EDI Components

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The following table lists the components that make up the EDI layout in the Sterling B2B Integrator Map Editor, the icons that represent the components, and descriptions of the components. For information about adding a map component to a layout, see Add Map Components. For information about the properties of these map components, see Sterling B2B Integrator Map Editor Properties.

Component	Icon	Description
EDI root element		The EDI root element represents the EDI document that is mapped. At the EDI file root element, you define delimiters and syntax records. It is a group and can contain groups and segments.
Group		A group is a looping structure that contains related segments and groups that repeat in sequence until either the group data ends, or the maximum number of times that the loop is permitted to repeat is exhausted. Groups are defined by the EDI standards. A group that is subordinate to another group is a subgroup (and corresponds to a nested looping structure, a loop within a loop). When a group contains an extended rule or a standard rule, an asterisk appears to the right of the group icon.
Segment		A segment contains a group of related elements or composite data elements that combine to communicate useful data. Segments are defined by the EDI standards. A segment can occur once or can repeat multiple times. Note: If a segment occurs more than once in a map, it is identified by its name <ID>. The second and subsequent occurrences are identified by <ID>:n, where n is the number of the occurrence in the map.
Composite		A composite is a data element that contains two or more component data elements or subelements. Composites are defined by the EDI standards that use them (EDIFACT and certain ANSI X12 standards). A composite can occur once or repeat multiple times. Note: If a composite occurs more than once in a map, it is identified by its name <ID>. The second and subsequent occurrences are identified by <ID>:n, where n is the number of the occurrence in the map. A repeating composite is a related group of EDI subelements that have the ability to loop as a whole (occur more than once) within a particular EDI segment. To enable a composite to repeat multiple times within a segment, each occurrence of the composite must be separated by a special delimiter, known as the repeating element delimiter. Example: Your delimiters are set as follows: Segment ~ Element * Tag * Sub Element : Repeating Ele ^ Then, if a BGM segment contains a repeating composite that occurs 3 times within the data followed by 1 regular element, and the composite contains 2 subelements, the segment is in the following form: `BGMSubA-1:SubB-1^SubA-2:SubB-2^SubA-3:SubB-3Field2~`
Element		An element is the smallest piece of information defined by the EDI standards. An element can have different meanings depending on the context. Elements are typically not considered to have useful meaning until they are combined into segments. An element is the EDI map component that corresponds to a field in other data formats. Note: If an element occurs more than once in a map it is identified by its name <ID>. The second and subsequent occurrences are identified by <ID>:n, where n is the number of the occurrence in the map. A repeating element is an EDI element with the ability to loop (occur more than once) within a particular EDI segment. To enable a single element to repeat multiple times within a segment, each element must be separated by a special delimiter, known as the repeating element delimiter. The use of this delimiter prevents the translator from mistaking the repeating elements for typical elements. Example: Your delimiters are set as follows: Segment ~ Element * Tag * Sub Element : Repeating Ele ^ Then, if a BGM segment contains 3 elements and the second element is a repeating element that occurs 4 times, the segment is in the following form: `BGMField1Field2.1^Field2.2^Field2.3^Field2.4*Field3~` When an element has a link performed against it, a red check mark appears over the element icon. When an element contains an extended rule or a standard rule, an asterisk appears to the right of the element icon.