If you have only one trading partner per mailbox, and one transaction set in each direction, and the transaction sets aren't too complex, then you might be able to live without a translator.
Unfortunately, once a company starts doing EDI, they tend to end up with a half dozen transaction sets, both inbound and outbound, and multiple trading partners, and each trading partner does things differently. Even though there is a standard, the messages you receive and send out will likely be different for each trading partner. In addition, a lot of EDI goes through Value Added Networks, and you may have one or more VAN that you trade with depending on your trading partner requirements. When you use a VAN, and go get your messages, you will get a transmission that has multiple transaction sets from multiple trading partners, and you will have to decipher this all, or let your EDI software take care of it, matching the trading partner and transaction set with the appropriate map to translate the EDI into a standard set of interface files which will have far fewer variations.
Next point unless you are the 500 pound gorilla, you do not get to decide what the EDI will look like.
Also there are several versions of each standard in use at any given time. I still see references to 4010 on the internet, but each year a new version is released, and 6030 is the most recently available version. That means you could see any of 4010, 4020, 4030, 4040, 4050, 5010, 5020, 5030, 5040, 5050, 6010, 6020, or 6030. And sometimes companies update their transactions to use a newer standard, just to stay close to current.
In my experience it is far more cost effective to obtain a good EDI package than to try to roll your own.
Mark Murphy
STAR BASE Consulting, Inc.
mmurphy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: -----
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Steve Richter
Sent by: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: 08/04/2011 02:15PM
Subject: Re: what is meaning of ** in edi data stream
EDI is kind of interesting. A lot of noise when I search the web for EDI
specs. Like every site I clicked on is looking to sell something.
Is there a site from which I can download the official EDI spec? Two I am
working with now are the 945 and 846.
And what is the great value of an EDI translator? I was able to parse the
846 ( inventory snapshot ) pretty quickly with RPG procedures. I can see
using a translator when sending a properly formatted document.
On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 1:37 PM, sjl <sjl_abc@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Steve -
Semantically, according the EDI X12 standard, no.
W06 is the /segment/ name. W0601, W0602, etc. are the /elements/ within
the
W06 segment.
So, using the correct terminology, in this case the W0605 element is
missing
from the segment.
Regards,
sjl
Steve wrote:
I see.
There is a segment 01, 02, 03, 04 and 06 in a 945 W06.
The 05 segment is missing.
--
This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing list
To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives
at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
midrange.com
