSI, select ISO8859-1. For Windows CodePage 1252, select CP1252. Shift-JIS encoding is applicable only in Japanese operating systems.
SchemaFile	S/T	Used for parsing data and generating a new schema during design time. Select a schema file that contains the schema you want to use.
SegmentTerminator	S/T	A character that terminates a segment. For the available options, see Data Element Separator Options.
CompositeSeparator	S/T	Character used to separate adjacent composites of a field. For the available options, see Data Element Separator Options.
DataElementSeparator	S/T	A character that separates the data element. For the available options, see Data Element Separator Options.
ReleaseIndicator	S/T	If you want to use the Element Separator, Data Element Separator, and Segment Terminator as regular characters, you have to pretend with release indicator. In the EDIFACT connector, the Source removes all release indicators, such as ?+?:?'123 to +:'123. The Target automatically adds the release indicator, such as +:'123 to ?+?:?'123.
DecimalNotation	S/T	You may use any character as decimal notation in EDIFACT. The Source replaces all decimal notation with a . (such as 1,34 to 1.34). The Target replaces the period with defined Decimal notation, for example, 1.34 to 1,34. The default is ,(002C).

Data Element Separator Options

The following data element separators options are supported:

• CR-Lf

• SOH(0001)

• STX (0002)

• ETX(0003)

• EOT(0004)

• ENQ(0005)

• ACK(0006)

• BEL(0007)

• BS(0008)

• FF(000C)

• CR(000D)

• SO(000E)

• S1(000F)

• DLE(0010)

• DC1(0011)

• DC2(0012)

• DC3(0013)

• DC4(0014)

• NAK(0015)

• SYN(0016)

• ETB(0017)

• CAN(0018)

• EM(0019)

• SUB(001A)

• ESC(001B)

• FS/IS4(001C)

• GS/IS3(001D)

• RS/IS2 (001E)

• US/IS1 (001F)

• P (0020)

• ! (0021)

• " (0022)

• # (0023)

• $ (0024)

• % (0025)

• & (0026)

• ‘ (0027)

• ( (0028)

• ) (0029)

• * (002A)

• + (002B) - Default

• , (002C)

• - (002D)

• . (002E)

• / (002F)

• : (003A)

• ; (003B)

• < (003C)

• = (003D)

• > (003E)

• ? (003F)

• @ (0040)

• [ (005B)

• \ (005C)

• ] (005D)

• ^ (005E)

• _ (005F)

• ‘ (0060)

• { (007B)

• | (007C)

• } (007D)

• ~ (007E)

• DEL (007F)

Supported Output Mode

EDIFACT (eDoc) connector supports the Replace output mode. For more information, see Target Output Modes.

Supported Data Type

The following data types are supported:

• a

• AN

• an

• B

• DT

• ID

• Loop

• n

• NO

• N1

• N10

• N11

• N12

• N13

• N14

• N15

• N16

• N17

• N18

• N19

• N2

• N20

• N3

• N4

• N5

• N6

• N7

• N8

• N9

• R

• Segment

• TM

Note: The data types that you see under Type in the target schema (on the Map tab) are EDI data type names. However, these data types are read as Text by Map Designer. To use a DT EDI data type in an expression, you would need to treat the data type as Text that must be converted to a DateTime data type. For more information about converting data types, search for "commonly used functions" in the documentation.

Last modified date: 12/03/2024