X12 tester and Xlate – non standard separators

[Jim Kosloskey]

Cloverleaf(R) 5.6 on AIX.

This has stumped me and before I spend a lot of time on it I thought maybe someone else has experienced this.

I have an X12 message with non standard separators (the COMPONENT separator in particular).

The X12 tester will not display the components properly. Since the test message is in a file, there is no metadata associated with the file. There does not appear to be any method to add the SEPCHARS field to the metadata for the X12 tester.

Moreover, I need to Xlate that message into another format. I have a proc which I invoke within the Xlate to set the SEPCHARS field in the metadata and that works fine when creating a X12 message (the proper separators are used).

However, one cannot affect the metadata of the inbound message in an Xlate. Since the X12 configurator does not allow the specification of the envelope (from which the SEPCHARS metadata field is populated) it appears the X12 tester and the Xlate tester cannot be used successfully with messages that do not have standard X12 separators.

This looks like in order to test the Xlates (whcih can be very complicated in structure) one will not be able to rely on the testing tools but rather have to actually run through the engine.

If the above is true, development time will be severly impacted.

Can anyone tell me if my above observations are correct or if they are not, guide me to a resolution?

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

Topic

[Rob Abbott]

Jim you are correct.

Rob Abbott
Cloverleaf Emeritus

[Jim Kosloskey]

Rob,

Thanks – I hate to be greedy – but while you are at it could you request the ability to interrogate the inbound message metadata using xpmmetaget from inside the Xlate?

There is a need to get at some of the envelope data (which is in the metadata) in an Xlate (would also be nice to be able to get at USERDATA for non-X12 environments whereing a pre Xlate proc may have set USERDATA to communicate something to the Xlate.

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

[Rob Abbott]

Quote:

would also be nice to be able to get at USERDATA for non-X12 environments whereing a pre Xlate proc may have set USERDATA to communicate something to the Xlate

you can do this today…in the engine not in testing tool…

in xlate, xpmmetaget $xlateId USERDATA will return the userdata from the inbound message.

I just tested it on 5.7.

Rob Abbott
Cloverleaf Emeritus

[Jim Kosloskey]

Rob,

I had planned to do that xpmmetaget until I read the doc and it only speaks about xpmmeta… and the OUTPUT message. No mention of the INBOUND message as related to the xpmmeta commands also since there is only one xlateId referenceable is that the INBOUND or OUTBOUND (or how does one specify)?

I did not test in the engine (only in the tester) so I will give it a  try (on 5.6).

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

[Rob Abbott]

You don’t specify in or out.  outbound messages will inherit the metadata from the inbound msg.

I suppose you could say metaget works on inbound and set works on outbound.   But you are really working with a “translation object” not a message, which is in between in and out.

Rob Abbott
Cloverleaf Emeritus

[Jim Kosloskey]

Rob,

Thanks, I will get this sorted out.

I think I can do what I want, but not in the tester.

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

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