tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035544395068273222012-01-12T00:00:07.018ZA blog about Electronic Data Interchange <br> EDIFACT EANCOM X12 TRADACOM ODETTE EBIZ XML HTML PDF CSV TXT JSON <br> FTP HTTP AS2 SMTP POP3 Dial-up Point-2-Point SOAP PigeonEDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-71266604625999276882012-01-11T23:42:00.004Z2012-01-11T23:48:54.655Z

I wrote before about my frustration at EDI Standards Proliferation. I also said if there was anything more fustrating than EDI Standards Proliferation, it was EDI Standards Secrecy.Well done to the Green Coffee Organisation. I can now find reference material for Green Coffee XML on the internet for free. This link leads you to a 124 page PDF document, Contract Terms & Conditions. There listed in

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-43918691047794623762012-01-05T23:03:00.006Z2012-01-05T23:23:54.895Z

I have a problem. I don't normally like to talk about it, but you may share the same problem and if we get it out in the open, then maybe we can all cope with it better. The problem with this problem, is it doesn't have an obvious name. So while no one likes to be labeled, without a label it is hard to communicate easily. How to describe it? Where to begin?The problem stems from the nature of the

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-45243261457306553232010-04-21T23:05:00.005+01:002010-04-21T23:31:48.819+01:00

For as long as I can remember I have been reading the phrase "EDI has its beginnings in the Berlin Airlift in 1948". The next bit of history usually jumps to the 1960's American Transport industry. I read this again recently and for once it got me wondering. What electronic communication was there in 1948? What message was it and in what format, and how was it delivered? How was it developed and

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-31004472770135052482009-11-25T00:18:00.003Z2009-11-25T00:36:32.263Z

I want to promote good sense when I read it. Adam Bosworth has a very good article on standards. He is not talking about EDI standards, but technical and software standards in general. Yet everything he says I feel is applicable to EDI.In summary, standards should be simple, readable, focused, precise, implemented, forgiving and free.Adam's standards background is ODBC, AJAX and XML. These

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-16928546907624453112009-11-23T00:22:00.005Z2009-11-23T01:03:01.500Z

In the last post I discussed using a web FTP service as an alternative EDI service, so I thourght I should also provide some help with FTP scripts. You can use a graphical tool like windows explorer for example by typing ftp://someserver.net in the address box. However to eliminate the work of the human operator as far as possible, scripts are needed.That said the best first step to achieve

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-22812081677145354442009-11-15T23:13:00.003Z2009-11-15T23:27:51.120Z

Web site hosting services are very competative now. Easy to use and ever cheaper for both individuals and companies. These servers and systems can also easily provide FTP connections. Dozens of user logins and Giga bytes of storage can be had for an annual cost of less than the purchase price of a desktop computer. With the aid of some relatively simple scripts your computer system can reach out

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-41093757163090295182009-08-03T23:54:00.004+01:002009-08-04T00:08:36.321+01:00

I have just come across the phrase Embedded EDI. I think it fits quite nicely as a label for what I have been trying to articulate.Some highlights..."Are a CEO’s email or Text Messages more or less important than an X12 Shipping notice?""Why is EDI not subject to universal addressing via DNS or URI name-spaces?""CEO’s and children expect email to reach it’s destination, but Supply chain managers

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-67987982143981141312009-08-02T00:02:00.001+01:002009-08-02T00:05:01.884+01:00

Eddy (fluid dynamics): The swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle.

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-65335587169647209792009-07-23T00:32:00.003+01:002009-07-23T00:41:14.908+01:00

I am not angry with every idiot.

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-44046411488559276922009-05-28T00:16:00.014+01:002009-05-28T00:52:59.449+01:00

I have the occasional high school student pass through my office on work experience. They do the rounds going to each department. When they come to me they have already spent time in the Sales and Purchasing departments. I am expected to give them a 30 minute overview of EDI (I don't just do EDI, but no one else understands it, or wants to understand it, so that is what they ask me to do). Then

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-35955811113670379282009-04-17T23:24:00.004+01:002009-04-17T23:45:28.929+01:00

I was in the process of setting up a mapping for a new EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) customer. One of the first things I had to do was to take the senders ID from the message envelope and create a look-up link to the customers account on our ERP system. Now just lately I have become obsessed by leaner, simpler EDI. So I looked at this "simple" process with new eyes.The senders ID, and by

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-91203227285372563602009-02-02T23:42:00.004Z2009-02-03T00:57:24.485Z

