sam - skilchen/bots GitHub Wiki

# Splitting and merging edi files # ## Introduction ## It would be easiest if one edi-file always contains one message (eg one order). But this is not always the case, eg: * in edifact or x12 traditionally multiple messages are 'enveloped'. (there was a time this was less expensive to send over networks). For some VAN's this is still true. * use of multiple envelopes in a file. Maybe they shouldn't do this, but they do. * the export routine of your ERP software puts all exported invoices in one file So Bots has to split up edi-files, and has to be able to envelope and merge edi-files.
This wiki page gives an overview of all the possible splitting and merging in Bots.

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Splitting

  • Incoming email: different attachments are saved as a separate edi-files.\
  • Receiving zipped edi files: the files in the zip-file as saved as separate edi-files.\
  • For edifact, x12, tradacoms: interchanges are being split up to separate files.\
  • Incoming edi-files are being fed to the mapping-script as messages. This is done by 'nextmessage' in the grammar syntax, see Nextmessage.\
  • Spit within a mapping script. Think of eg splitting up a shipment to the different orders. There are 2 ways of doing this:\
    1. Write multiple message to the same file .\
    2. Write each generated message to the same file, using alt translations.

Merging

Merging: if the 'merge' parameter is set in the syntax of the outgoing message, bots will try to merge the seperate messages to one fiel. Messages are only merged if: same from-partner, same to-partner, same editype, same messagetype, same testindicator, same characterset, same envelope.\

Enveloping: (edifact, x12, tradacoms) bots will envelope these messages (add UNB-UNZ for edifact, ISA-GS-GE-IEA for x12). Enveloping is independent from merging: bots can envelope without merging, or merge without enveloping.\

Write to a message-queue in outgoing channel: if you use a fixed filename in an outgoing channel, bots will append all messages to this file. This is often used in eg a set-up where all orders go to one file containing all incoming orders in fixed file format.