Input File Format

The simulator input file provides the data that is passed to the Business Rules Server in the initialize and decision requests. The input file enables users to specify the names of the fields to set and the data to set. It also allows the user to specify comparison fields field names and data. Each record in the file begins with an identifier.

Table 1 shows the identifiers with their short form.
Note: Identifiers are not case sensitive.
Table 1. Input File identifiers
Short and Long Forms Description
IF InitField Initialize message field
ID InitData Initialize message data. Causes the initialize request message to be sent to the Business Rules Server
DF DecisionField Decision message field
DD DecisionData Decision message data. Causes the decision request message to be sent to the Business Rules Server
CF CompareField Compare decision response message field
CD CompareData Compare decision response message data
OF OutputField Output decision response message field
TM TermMsg Causes the terminate request message to be sent to the Business Rules Server
WF Workflow Set the name of the workflow to call
TF TraceFile Sets the name of the trace file to which to write output
TR Trace Turns tracing on and off
IP ServerIP The IP address of the Business Rules Server on which to connect
PT ServerPort The port number of the Business Rules Server on which to connect
T1 responsetimer Maximum time the Business Rules Server allows a decision to execute
T2 requesttimer Maximum time the Business Rules Server remains inactive between decision requests
CT clienttype Sets the client type field:
  • Gateway (5)
  • Payment Repair (6)
  • AutoAdjust (7)
VB Verbose Turns on and off the verbose output
QU Quiet Turns on and off the quiet output
DO showDiff Turns on and off the difference only output

An asterisk in the first column designates a comment line. Blank lines are also allowed.

The following identifiers override their command line equivalent. The format of each of these identifiers is:
  • Workflow=workflowName
  • TraceFile=name of Trace file
  • Trace=Y|N
  • ServerIP=Server IP Address
  • ServerPort=ServerPort
  • Verbose=Y|N
  • showDiff=Y|N
  • Quiet=Y|N

The Workflow, ServerIP, and ServerPort values are applied to the next initialize request message. Therefore, ensure that these identifiers appear before the InitData identifier in the file.

The TraceFile identifier takes effect as soon as it is encountered. Each time a TraceFile identifier is found, the old trace file is closed and a new one is opened, unless it is the same as the currently opened file. If it is the same, it is ignored. If a trace file with the same name already exists, the contents are overwritten.

The layout of the field descriptors (InitField, DecisionField, CompareField, and OutputField) is: 
field descriptor = field name, data type, length

The data type and length parameters are not required if the field is an IBM® field (this information is built-in to the simulator). For user-defined fields (non-IBM), if these parameters are not specified, the data type defaults to CHAR and the length is determined by the actual length of the entered data. If a length is specified, BYTE and PACK fields are padded to the left with zeros and CHAR fields are padded to the right with spaces. Also, data entered greater than the length displays an error and is not sent to the Business Rules Server. The data type specified in the file must match the data type the server is expecting; no automatic converting is performed. If a user field is specified as type BYTE in the input file and a user exit on the server has specified the same field as type CHAR, the simulator does not convert the value.

The layout of the data descriptors (InitData, DecisionData, CompareData) is: 
data descriptor = data for field1,data for field2,data for field3,data for field4,
Each data field is separated by a comma, including the last field if there is a comment to the right. The order in which the field descriptors occur in the file determines the order in which the data fields must occur. If there is no data for a field displayed on the current line, the position of the empty data field must still be separated by a comma. For example, if there is no data for field3, the data must be specified as: 
data descriptor = data for field1,data for field2,,data for field4,
If no data exists for field1 or field3, the data is specified as: 
data descriptor = ,data for field2,,data for field4,