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Run XML Transaction

Article Number: 1754 | Rating: Unrated | Last Updated: Thu, Jun 22, 2023 at 4:37 PM

Datafile Software

Run XML Transaction

This runs any previously-defined XML transaction. It offers a menu very similar to that offered by the Datafile Report Generator, as in the example below. The following is a general description of what happens at run-time.

Taking any one option offers the description of the option that is about to be run.

Taking the Run option then offers you the parameters for the run concerned. There may be some parameters that you can change and if the definition allows this

XML file

This gives the name of the XML about to be created or imported, depending on the option. You can use the asterisk wildcard "*” for input names. For an output transaction definition which can create more than one file, the filename definition must include a sequence number that the process will increment for each file. Where a sequence number is included, the next number is offered here. You may change the starting number, but you may not change the filename structure.

If you wish to use a different filename structure in such a case, then you must first change it in the transaction definition, or create a new transaction that uses the required structure. In the above example, if the output filename were defined in the form DAT999.XML (which is given in the transaction definition) then you could change the "023” that is offered here into any other 3-digit number. But you can’t change it to INVOICES99.XML in the hope that "99” would be changed to the next number in the sequence for that file — it would assume "99” is the actual number to use. And if more than one file were created, the second and subsequent ones would revert to the original filename and sequence.

Pre-Process

Tick this box if you want the process to run in a test mode without actually creating output XML files, or updating databases. In this mode the procedure is run, and a report is printed of the outcome and of any errors encountered. Use this option when testing a new process. Also use it, perhaps, when taking on a new trading partner so that you can check that all the lookup data, such as location and product codes, are present in the lookup files before you process the file for real.

Note

With the Pre-Process option set for an output process, the run does in fact create one or more XML files, but at completion of the run it deletes them, and does not flag any records as having been processed.

… For Output Files

Ignore Errors

This is offered only for output XML processes, and only where you have not ticked the Pre-Process button above. Tick this box if you want any "errors” to be ignored. Errors generally consist of data items referenced in a template, but which are not present in the database being processed. Note that "errors” may be deliberate — you could define a general template to output (say) names and addresses from different databases, and do not want to stop processing for a minor error, such as an absent data item.

Once you’ve ticked the boxes, you may be offered the opportunity to change any predefined selection criteria. In practice, most output processes will use selection criteria — particularly for XML transactions where data already sent would normally have been flagged so it can be excluded on a subsequent run. At the end of the process a summary of the results is displayed, as shown above. If any errors have occurred, an audit report is now printed, after first requesting a printer to output it.

… For Input Files

The parameters are much the same as for output file, as shown below, with a different final parameter:

Report in Full

This is offered only for input XML processes. Tick this box if you want a full report of what the XML process has achieved. This is useful when debugging a template, but it can be a chore looking through the audit report once the process is running satisfactorily.

If this box is not ticked, then in general only errors, or items specifically requested, are printed on the XML process audit trail. Errors generally consist either of data items referenced in a template but not present in the database being processed, or of data item totals accumulated that do not equal the totals given in the XML file. Note that such "errors” may be deliberate; an incoming XML file may hold more data than you require to process in that transaction.

If you have asked (in the XML definition) to clear the input database, then you are asked to confirm this before input is started. Next, you are asked to select a printer for the audit report — most likely you will choose the print spooler.

Process Summary Report

At the end of processing a summary of the process is reported, as shown below. In this particular case (an input run) no records were actually created because the preprocess run option had been ticked. But ten would have been.

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