Component and Sub-Component Fields

Some file formats - many EDI variants, for example - allow fields to be subdivided into arrays, sub-fields, or composite fields. Collectively, these fields are referred to as component fields in custom XML conversion definitions. Typically, the headers of these files contain information about the character used to specify component fields. Stylus Studio uses this information to set the default value for the Field Component Separator property and render XML output accordingly.

Consider the following input file, which uses a semi-colon (;) to specify component fields:


Make;Model;Year;Color;Seat BMW;R1150RS;2004;grey,metallic;black,vinyl MZ;Scorpion;1995;green,clearcoat;black,vinyl Ducati;ST2;1997;red,clearcoat;black,leather

Using the first row to supply the field names and default Component Element Name (component), the custom XML conversion definition creates the following XML output (first two elements shown for brevity):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
<root> 
	<row> 
		<Make>BMW</Make> 
		<Model>R1150RS</Model> 
		<Year>2004</Year> 
		<Color> 
			<component>grey</component> 
			<component>metallic</component> 
		</Color> 
		<Seat> 
			<component>black</component> 
			<component>vinyl</component> 
		</Seat> 
	</row> 
	<row> 
		<Make>MZ</Make> 
		<Model>Scorpion</Model> 
		<Year>1995</Year> 
		<Color> 
			<component>green</component> 
			<component>clearcoat</component> 
		</Color> 
		<Seat> 
			<component>black</component> 
			<component>vinyl</component> 
		</Seat> 
	</row> 
...

The <component> elements are created as subelements of the <Color> and <Seat> elements.

For line-oriented regions in files containing component fields, you can change the default Field Component Separator property, and the Component Element Name and Component Element Name properties, that is, the name you want to use for the component fields' container elements.

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