They don't seem to do "Documentaries" any more. It is all "Reality TV" these days, and I have mostly had enough of them. I wish shows like "The Apprentice" would show more details of the problem solving, less of the problem personalities. But such is the rarity of Business related material I gave this new show a go.Million Dollar Traders - the premise: take some ordinary people who show some

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-53550883392494779332008-11-04T21:42:00.005Z2008-11-04T22:00:30.290Z

There is probably a word for it. You know, when you are struggling to express an idea and try several times without being satisfied that you are getting your point across. Or indeed not sure what your point is. Then someone else hits the nail on the head. Then you feel the ping of recognition, the swell of confirmed pride and the annoying jealousy of "I wish I had said that".I want EDI to be

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-22732289753660026162008-08-15T00:17:00.004+01:002008-08-15T00:53:43.374+01:00

I have just read Craig's post on EDITalk and was motivated to leave a long comment. So I have decided to re-post it here.Quoting Braveheart is like a red rag to a bull to me. I have got to respond.I am going to go on a bit about history here, but bear with me. I will come back to EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) at the end.For the average Joe, the freedom Wallace (and Mel Gibson) was fighting

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-81604931282158350852008-08-11T23:42:00.004+01:002008-08-15T00:54:10.582+01:00

Can't decide between XML and CSV? I have the answer, and it is not JSON as I previously thought.I have seen the light.The answer is here. Hilarious! (well it is hilarious if you are a geek).In a future post I shall show how the future of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is a merger of Edifact, X12 & Tradacom by using Facsimile technology...

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-41220280478148280442008-07-20T22:45:00.012+01:002008-11-06T23:52:34.648Z

In the previous post I wrote how a large amount of EDI (that is Electronic Data Interchangein the widest sense) is done, without using a strict formalised standard, using CSV formats. Now Google has released details of how they execute server-to-server/program-to-program message interchange using Protocol Buffers. You won’t see the term EDI any where on Google but then the term doesn’t have a

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-46318194804059384022008-07-17T23:46:00.007+01:002008-07-20T22:25:04.988+01:00

I have been meaning to make this post for a long time, then Google came along with Protocol Buffers and the world moves on. So in this post I am going to outline how CSV files are used and how I thought JSON would be an improvement. In another post I will write about what I think can be learnt from Protocol Buffers.A lot of data is communicated from machine to machine by CSV file format. It might

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-3148954962033245562008-07-09T22:59:00.005+01:002012-01-11T23:37:23.904Z

I am not kidding (pdf). Some might think this is great. Some might think is shows how wonderful XML is. I don't. To me it represents a lot of what is mixed up about EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). I want to make 2 points...What is so special about Green Coffee that it needs it's own schema?Well reading the docs it seems coffee dealers are a bit fussy about defining when ownership of the

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-65747417444908291672008-06-28T16:26:00.005+01:002008-06-28T16:50:50.404+01:00

2 CDs with 7 million names addresses of children and parents, some with bank details, are put in the post and go missing. When I heard about this story I worried about the little guy. Well now the UK Independent Police Complaints Commission have investigated and released their report. It is well worth a read (pdf). All 61 pages and 282 paragraphs.At the time the Minister was quick to publicly

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-84084553119619177452008-04-02T20:51:00.009+01:002008-08-15T00:56:24.474+01:00

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) really should be less difficult than it is. If I am a start-up company and I want to purchase timber, metal, paper, widgets or some other commodity item, EDI is just too hard.The overhead on establishing a relationship, agreeing a standard, and testing communications is huge. EDI is supposed to reduce cost but if it results in a supplier tie-in then it will

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-36149904149247690322008-03-31T23:29:00.007+01:002008-08-15T00:56:47.839+01:00

It is so easy to list what is wrong with XML for EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).It produces large filesIt is very processor intensive to parseNeeds another new standardOr can be used/abused without a standardIt isn't even very human readable (despite what some say)And yet... a lot of people find it very compelling.To understand why, imagine you are talking to a developer who knows nothing

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-7674723277663924302008-03-09T22:49:00.003Z2008-07-22T00:14:21.305+01:00

Part I - Message ControlPart II - Export MappingPart III - Import MappingPart IV - Transaction Processing

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-72143326078846567462007-12-21T00:00:00.001Z2008-03-09T22:55:33.291Z

