Flat file definition structure

A flat file definition describes the structure of a flat file. It contains detailed information about the structure of a flat file, records contained in a message, and which fields are transferred within each record type. It gives each field its tag name which then labels the field in the corresponding XML file.

EC uses the details in a flat file definition to transform business messages in runtime by capturing the metadata about an inbound or an outbound flat file. A flat file definition is required to be able to set up process steps to transform a flat-to-XML or XML-to-flat. This flat file definition is stored in the Flat Definition Repository. You set up the agreements to use for this definition in the Partner Administration tool.

This table shows a list of flat file definition components with description:

Component	Description
Message	Top-level component that represents the entire flat file message
Records	Sequence of groups
Group	Specified sequence of records. A group is used when two or more records are repeated as a unit within a message.
Record	Specified sequence of fields
Field	Sequence of characters that forms an atomic piece of data

This example shows how the flat file structure is defined from a simple flat file.

• The flat file message structure has a top-level Message component called "DTAZVBankTransfer".

• The fields in the flat file are structured as separate Fields in the structure under a Record component.

• XML tags in the corresponding XML file are also related to the records and fields of the flat file structure and the XML file.

• You can use and add a Group component to define a nested structure of records and fields in the flat file structure and the XML file.