Character Encoding Processing

The Supply Chain EDI component X12U must be used for character encoding processing. The ISX02 value identifies the character encoding beginning with the group envelope (GS/GE) for the rest of the interchange.

When the data stream is encoded with the ISX encoding value specified, the output or target data stream from the X12U processing will be encoded with the source encoding by default. The configuration settings are provided to override the target encoding. The TA1 does not contain the GS/GE structure and will not be encoded.

It is assumed that the ISX character encoding identification provides encoding at both element and package levels.

The Unicode Standard defines Universal character sets enabling data to be transmitted in single or multi-byte encodings to prevent the loss of data. The universal character sets such as UTF-16 and UTF-32 would indicate Package level encoding. With Package level encoding, the data stream beginning with the GS to the end of the interchange including the segment identification and code list values would be encoded. The segment identification and code list values as defined in the X12 standard would be preserved in single or multi-byte format.

The language specific character sets enable data to be transmitted in a specific language and applies to all the transaction text elements beyond the ISX. The language specific or non-universal character sets would indicate Element level encoding. With Element level encoding, the data stream beginning with the GS to the end of the interchange excluding segment identification and code list values would be encoded. The segment identification and code list values should remain as defined in the X12 standard. Only the text elements should contain the value in the character set as defined in the ISX character encoding identification.