Transformation language vs flat file definition language
Data layout can be described by a hierarchical structure. A simple hierarchy would be:
Header Line 1 Line 2 and so on.
The SunSystems hierarchy records describe the SunSystems hierarchical data structure.
This document provides its examples using SunSystems Markup Language (SSML), which is the native format understood by SunSystems Connect (SSC).
SSML format data files are known as payloads. These are XML files that reflect the SunSystems hierarchical structures. SSML is used here purely for convenience, since TML works with any hierarchically structured data, including data held in flat file format.
To work with flat-file format data, the user must provide a Flat-file Schema Definition (FSD) that describes the structure of the data. This definition is used by TML, either to read flat-file format input data, or to generate flat file output data.