Flat File Folder

Use the elements in the Flat File folder to convert between Flat File documents and IS documents (IData objects), and to manage dictionary entries, entire flat file dictionaries, and flat file schemas.

Summary of Elements in the Flat File Folder

The following elements are available in this folder:

Element Package and Description
pub.flatFile:convertToString WmFlatFile. Converts an IS document (IData object) to a flat file document based on the flat file schema that you specify.
pub.flatFile:convertToValues WmFlatFile. Converts a flat file document to an IS document (IData object) based on the input flat file schema.
pub.flatFile:FormatService WmFlatFile. Service that formats the field String in a flat file schema or dictionary and ensures that the value of the String meets the format restrictions of the format service.
pub.flatFile:getSupportedEncodings WmFlatFile. Returns a list of supported encodings. This service will only report webMethods encodings, not Java defaults. That is, if you do not have converters.jar installed, it returns null.
pub.flatFile.generate:createDocumentType WmFlatFile. Creates an IS document type that defines the XML representation of a flat file schema.
pub.flatFile.generate:createFFDictionary WmFlatFile. Creates an empty flat file dictionary. This service throws an exception is if the flat file dictionary you want to create already exists when the service is invoked.
pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFDictionary WmFlatFile. Deletes a flat file dictionary.
pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFDictionaryEntry WmFlatFile. Deletes a single entry from a flat file dictionary.
pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFSchema WmFlatFile. Deletes a flat file schema.
pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary WmFlatFile. This IS document type defines the format to use when supplying a flat file dictionary or dictionary entry (in the FFXML variable) and the format that services return (in the FFXML variable) when you are retrieving a flat file dictionary or dictionary entry.
pub.flatFile.generate:FFSchema WmFlatFile. This IS document type defines the format to use when supplying a flat file schema (in the FFXML variable) and the format that services return (in the FFXML variable) when you are retrieving a flat file schema.
pub.flatFile.generate:findDependants WmFlatFile. Returns the names of all flat file schemas and dictionaries that are dependent on a given flat file dictionary.
pub.flatFile.generate:findReferences WmFlatFile. Returns the names of all flat file dictionaries that are referenced by a given flat file dictionary or flat file schema.
pub.flatFile.generate:getFFDictionaryAsXML WmFlatFile. Returns a dictionary as an XML string.
pub.flatFile.generate:getFFDictionaryEntryAsXML WmFlatFile. Returns a single dictionary entry as an XML string.
pub.flatFile.generate:getFFSchemaAsXML WmFlatFile. Returns the specified flat file schema as an XML string.
pub.flatFile.generate:listFFDictionaryEntries WmFlatFile. Lists all entries in a specified flat file dictionary that are of a specified type.
pub.flatFile.generate:saveXMLAsFFDictionary WmFlatFile. Creates a flat file dictionary in the Integration Server namespace by converting the specified flat file dictionary that is in XML format into a namespace flat file dictionary.
pub.flatFile.generate:saveXMLAsFFSchema WmFlatFile. Creates a flat file schema in the Integration Server namespace by converting the specified flat file schema that is in XML format into a namespace flat file schema.
pub.flatFile.generate:updateFFDictionaryEntryFromXML WmFlatFile. Updates one or more entries in a flat file dictionary in the Integration Server namespace.

pub.flatFile:convertToString

WmFlatFile. Converts an IS document (IData object) to a flat file document based on the flat file schema that you specify.

By default, this service returns the document as a string, but you can set a flag to optionally return the document as a byte array instead.

Note: This service does not validate the document.

Input Variables

ffValues Document. The IData object representing the flat file.
ffSchema String. Namespace name of the flat file schema to use to convert the given IS document to a string.
spacePad String. Optional. How to position the records in the flat file.
Value Description
left Left justify the records (add blank spaces to the right of the records) before the records are written to the output. This is the default.
right Right justify the records (add blank spaces to the left of the records) before the records are written to the output.
none No spaces added.
signalError String. Whether to create errors in the output.
Value Description
false Do not create errors in output.
true Create errors in output.

