The control records that provide enveloping and balancing controls for your data are the following:
■ .FIL ■ .DOC ■ .TRL
Each of these control records begins with an .xxx record identifier and the record version. By using a version field, in-network translation can support different layouts of control records to accommodate all of your data translation requirements. In other words, the use of the layout version number allows GXS to modify the format of the records, such as adding new fields, without requiring you to change an application that uses an earlier format.
The only record layouts shown in this book are the version 0 layouts. However,
in-network translation is already using later versions internally. You will be supplied with the latest version used when you sign up for this service.
.FIL control record
The .FIL control record is the first record of a package. It provides enveloping and tracking controls for the package. In most cases, this package represents a file or a transmission of documents.
A detailed description of the contents of the .FIL control record follows.
.FIL control record layout:
Version 0 layout:
.FIL control record fields
This section describes the .FIL control record fields. Application
The first field is the name space or database where your trading partners are defined. The second field is the application instance or application name that defines an iteration or subset of a particular application. This field should be in the form:
application_name.application_instance.
Name Description
Record_id ‘.FIL’ The file header record.
Record_version The version of the .FIL record. This value can range from 0 to 9.
Name Type Size Description
Application Char 17 The two registered IDs of the .FIL record.
Date Char 8 The date the .FIL record and its contents were created by the sending application.
Time Char 6 The time the .FIL record and its contents were created by the sending application.
For example, the application field might be represented as GXS.PURORDRS, where GXS is the name of your company and
PURORDRS is the subsystem generating all the purchase orders. As another example, the application field might be represented as
ORDERS.SERVR4, where ORDERS is the name of a purchase order appli- cation that causes a number of servers to create and send data packages.
SERVR4 is a unique name that identifies the server sending the application data.
Date
This field records the date the .FIL record and its contents were created by the sending application. This field can be used to track the package. It should be in the form of CCYYMMDD, where CC is the century (19 or 20),
YY are the last two characters of the year (00-99), MM is the month (1-12), and DD is the day of the month (1-31). For example, November 10, 1999 would be 19991110.
Time
This field records the time the .FIL record and its contents were created by the sending application. This field can be used to track the package. It should be in the form of HHMMSS, where HH is the hour (0-23), MM is the minute (00-59), and SS is the second (00-59). Both the date and time are recorded in the application instance’s local time.
Control number
This field is used for tracking the package through the translation process and for intelligent processing of your application data. In addition, the value in this field must match the control number in the .TRL record for this package.
In-network translation expects all incoming data to be sent in sequence. This field must be unique for a period of time within your application to provide sufficient tracking information and allow for intelligent processing of your data. For example, in-network translation uses this field to prevent a data package from being processed more than once or as an indicator that a data package may not have been received.
NOTE: You and GXS mutually select the names to be used when you order the in-network translation service.
.DOC control record
The .DOC control record is a header record that indicates the beginning of a series of application records. The document header introduces a new document or transaction set with the information necessary to translate, route, and track the document to be processed.
Each data package must have at least one .DOC record, but a single package can have many .DOC records. The .DOC record contents are unique within the application_name specified with the .FIL record. If the .DOC is being returned to the application, it supplies the data necessary for the application to under- stand the data being delivered.
If the data is outbound from your application, these records are to be translated into an EDI format or another application data format, as specified in the trans- lation map. If the data is inbound to your application, these records are the result of translation from an EDI transaction set or another application data format.
.DOC control record layout:
Version 0 layout:
.DOC control record fields
This section describes the .DOC control record fields. Sender_name
This field specifies the sender’s nickname, which must be defined in the trading partner relationship database. Also, the nickname must be unique to the application specified in the .FIL record.
Name Type Size Description
Record_id Char 4 ‘.DOC’ The record identifier.
Record_version Char 1 The version of the .DOC record. This value can range from 0 to 9.
Name Type Size Description
Sender_name Char 24 For outbound documents, the nickname of the application user that created this document.
For inbound documents, the nickname of your trading partner.
Receiver_name Char 24 For outbound documents, the nickname of your trading partner. For inbound documents, the nickname of the application user.
Layout Char 8 The structure of the data records to be translated.
Test_Prod_Ind Char 1 Whether the transaction is a Test (T) or Production (P) transaction. Document_tag Char 60 One or more fields taken from the
document data to uniquely identify and track the document.
NOTE: You and GXS mutually select the nicknames for the application when you order the in-network translation component.
Receiver_name
This field specifies the receiver’s nickname, which must be defined in the trading partner relationship database. Also, the nickname must be unique to the application specified in the .FIL record.
Layout
This field specifies the structure and sequence of the records for a given transaction that you will send or receive. In-network translation uses this information to determine the format and content of application data records that you will send or expect to receive.
Test_Prod_Ind
For outbound transactions, this field indicates if the transaction is a Test (T) or Production (P) transaction. For inbound transactions, this field indicates if your trading partner is sending a Test (T) or Production (P) transaction.
You can also use this identifier to determine data transformation and routing. For example, when the indicator is T, the document is formatted into a Web application format and routed to the EDI Server. When the indicator is P, the document is translated into EDI and routed to an EDI mailbox.
Document_tag
This field is a unique ID used to track the document throughout the trans- lation process. For example, a purchase order could have a purchase order number, internal vendor number, and department number in this field. An invoice could simply have the invoice number in this field. This field could also contain any other identifying information that the application puts there.
NOTE: Nicknames are used to shield the application from changes to the type, versions, or addressing of data the partners see. For example, if a partner changes their EDI address, in-network translation makes changes to its trading partner relationship databases, without affecting what the application sends or receives. You must register your partner nicknames with GXS before the first transaction between you and your partner can be enacted.
.TRL control record
The .TRL control record is the last record in the package, and it provides balancing controls. The combination of the .FIL record at the beginning of the package and the .TRL record at the end of the package provides application compliance.
A detailed description of the contents of the .TRL control record follows.
.TRL control record layout:
Version 0 layout:
.TRL control record fields
This section describes the .TRL control record fields. Record_count
This field specifies the total number of records in the data package. The value in this field (0-9) must be right-aligned and may contain blanks or zeros.
Dot_count
This field specifies the total number of .xxx records in the data package. The value in this field (0-9) must be right-aligned and may contain blanks or zeros.
Control_number
This field is used to track the data package during translation processing. The value in this field must match the control number in the .FIL record.
Name Type Size Description
Record_id Char 4 The record identifier.
Record_version Char 1 The version of the .TRL record.
Name Type Size Description
Record_count Char 8 The total number of records in the data package.
Dot_count Char 8 The total number of .xxx records in the data package.