EDIReader is a Java tool that helps in the analysis of business documents that follow the syntax of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards.
In many cases, EDIReader and an XSLT stylesheet provide a lightweight and open source alternative to conventional EDI mapper/translators. Capturing an XML expression of the parsed EDI data is simple with EDIReader. An EDItoXML utility is included as a demonstration program. It is essential to note that EDIReader is not a conventional EDI mapper/translator nor a replacement for one. Its purpose is to allow EDI input into a wide variety of XML-based systems so that tools used to transform and otherwise process XML-structured data can be applied to EDI also. It requires no more configuration than any SAX parser, which is virtually none.
One of the design goals of EDIReader is to build in as much EDI awareness as necessary to do its job and no more. Necessary EDI syntax issues are handled so that XML tools such as XSLT can be applied to the issues of EDI structure and semantics. Since it does not need to perform full EDI compliance checking, it requires no tables of code values and the like to be installed and updated for particular EDI standards and versions.
Some key features of EDIReader include dynamic standard recognition, extensibility, checks for well-formed EDI syntax, easy embedding, efficiency, and flexible segment terminator handling. With EDIReader, it is not necessary to configure the terminator before the EDI data is parsed. EDIReader can generate EDI functional acknowledgments for the function groups within an ANSI X12 interchange as a by-product of parsing.
Additionally, EDIReader can be enhanced with document-specific plugins that correspond to specific transaction sets or messages. These plugins are optional and allow the parser to recognize segment groups and the way in which these groups are nested and repeated. If a plugin is available, the XML generated by EDIReader reflects the segment grouping. This is useful when mapping EDI documents using XSLT. The software comes with several popular plugins for specific document types, such as the ANSI 824 and 837, and the EDIFACT MSCONS and UTILMD.
Overall, EDIReader is a highly efficient and flexible software that provides an XML-based solution for businesses to process and manage EDI documents. It is perfect for users looking for a lightweight and open-source alternative to conventional EDI mapper/translators.
Version 4.1: N/A