Quoted text is from <008e01c0b656$6ff5db40$d141d03f@0q69u>, by Rachel
Foerster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Automated Mapping Tools
>Functional Requirements Checklist
>
..
>Capability to map native application formats directly to standards
>no intermediate formatting or programming
I am no longer sure that this is necessarily such a desirable feature.
Historically we had a fairly straightforward converter which moved data
between tagged flat files and EDI interchanges. We used subsidiary re-
formatters to switch between tagged flat files and other application
formats (typically relational files).
Some years ago the converter was enhanced (almost beyond recognition) to
be able to handle most application formats directly. This was not,
unfortunately, the giant step forward which we had imagined it would be.
We hit the knowledge barrier; the difficulty which clients, and less
experienced staff, have when the EDI structure becomes part of the
mapping equation. Since our ambition is to provide low cost EDI enabling
this was counter-productive; minor modifications and enhancements
started needing informed support.
We backed off, and standardised on a model in which the converter moves
data to and from an intermediary file with a very simple hierarchy,
often just header and detail, in which all data elements are identified
by recognisable symbolic names (by taking account of qualifiers and
relative positions almost all the hierarchical structure in an EDI
transaction can be 'flattened' out). The re-formatters, which are
conceptually very much easier to come to terms with than the converter,
can then be used to specify the application format in terms of these
symbolic names.
This approach has been very much more successful, reducing development
time and maintenance demands, at the cost of adding a further stage to
the EDI processing. Since the processing time for an EDI session is
normally insignificant the perceived simplicity of the mapping by a
client more than justifies it.
Even this old reactionary seldom maps directly from the EDI to an
application format any longer. This is because I believe in enhancing my
personal productivity (otherwise known as laziness).
Regards
Chris
--
Chris Johnson +44 (0)20 8501 1490 (home)
EDIMatrix Ltd +44 (0)20 8559 2454 (work)
+44 (0)20 8559 2497 (fax)
http://www.edimatrix.co.uk
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