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EDI Tools

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a set of computer interchange standards for business documents such as invoices, bills, and purchase orders. Learn how EDI tools for working with EDIFACT and X12 will radically simplify your next data integration project.

EDI Mapping

Stylus Studio® EDI Mapping Tools include utilities for converting EDIFACT to XML, X12 to XML, and bi-directional adapters for deploying them.

These adapters can be used as part of XSLT and XQuery processing, part of XML pipelines, or used directly within your own programs.

Converting Custom EDI Message Types

DataDirect XML Converters™, which are bundled with Stylus Studio®, help you convert numerous EDI dialects like EDIFACT, X12, IATA, and EANCOM to XML. But did you know you can use Stylus Studio® to convert custom EDI message types?

Converting EDIFACT to XML

Point to an EDIFACT document, hit a few buttons, and voilà! a fully-commented XML file. The comments can be turned off when you're sure the data transformation is just perfect. In the meantime, your data never looked so good.

Converting XML to EDIFACT

Going from EDIFACT to XML is one thing, but we can do it backwards also. The adapter is so transparent to your use, you can change the text in the XML editor, save it back to disk, and see the change persisted in the EDIFACT file!

Converting X12 to XML

The X12 adapter, just like the EDIFACT adapter, can go from XML to X12 EDI. Instead of using the X12 URL itself as the destination, simply prefix it with adapter:EDI? and the output will happen through the X12 adapter. The syntax and transaction set and even release will be detected from the XML stream, and the details will be handled for you.

Converting XML to X12

Instead of worrying about the syntactic idiosyncracies of X12, concentrate on your data. The bidirectional nature of the EDI adapter will handle the details of creating a syntactically correct X12 file from the XML editor, or even from your XQuery or XSLT transforms.

Generate XML Schema from EDIFACT

How do you know if the EDIFACT data you are working with is valid? How do you map from a copy of some document to your ERP system's inputs? XML Schemas are a useful mechanism for informing disparate applications of an XML document's structure. Stylus Studio® allows you to generate an XML Schema for any message type and any version that the EDIFACT standard supports. This can be used for validation, mapping or integration.

Generate XML Schema from X12

The DISA X12 standards are constantly being updated. How can you insure that your data stream is valid against what's coming down the pike? Being able to create XML Schemas for any transaction set or release, and then being able to build maps or do validation against said schemas can ease your burden.

Transform EDI to EDI

Since Stylus Studio® can do XML to EDI and EDI to XML and XML to XML, there is no reason why it shouldn't be able to do EDI to EDI. And the same XSLT and XQuery tools historically used for XML mapping and transforming can now be used for working with EDIFACT, X12, flat files, relational databases, or any combination.

Access EDI from XSLT or XQuery

XSLT and XQuery are excellent tools for dealing with tree-structured data like XML. Up to this point, EDI has missed out, but the transparent URL-based adapter library of Stylus Studio® can build your EDI bridge. Use EDI as if it were XML — for input, for output, or even for both (to translate from EDIFACT to X12 for example).

EDI Standards Support

We provide for you a large vocabulary of EDI standards. Just listing the versions takes four pages of our website.

• EDIFACT, from 88-1 through D05B
• X12, from 3030 through 5030
• EANCOM, 1997, 2001 and 2002
• IATA, from 92.1 through 05.1
• HL7, from release 2.0 to 2.6
• Edig@s, release 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.0

Create Custom EDI to XML Conversions

For the truly strange or proprietary EDI vocabularies, the Convert to XML tool within Stylus Studio® can help you build your own adapter, which can then be used like any other adapter to go from EDI to XML.

EDIFACT Standards

Struggling with EDI standards? Simplify your next legacy data integration project with the EDIFACT Zone, a free online reference covering all EDIFACT and UN/CEFACT versions in detail

EDI Discussion Forum

Got an EDI question? Looking for EDI Jobs? Post your EDI-related inquiries to the EDI Discussion Forum, an open and un-moderated forum about Electronic Data Interchange.

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