If you are upgrading from IBM webMethods Integration Server version 4.6, to enable left or right justification you must add the following line to the Integration Server_directory \instances\instance_name\packages\WmFlatFile\config\ff file:

spacePadJustifies=false

Then, reload the WmFlatFile package so that this configuration setting will take effect. For details, see the Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide or IBM webMethods Service Development Help .


noEmptyTrailing Fields

String. Whether trailing empty fields are to be removed from the output. Used only with records that have delimited fields.
Value Description
true Trailing empty fields will be removed from the output. For example, if it is set to true, the output for a record with empty trailing fields looks like the following: AAA*01*02! (where ! is used as segment terminator). This is the default.
false A field separator remains to denote an empty field. For example, if it is set to false, the output for a record with empty trailing fields looks like the following: AAA*01*02********! (where ! is used as segment terminator).


noEmptyTrailing SubFields

String. Whether trailing empty subfields are to be removed from the output. Used only with records that have delimited fields.

If no value is specified for the noEmptyTrailingSubFields parameter, Integration Server uses the value set for the noEmptyTrailingFields parameter.

Value Description
true Trailing empty subfields will be removed from the output.
false A field separator remains to denote an empty subfield.
delimiters Document. Optional. The separator characters used to construct the output string. To specify a delimiter, you can specify:
  • One character or character representation (for example, *, \n for line terminator, \t for tab)
  • Hexadecimal value with prefix “0X” (for example, 0X09, 0X13)
  • Octal value with prefix “0” or decimal value (for example, 009, 013)
  • Unicode characters (for example, \u XXXX where XXXX represents the Unicode value of the character)
Value Description
record String. Character to use to separate records. If you want to specify the two–character carriage return line feed (CRLF) characters, specify \r\n.
field String. Character to use to separate fields.
subfield String. Character to use to separate subfields.
release String. Character to use to ignore a record, field, or subfield delimiter in a field. If a release character occurs in a field or subfield before the delimiter, it will be prefixed with release before being written to the output string.
quotedRelease String. Character to use to ignore a record, field, or subfield delimiter in a field. If a quoted release character occurs in a field or subfield before the delimiter, it will be prefixed with quotedRelease before being written to the output string. The string is pre- and appended with the quoted release character.

For example, if * is a delimiter, the field value is a*b, and the quoted release character is “, the string appears as “a*b”.

lineSeparator String. Optional. Character to use to override the input record delimiter when the following pre-condition is met and to handle the operating system specific newline.

The record delimiter must be either "\r\n" [CRLF] or "\r"[CR] or "\n"[LF] and the parser is of Delimiter Type.

Note: Integration Server ignores lineSeparator if the above pre-condition is not met.
Value Description
unix Integration Server overrides the record delimiter with LF or "\n".
windows Integration Server overrides the record delimiter with CRLF or "\r\n".
mac Integration Server overrides the record delimiter with CR or "\r".
auto Integration Server overrides the record delimiter with the operating system specific line separator.
FormatInfo Document. Any values mapped to the FormatInfo variable will be passed unmodified to all format services invoked by convertToString and convertToValues.
outputFileName String. Optional. If you want the output returned in a file instead of in the string output variable, provide the name of the file you want created as a result of this service.
Encoding String The type of encoding used to write data to the output file. The default encoding is UTF–8.
Note: If the flat file document contains multi-byte encodings, you must install the Extended Character Set using the IBM webMethods Installer. For more information about installing the Extended Character Set, see the “Configuring the flat file byte count parser" section of the Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .
sortInput String. Optional. Whether you want the service to sort the input records to match the flat file schema specified in ffSchema. You should specify true for sortInput if the data in ffValues is not in the same order as defined by ffSchema.
Value Description
true You want the service to sort the input records to match the flat file schema.

If you select to sort the input records, note that:

  • The service will run slower.
  • All undefined records will be sorted after the defined records.
  • The order of the undefined records appear in the final document is random.

If there are multiple records at the same level with the same name, the order they appear in the final document is random.

false You do not want the service to sort the input records to match the flat file schema. The input records must match the order of the flat file schema. This is the default.
returnAsBytes Value Description
false Returns the document as a string. This is the default.
true Returns the document as a byte array instead of a string. This setting is useful (but optional) when parsing multi-byte encodings.

Output Variables

string String. Data that represents the flat file document.
bytes Object. If the input variable returnAsBytes=true, returns the output as a byte array encoded using the specified encoding. The string value is not returned.
errorArray Object String array containing messages pertaining to errors that occurred during conversion. If no errors are encountered, this contains a value of null.

