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How Do I?

Create a Message Format

Create a Group

Create a Field

Create a Comment

Create a Reference

Save a Document

Use Format Tester

Debug Format Definitions

Search for Values

Search for Offsets

Use the Debug Log

Specify Delimiters

 

Create a Message Format

The first step in creating a Message Format Definition file is to create a message format (the root node of a message format file).

To create a message format:

  1. Choose FileArrow symbolNew. The Message Format Detail Window displays in the right pane.
  2. Enter data in the fields as appropriate. See Message Format Detail Window for field definitions.

 

Create a Group

Groups define fields that are related in some way (for example, the fields PAYDATE, HOURS, and RATE could be part of the PAYINFO group). You can create a group as a child of the message format item, as a child of another group, or as a sibling of a group or field.

To create a group:

  1. Select an item in the tree view in the left pane.
  2. Choose InsertArrow symbolGroupArrow symbolAs Child if you want to create the group as the child of the message format or another group. Choose InsertArrow symbolGroupArrow symbolAs Sibling if you want to create the group as the sibling of another group or a field. The Group Details window displays in the right pane.
  3. Enter data in the fields as appropriate. See Group Detail Window for field definitions.
  4. Click Apply to save your changes to the message format file, or click Reset to discard your changes to the detail window and reset all fields to the last saved value.
    5. Note: The Apply and Reset buttons are only enabled once changes are made to the detail panel's components.

 

Create a Field

Fields are a sequence of bytes that have some meaning to an application. (For example, the field EMPNAME contains an employee name.) You can create a field as a child of the message format item, as a child of a group, or as a sibling of a group or another field.

To create a field:

  1. Select an item in the tree view in the left pane.
  2. Choose InsertArrow symbolFieldArrow symbolAs Child if you want to create the field as the child of the message format or group. Choose InsertArrow symbolFieldArrow symbolAs Sibling if you want to create the group as the sibling of another group or a field. The Field Details window displays in the right pane.
  3. Enter data in the fields as appropriate. See Field Detail Window for field definitions.
  4. Click Apply to save your changes to the message format file, or click Reset to discard your changes to the detail window and reset all fields to the last saved value.
    5. Note: The Apply and Reset buttons are only enabled once changes are made to the detail panel's components.

 

Create a Comment

Comments contain notes about the message format or the data transformed by the message format. Comments are included in the message format definition for informational purposes only. You can create a comment as a child or sibling of any message format, group, or field.

To create a comment:

  1. Select an item in the tree view in the left pane.
  2. Choose InsertArrow symbolCommentArrow symbolAs Child if you want to create the comment as the child of the selected item. Choose InsertArrow symbolCommentArrow symbolAs Sibling if you want to create the comment as the sibling of the selected item. The Comment Details window displays in the right pane.
  3. Enter the desired comment text. For more information, see Comment Detail Window.
  4. Click Apply to save your changes to the message format file, or click Reset to discard your changes to the detail window and reset all fields to the last saved value.
    5. Note: The Apply and Reset buttons are only enabled once changes are made to the detail panel's components.

 

Create a Reference

References indicate that the description of the field or group format has been previously defined and you want to reuse this description without re-entering the data. Reference fields or groups have the same format as the original field or group, but you can change only the optional setting and the occurrence setting for the reference field or group. For example, if you have a "bill to" address and a "ship to" address in your data and the format for the address is the same, you only need to define the address format once. You can create the "bill to" address definition and create a reference for the "ship to" address.

Note: References are named exactly the same as the original item. For example, the "bill to" address definition and the "ship to" address definition would be named the same. If you want to reuse a group definition, create a generic group and embed it within a specific group. For example, in the previous example, you can create an address group within a bill_to group and reference address within a ship_to group.

To create a reference:

  1. Select a field or group in the tree pane.
  2. Choose EditArrow symbolCopy.
  3. Choose the proper sibling in the tree.
  4. Choose EditArrow symbolPasteArrow symbolAs Reference.
  5. Enter data in the fields as appropriate. See Reference Detail Window for field definitions.
  6. Click Apply to save your changes to the message format file, or click Reset to discard your changes to the detail window and reset all fields to the last saved value.
    7. Note: The Apply and Reset buttons are only enabled once changes are made to the detail panel's components.

 

Save a Document

To save a message format file for the first time:

  1. Choose FileArrow symbolSave As. The Save As dialog displays.
  2. Navigate to the directory where you want to save the file.
  3. In the File Name text box, type the name you want to assign to the file.
  4. If no extension has been given, Format Builder automatically assigns the extension .MFL to message format files.
  5. Click Save As to save the file in the specified location with the specified name and extension.

To save a message format file using the same name, choose FileArrow symbolSave. The file is saved in the same location with the same name and extension.

To save a message format file using a different name, choose FileArrow symbolSave As and follow steps 1 through 5 above.

 

Use Format Tester

Format Tester parses and reformats data as a validation test. Using Format Tester, you can make sure the message formats you build using Format Builder produce the expected results.

Format Tester is available from Format Builder.

To Start Format Tester
  1. In Format Builder, open a message format document (MFL file).
    2. Note: To run Format Tester, you must have a message format document open in Format Builder.
  2. From the Format Builder menu bar, choose ToolsArrow symbolTest.
  3. The Format Tester dialog box is displayed.
    4. Note: Format Tester uses the currently loaded message definition document.

    Refer to Format Tester for more information.

 

Debug Format Definitions

Search for Values

Search for Offsets

Use the Debug Log

 

Search for Values

The find feature allows you to search for hex or text values in the non-XML data.

To search for values:

  1. From within the Format Tester, choose FileArrow symbolOpen Non-XML to open the non-XML data file you want to search.
  2. Choose EditArrow symbolFind. The Find dialog opens.
  3. Enter data in the fields as appropriate (see Search for Values for more information).
  4. Click OK to begin the Search operation.

 

Search for Offsets

The Goto feature allows you to move the cursor in the Non-XML editor to a byte offset you specify.

To move to a specified offset:

  1. Choose EditArrow symbolFind. The Goto dialog opens.
  2. Enter data in the fields as appropriate (see Search for Offsets for more information).
  3. Click OK to begin the Search operation.

 

Use the Debug Log

The debug log allows you to save your debug information to a text file.

To use the debug log, choose FileArrow symbolDebug Log. A dialog displays allowing you to enter a new path and file name or choose an existing file in which to save the debug information.

Note: If you select an existing file, the new debug information is appended to the end of the file.

 

Specify Delimiters

You can specify delimiters in Format Builder by entering the correct syntax. For example, to specify a tab character as the delimiter (`\u009'), enter the construct \t to match it.

Table 13-1 Character Delimiters
Construct
Matches
x
The character x
\\
The backlash
\0n
The character with octal value 0n (<= n <= 7)
\0nn
The character with octal value 0nn (0 <= n <= 7)
\0mnn
The character with octal value 0mnn (0 <= m <= 3, 0 <= n <= 7)
\xhh
The character with hexadecimal value 0xhh
\uhhhh
The character with hexadecimal value 0xhhhh
\t
The tab character ('\u0009')
\n
The newline (line feed) character ('\u000A')
\r
The carriage-return character ('\u000D')
\f
The form-feed character ('\u000C')
\a
The alert (bell) character ('\u0007')
\e
The escape character ('\u001B')
\cx
The control character corresponding to x

For more information, visit the following URL: 


http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/api/java/util/regex/Pattern.html

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