Re: EDI , AS400 and Java -- JAVA400-L

Hi Ashish,

Typically if someone says they want to "do EDI" then it's very likelythey mean that they want to exchange documents with you that areformatted using one of the major EDI standards (either ANSI X.12 inNorth America or EDIFACT in most of the rest of the world; there areothers too, but they are far less common). The methodology for doingthis is very well understood, and generally includes the followingcomponents:

1./ An EDI translator. On the i5 this would be something likeTrustedLink or Gentran. The role of the translator is to manage yourdatabase of EDI documents, to validate that their structure iscorrect according to the standards, and to coordinate the otherfunctions described below.

2./ An EDI mapper. Typically this is actually part of thetranslator, but I view it as a distinct function. The mapper's jobis to convert from the EDI standards format to your own formats,whether that's data files on your i5, flat files, CSV, XML, reportoutput, whatever. Each translator/mapper will have its own range ofcapabilities.

3./ Communications. In the olden days (like 10 years ago) most EDIdocuments were sent/received using modems to value added networks(VANs) operated by companies like GXS, Sterling, or Inovis.Sometimes this was done using capabilities built into the translatoror using software provided by the VAN. Increasingly today EDIdocument exchange is done over the Internet using FTP(S), sometimesHTTP(S) or SMTP, and increasingly often using a protocol called EDI-INT AS2, which is a combination of SMIME and HTTP with some otherrules to create a reliable, secure data exchange method. FTP andsimilar protocols are usually built into the translator, but AS2piece is often an add-on.

For all of these bits you can buy commercial software packages, whicheither run on the i5 or you can run them on a separate server andjust map the data into your i5 databases via flat files or SQL. TheEDI standards themselves are only moderately complicated, so youcould theoretically just code everything up yourself (except the AS2piece), but from a operations point of view it's much (much) betterto have the control and audit capabilities of proper softwareinfrastructure. If you want to go it yourself, you'll need to getthe implementation guidelines from your trading partners, understandtheir requirements in terms of the standards, get some test data fromthem, and then the programming tasks should be pretty apparent.

Of course you could just outsource your EDI requirements to one ofmany companies which provide that specific service. I think that's agreat approach for many firms, but then again that's the business I'min so I'm pretty strongly biased! And it isn't the right approach inall cases, especially if you have a sizable IT staff.


t.

On 4-Dec-06, at 3:44 PM, Ashish Kulkarni wrote:

Hi
I got that part cleared, i will talk with the vendor
to get that information.
So but if EDI is a concept there must be some software
required to do EDI,
what is the software i will need, or is there any open
source solution for implmenting EDI

Ashish
--- Michael Ryan <michaelrtr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

EDI is just a concept. There is no EDI format per
se. Ask your vendor what
format they want. That's the place to start.

On 12/4/06, Ashish Kulkarni
<kulkarni_ash1312@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Hi
We dont have any existing EDI files, i think we

will

get them from the vendor
or if there are any standard files defined my
business.

IS there a sample java program which does EDI to

send

data?

Ashish
--- Michael_Schutte@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Ashish, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe

all

you are looking for is a
way to map your XML files to your existing EDI
files?


Ciao!
Michael Schutte

Classic Italian dishes with a Bob Evans Twist -
Enjoy our new Homestyle
Pastas!


java400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote on

12/04/2006

03:06:56 PM:

Saying "in EDI format" is about as precise as

saying "in ASCII". You

need to ask them what format they want.

"EDI" means "Electronic Data Integration" (or

something like that).

All it means is sending business data from one

computer system to

another computer system. It doesn't

necessarily

involve XML (our

company has hundreds of business partners and

none

of them send or

receive data in XML).

-----Original Message-----
From: java400-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx

[mailto:java400-l-

bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ashish

Kulkarni

Sent: December 4, 2006 12:02
To: Java Programming on and around the iSeries

AS400

Subject: ***SPAM*** Re: EDI , AS400 and Java

Hi
They require the file in EDI format, this is

all

they have said but

my team wants to know if it is possible to do

through java, are

there any API which allow us to do it?
where can i find information about EDI in

general


ashish

--- Michael Ryan <michaelrtr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Pretty big topic. How do you want to send

the

file?

What does your trading
partner require?


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