Usage Note

When the pub.flatFile:convertToString service executes, the field that is defined to start after the end of the fixed length record will not be included in the output data if the following conditions are met:

  • The flat file schema uses a fixed length record delimiter.
  • The flat file schema contains a fixed position field that begins beyond the defined length of the fixed length record.
  • The input to the pub.flatFile:convertToString service contains a value for the fixed position field that begins beyond the defined length of the fixed length record.

pub.flatFile:convertToValues

WmFlatFile. Converts a flat file document to an IS document (IData object) based on the input flat file schema.

Input Variables

ffData Object. The flat file input with type of String, InputStream, or ByteArray.
ffSchema String. The full name of the flat file schema object used to parse the ffData object.
ffIterator Object. Optional. An object that encapsulates and keeps track of the input data during processing. It is used only when the iterate variable has been set to true.
encoding String. Optional. The encoding of the InputStream passed in to ffData. The default encoding is UTF–8.
Note: If the flat file document contains multi-byte encodings, you must install the Extended Character Set using the IBM webMethods Installer. For more information about installing the Extended Character Set, see the “Configuring the flat file byte count parser" section of the Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .
delimiters Document. Optional. An IData object that contains the segment terminator and the field and subfield separators. If the delimiter is null, it will be located using the information defined in the flat file schema. To specify a delimiter, you can specify:
  • One character or character representation (for example, *, \n for line terminator, \t for tab)
  • Hexadecimal value with prefix “0X” (for example, 0X09, 0X13)
  • Octal value with prefix “0” or decimal value (for example, 011, 023)
  • Unicode characters (for example, \u XXXX where XXXX represents the Unicode value of the character)
  • The space character.
Important: If you specify one delimiter value, you must specify all values. Specifying one of these values will override any information set in the flat file schema.
Variable Description
record String. Character used to separate records. If you want to specify the two–character carriage return line feed (CRLF) characters, specify \r\n.
field String. Character used to separate fields.
subfield String. Character used to separate subfields.
release String. Character used to ignore a record, field, or subfield delimiter in a field. If a release character occurs in a field or subfield before the delimiter, it will be prefixed with the release before being written to the output ffValues.
quotedRelease String. Character to use to ignore a record, field, or subfield delimiter in a field. If a quoted release character occurs in a field or subfield before the delimiter, it will be prefixed with quotedRelease before being written to the output string. The string is pre- and appended with the quoted release character.

For example, if * is a delimiter, the field value is a*b, and the quoted release character is “, the string appears as “a*b”.

FormatInfo Document. Any values mapped to the FormatInfo variable will be passed unmodified to all format services invoked by convertToString and convertToValues.
iterate String. Optional. Whether you want to process the input all at one time.
batchsize

String Optional. Whether you want to process the specified number of records. The input value of this field is a positive integer. This field is applicable only when the iterate field value is set to true. If you do not specify this field value, default value is set to 1.

