Hi Samir,
Actually if you count HL7 as an EDI standard it does
have a convention for escaping delimiter characters.
Normally the escape character is '\' although this can be
redefined on the fly in the MSH segment.
The escaping format is a little bit strange in that even
though like X12 the delimiter characters can be redefined on
the fly in the header segment, the escaped versions of the delimiter
characters are
'hard coded' into the standard.
The escape sequences are typically:
| --> \F\
^ --> \S\
& --> \T\
~ --> \R\
\ --> \E\
It's not a brilliantly well thought out escaping convention - it would
be simpler to be like C and just prefix the escape character once
before the delimiter character - and thus avoid the need for a lookup
table of escape formats - but HL7 does have one - which is
an exception amongst the EDI standards (XML at least does have
well defined conventions for escape sequences which is one thing
in it's favour).
It's a bit of a shame with EDI formats really - one nice simple escape
convention
like C would save a lot of trouble with unnecessary redefining of delimiter
characters - users should be able to put in * characters if they want to
without
the software having a problem.
Cheers,
Eliot
--
Eliot Muir, Technical Sales Manager iNTERFACEWARE
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
ICQ# 73674543
Voice 1-416-8207050 http://www.interfaceware.com
Makers of iNTERFACEWARE Chameleon
"Program to the iNTERFACE not the implementation"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rachel Foerster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: X12 method for escaping delimiters
> I believe the original question related to a mechanism for escaping
> delimiter characters in an X12 data stream.....there is no method
> within the X12 standards for escaping delimiter characters. The
> UN/EDIFACT syntax is the only EDI standard that has such a mechanism.
>
> Thus, the originator of the X12 interchange and enclosed transactions
> has the responsibility to ensure that the delimiter characters used
> (now include element separator, sub-element separate, segment
> terminator, and repeating element separator) are NOT also embeded
> within any of the data elements.
>
> In short, in X12 you cannot escape any of the delimiter characters.
>
> Rachel
>
>
> Actually Linda is remembering a function of the STX DOS (SupplyTech)
> software we used to support together. In view raw edi mode from
> print-view
> incoming/outgoing, STX was smart enough to display a '?' before the
> data
> character which was the same as a seperator character. I'm a little
> worried
> that I still remember that.
>
> Steve
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Pokraka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 10:07 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: X12 method for escaping delimiters
>
>
> Linda,
> That 'land far away' is the key to your confusion - it would have been
> EDIFACT-land. We do indeed believe in using a ? for that purpose :-)
> Michael
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Linda Leckrone [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: 18 December 2000 14:18
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: X12 method for escaping delimiters
>
>
> A LONG time ago, in a land far away, I used to see a ? used as an
> escape
> character. So if your part number is 123*48 but you're using * as the
> element
> separator, for example, the part would appear as 123?*48 in the data.
>
> This was a LONG time ago, and when I first started working with EDI.
> At the
> time, I thought this was a standard thing, but that isn't based on any
> research,
> just assumption. Maybe someone else can verify?
>
> Linda
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Chuck Boucos <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on 12/18/2000 07:47:06
> AM
>
> Please respond to Chuck Boucos <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>
>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> cc: (bcc: Linda Leckrone/GR/US/BRAIN)
>
>
>
> Subject Re: X12 method for escaping delimiters
> :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Samir...
>
> You really have two options;
>
> a) If you can (i.e. if your Trading Partners will let you), make your
> delimiter something that you know won't ever be in your data, or....
> b) If your Trading Partners insist on the '*', take pains to make sure
> '*'
> doesn't appear anywhere in your data.
>
> There really is no other option that I know of.
>
> Chuck Boucos
> Willow Farm Solutions
> http://www.willowfarmsolutions.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Electronic Data Interchange Issues
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of Bayes, Charles (GXS)
> Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2000 11:07 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: X12 method for escaping delimiters
>
> Hello Samir,
>
> The key to the delimiters in an X12 document is found in the
> ISA
> record. The 4th character of the ISA record is always your element
> separator. That is one of three key characters that CAN NOT be
> anywhere in
> your data. The standards give a variety of values that can be used,
> including some non-printable values, to help you select a value that
> won't
> be in your data. The second "key character" is the 105th character of
> the
> ISA record. This is the sub-element separator. Although sub-elements
> are
> not used as extensively in X12 as they are in EDIFACT, there are times
> when
> they can be used, so this value is always defined. Again, this
> character
> CAN NOT be used anywhere in your data. The third "key character" is
> the
> 106th character. This is your segment terminator, and is typically a
> "CR/LF" or "~" value, but can be just about anything, as long as it is
> NOT
> (a) the same as the 4th or 105th character of the ISA record, or (b)
> found
> in the data.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Chuck
> -----Original Message----
> From: Samir Gulrajani [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2000 9:15 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: X12 method for escaping delimiters
>
>
> This is a bit of newbie question. What is the correct
> way to send fields in X12 that have delimiter characters
> like '*' in the middle of them. i.e. what's the proper
> way to escape these characters?
>
> Thanks in advance to your answers on this question.
>
> Samir
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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