Data Types for xlateInTypes and xlateOutTypes?

[Lonnie Davis]

Hello all!

I’ve been experimenting with the global variables in an XLT proc and found three different data types for the xlateInTypes and xlateOutTypes: ai, ts, and ch.  Doing some experimentation with integer and string comparison operators in an IF statement inside of a translation, I found that ‘ai’ and ‘ch’ use the integer operators, but the ‘ts’ needs to use the string comparison operators.

Is there a list of all of the data types that can be used in a translation and what they are exactly?

Topic

[Jim Kosloskey]

Here is the xpmstore command doc showing what I know to be the valid data types for Xlate datum:

xpmstore

<p class=”Paragraph”>Stores values into the output fields of xpmId. field is interpreted as an output field.</p>
<p class=”Command”>xpmstore ?-list? xpmId field TYPE args</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>A leading @ identifies a temporary field variable. You cannot modify input fields.</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>If you use -list, args is a list containing all of the values to store. Otherwise, the value list is all the remaining arguments to the command.</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>Both strings and datum objects can be stored using this command.</p>
<p class=”BTBullet1″>•        Constant strings use -c.</p>
<p class=”BTBullet1″>•        Datum objects use -d.</p>
<p class=”BTBullet1″>•        Special values use -v.</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>For example:</p>
<p class=”Command”>-c string -d datId -v value…</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>The type value (c, d, or v) identifies the default item type for the list, but the datum can appear without identification.</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>The only special value currently supported is null, which represents a value that is present, but empty. In HL7, for example, it is encoded as “” (two double-quotes); it is not treated specially in FRLs.</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>Constant string values default to type ch when stored. You can specify an hci data type with a -type data type trailer.</p>
<p class=”Paragraph”>For example:</p>
<p class=”Command”>-c string -type datatype</p>

email: jim.kosloskey@jim-kosloskey.com 29+ years Cloverleaf, 59 years IT - old fart.

[Jim Kosloskey]

Well that sure looks like crap. I am not sure how to show that so just look up xpmstore in the Cloverleaf documentation.

 

email: jim.kosloskey@jim-kosloskey.com 29+ years Cloverleaf, 59 years IT - old fart.

[Lonnie Davis]

Thanks Jim.  I looked up xpmstore and that led me to the FRL configurator where I could see all of the ‘hci data types’.

• ai = integer
• ch = string
• ts = timestamp

I also noticed that Cloverleaf appears to do some kind of mapping between HL7 data types and the hci data types.

What is also interesting is that the integer comparison operators in an xlate IF statement can recognize an integer value if it has a string (ch) data type.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Lonnie Davis.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Lonnie Davis.

[Author]

Replies