Hi Old Friends, I first learned XML 5 or so years ago when Oracle and other ERPs were put to the challenge of proving that XML messaging worked for a purchase order. The Oracle team on which I was one of the product managers in a very short time developed an early version of what was to become the Oracle XML Gateway. Even the simple and undeveloped XML messages at the time was overwhelming to comprehend in their raw data format.
So on the subject of EDI and XML âReadabiltiyââ I made up my own quote back then. Quote me if you like. âXML is âhuman readableâ, but not âhuman understandableâ (at a quick glance)â. First off, ONE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO âREADâ the electronic message except during the initial implementation and troubleshooting. If you have to worry about reading the raw transactio, there are serious problems. Whoever has to do the trouble shooting will know how to read any format sooner or later by looking at âraw dataâ in any format given their experience. Readability should not be an issue. I found it extremely difficult to simply look at the XML looping structure and follow the data since you have to scroll and scroll and scroll endlessly. After many scrolls what do you remember from the beginning? Data tags become a blur. You almost always need other XML software to really see and understand the XML structure. For X12 and EDIFACT, other software is not needed to understand the transaction. At least with X12 and EDIFACT, you can usually easily see an entire transaction on one screen or one piece of paper. Only an idiot could not comprehend the order of the business data by seeing simple sets of segment identifiers and recalling their order along a record. One does not sit around and read it as much as spot check for bad or missing data. You know where you are looking for the data. True, you can do more with the electronic message in the XML format. But heck, if you are just going to load the transaction into your base application like Payables, why do you need it in such a flexible format? What else are you going to do with it? There are already too many emails in everyoneâs in-box. I donât need a notification for routine transactions. Let my expensive ERP tell me when there is an exception. Also do you really need to send or receive it faster? It depends on the transaction and the business relationship of those exchanging the data. In the regular supply chain with regular trading partners (not the occasional customer), is your customer going to pay the invoice FASTER because he got it in seconds or minutes versus overnight due to batch processing? Heck no. We all know NET 30 really means pay in 45 days no matter how fast he got it. So what is the advantage of their application getting the invoice really fast? Maybe it is also just another sign of our American impatience to do everything âFASTERâ and âNOWâ whether we need it faster or not. PS. If you need training on the Oracle e-Commerce Gateway or XML Gateway, let me know. It goes beyond what I delivered for the official Oracle course. Plus I do Gateway implementations. Happy New Year. Bonnie Shebat Williams Ph 408 230 6635 [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Access the list online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
