RE: Net.Data

["Dave Miller" <dlmiller@xxxxxxxxxx>]

All financial institutions use specific data formatting and transmission
protocols for transferring data back and forth between their networks, very
similar in concept to EDI versions and transaction sets.

To be able to use the internet and credit card processing for ecommerce you
must follow specific hardware protocols and data formatting.  Some of the
protocols do not currently support tcp/ip which eliminates working with them
from the gate. (It is possible to convert them and use as/400 attached
modems and create communications programs to do this but the level of
complication wouldn't be worth it).

Each financial institution or transaction clearing house uses specific
standards such as FDR7, ETC7, MAPP, NDC, VITAL, GENSAR and NOVA.  Most web
servers have a specific software product already available that does the
data conversions and mapping required to create a valid transaction for the
network of the target financial institution.

Do to the complexity of the communications, data conversion and formatting,
Net.Data does not have the required functionality to do what is necessary
for this.  It might be possible to create the transaction with a CGI-RPG
program but it would be like trying to format an edi transaction set from
scratch with no help from any packaged software to do part of the formatting
work for you.

In addition some financial institutions won't receive credit card
transactions over the internet because they don't support tcp/ip.

A good example is the implementation of credit card processing on Linux
(apache server).  Even though you have the Linux server running apache on
the internet (serving the electronic storefront) the actual credit card
transaction is transmitted via an ASCII modem connected to the server.  This
is how Redhat has implemented the CCVS process, probably to make it as
compatible with as many networks as possible...

Dave Miller
J. Quint & Associates
Phone(310) 636-1163 Fax (310) 636-1162
email: dlmiller@jquint.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
> [mailto:owner-midrange-l@midrange.com]On Behalf Of Stone, Brad V (TC)
> Sent: Friday, July 14, 2000 1:43 PM
> To: 'MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com'
> Subject: RE: Net.Data
>
>
> Dave,
>
> Pretty vauge.   "Specific Protocols."
>
> What are these specific protocols that Net.Data and e-RPG can't do.  Not a
> sales pitch, honest techy stuff.  I'm not convinced.
>
> Brad

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