Part I - FormatsPart II - CommunicationPart III - Why

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-65591915268380617802007-12-09T23:52:00.001Z2008-08-15T00:58:45.926+01:00

I have mentioned before that this is the "Elephant in the room" no one likes to talk about. It is hard to talk in abstract terms about something so involved so I am going to take a specific example and use that of a customer sending their Purchase Order. We would want to turn this into a Sales Order.So we get hold of a copy of the message format definition (Edifact, X12, Tradacom etc.), blow off

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-35169354840807105502007-12-03T23:38:00.001Z2008-08-15T00:58:15.185+01:00

OK, I know I've missed something out. Between EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) Exporting and EDI Importing is Communicating. But to understand that, it's best to first have an understanding of both the inputs and outputs. Besides, it's my Blog.What are we going to do with these EDI messages? Possibilities include,Print them out in human readable formCovert them into an email alertStore them for

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-36476929697654532252007-11-27T23:34:00.000Z2007-11-27T23:46:40.027Z

Electronic Data transfer in the news. I think it is called pigeon protocol.No, you can't ridicule it because it is too serious. Unfortunately I suspect this "behind the mailbox" infrastructure is all too common.I hope the little I.T. guy archives his email.

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-48071177747160303432007-11-17T08:22:00.001Z2008-08-15T00:57:51.831+01:00

I'm not going to go into the details of creating the text of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) messages in certain formats. Well not in this post anyway. It is a big subject and the last post was long enough. What I am trying to do is lay out the System Design and APIs.So you have a routine in your ERP system that created a document or a transaction e.g. a Sales Invoice. The options you have are,

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-24577498366685517052007-11-13T23:40:00.001Z2008-08-15T00:59:17.265+01:00

Assuming you have an ERP system that processes sales orders, invoices, remittances, stock balances etc. how do add EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) capabilities? The first thing we need is to decide what is going to whom, in what format, by what means.Let us suppose we want to start sending Sales Invoices to a key customer. The routine that will create the EDI invoice could be called from the

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-15006419274680285172007-11-08T21:50:00.001Z2008-08-15T00:59:39.145+01:00

I was starting to sketch out my next post. It was going to be on EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) System design and I started with "Assuming you have an ERP system that processes sales orders, invoices, remittances, stock balances etc. how do add EDI capabilities?"Then I thought wait!!! Important EDI life experience lesson - assume nothing!!!EDI has a wide reach. It is used in all sorts of areas

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-14490932757328911552007-11-07T20:46:00.001Z2008-08-15T00:59:58.134+01:00

I'm working at this company. No one wanted to be responsible for EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). It was seen as a problem (not a solution), so it gets dumped on the new guy - me.With a lot of patience and time I slowly train myself and begin to understand. I had inherited a third party communication and translation software. It used 1 of only 2 modems in the entire company - it was along time

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-12505744409131912352007-11-06T21:26:00.001Z2008-08-15T01:00:18.764+01:00

How is all this beneficial? How is it better than faxing or emailing a word attachment? In a human sense it isn't. The EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) formats are often not human readable (e.g. Edifact, Tradacom). The point is, it is meant to be machine readable.Eh? So what? These days we have grown used to unstructured information but it wasn't always the way. The triumph of HTML (and the

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-15899869287883317532007-11-05T23:43:00.001Z2008-08-15T01:00:45.255+01:00

Communicating... sending and receiving electronic messages... ummm... sounds like email!We all understand email and are familiar and comfortable with the concept of email. Then why is EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) more complicated? Well I think part of the answer lies in its age. EDI has been in wide spread use in business longer than email. The other reason may be down to security concerns,

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-24910129231261277652007-11-04T23:46:00.001Z2008-08-15T01:01:14.501+01:00

There are 4 elements to EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).Composing a message Sending a message Receiving a message Processing a messageSteps 1 & 4 are sometimes refered to as "translating" or "mapping". Steps 2 & 3 are the communication.By translating you take a document on your computer system, say an order or an invoice, and convert it into another format. Or you take a document that someone

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-503554439506827322.post-88168225643616722402007-11-04T23:43:00.001Z2007-11-10T09:05:23.800Z

EDI - Electronic Data Interchange. Do those letters fill you with dread? They seem to frighten a lot of people I know and they really shouldn't. After too long learning much more than I ever wanted, I now realise what I wish I'd known at the start. However the information just wasn't out there. I am going to try and bring things together on this site.I hope you find it informative.

EDI Eddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10667733779073828630noreply@blogger.com