Value Description
true Processes top-level records (children of the document root) in the flat file schema one at a time. After all child records of the top-level record are processed, the iterator moves to the top-level of the next record in the flat file schema, until all records are processed.
false Processes all input data at one time. This is the default.
createIfNull String Optional. Whether to create the IData object if all the fields are null.
Value Description
true No IS document (IData object) will be created if all the fields are null. This is the default.
false Always create IS document even though all the fields are null.
skipWhiteSpace String. Optional. Whether white space at the beginning of records will be ignored.
Note: The fixed length record parser ignores skipWhiteSpace; it preserves white space.
Value Description
true Ignore white spaces at the beginning of a record. This is the default.
false Record is used as it is identified (useful for positional data record).
keepResults String. Optional. Whether to return the parsed data in the ffValues output parameter.
Value Description
true The parsed ffData will be returned in the output ffValues. This is the default.
false ffValues will not return data. Use this option when validating the structure of the ffData against the given flat file schema.
validate String. Optional. Whether to return error messages that describe how ffData differs from the flat file schema.
Value Description
true Do not return error messages describing how ffData differs from the specified flat file schema. This is the default.
false Return errors describing how the given ffData violates the constraints described in the flat file schema.
returnErrors String. Optional. Whether to return the validation errors. Validation errors are returned only if validate is set to true.
Value Description
asArray Return any validation errors with the ffData in an array called errors. This is the default.
inResults Return validation errors in the ffValues object.
both Return validation errors in both errors and ffValues.
maxErrors String. Optional. The maximum number of errors that can be returned from one record. When the flat file parser encounters more than the maximum number of errors within a record, the parser will stop parsing and return the parsed data and errors processed up until that point. Validation errors are returned only if validate is set to true.
flags String. Optional. Flags that you can set to govern convertToValues options.
Variable Description
addRecordCount String. Whether you want the service to add an additional field (@record–count) to each parsed record in the resulting IData object (ffValues). The @record–count field is used to identify the record number of each parsed record.
Value Description
true The @record–count field is added to each parsed record. This field contains the number of the parsed record. The first parsed record is 1, the second is 2, etc. If there are records that are undefined data, the count of the next defined record will reflect the undefined data. For example, if the @record–count field for a record is 2 and that record contains 5 undefined records, the @record–count field for the next defined record will be 8.
false The @record–count field is not added to each parsed record. This is the default.
detailedErrors String. Whether you want detailed conditional validation error information. This flag is only used when validate is true.
Value Description
true When a conditional validation error occurs, the output errors variable will contain detail information about all the conditions that were violated. For more information, see Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .
false When a conditional validation error occurs, the service does not provide detail error information. Conditional validators report only whether a condition failed validation with no additional information about the conditions that were violated. This is the default.
skipToFirstRecord String. Whether you want the service to wait until it finds the first valid record before reporting invalid records as errors.
Value Description
true The service will wait until it finds the first valid record before reporting invalid records as errors. This is the default.
false The service will report invalid records as errors prior to locating the first valid record.
trimWhitespace String. Whether you want the service to delete any blank spaces at the beginning of fields, at the end of fields, or both.
Value Description
none The service will not delete any blank spaces from fields. This is the default.
left The service will delete all blank spaces at the beginning of all fields.
right The service will delete all blank spaces at the end of all fields.
both The service will delete all blank spaces at the beginning and end of all fields.
resultAsArray String. Whether you want the service to return the ffValues output parameter as an IData[] that can be mapped to the document types generated from the schema. An IData[] is a document List. The resultAsArray parameter is used only when the iterate input parameter is set to true.
Value Description
false The service returns the ffValues output parameter as an IData[] that can be mapped to the document types generated from the schema. This is the default.
true The service returns the ffValues output parameter as an IData object and not as an IData[].

Output Variables

ffValues Document. The IData object that represents the input flat file data.
ffIterator Object. Optional. An object that encapsulates and keeps track of the input records during processing. It is used only when the iterate variable has been set to true. When all input data has been processed, the object becomes null. When the ffIterator variable is null, you should exit the LOOP to discontinue processing.
isValid String Whether flat file contains validation errors.
Value Description
true The validate input variable was set to true and no errors were found.
false The validate input variable was set to true and errors were found, or the validate input variable was set to false.
errors String. Optional. An array containing the validation errors, if any, that were found in ffData. For more information about validation error codes see Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .

Usage Note

If you specified a default record definition by which the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service parses the IS document (IData object), the service displays the resulting recordWithNoID document as a child of the document above it, in an array.

To display the recordWithNoID record as a child of the root, change the value of the recWithNoIDLike46 to true in the Integration Server_directory \instances\instance_name\packages\WmFlatFile\config\ff file and reload the WmFlatFile package so that this configuration setting will take effect. For more information, see the Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .

If some or all of the flat files that you process encounter problems because of memory constraints, set the iterator variable in the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service to true to process top-level records (children of the document root) in the flat file schema one at a time. After all child records of the top-level record are parsed, the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service returns and the iterator moves to the top-level of the next record in the schema, until all records are parsed. This parsing should be done in a flow service using a REPEAT step where each time the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service returns, the results are mapped and dropped from the pipeline to conserve memory. If the results were kept in the pipeline, out–of–memory errors might occur.

pub.flatFile:FormatService

WmFlatFile. Service that formats the field String in a flat file schema or dictionary and ensures that the value of the String meets the format restrictions of the format service.

Use this specification when you create format services for fields in a flat file schema or dictionary. The format service is invoked for a field when the pub.flatFile:convertToValues and pub.flatFile:convertToString services are invoked. You create a format service to format the field String and ensure that the value of the String meets the format restrictions of the format service. When creating a particular format service for use with the Format Service property in a flat file schema or dictionary, the service you select must implement the pub.flatFile:FormatService specification (located on its Input/Output tab).

Important: If a particular field does not have a value (that is, a value is not returned in the IS document (IData object) for the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service or is not present in the input data for the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service) the format service assigned to that field will not be executed.

Input Variables

value String. The field value to format.
direction String. Indicates the type of formatting to be applied to the field. Specify one of the following:
Value Description
convertToString This field is in an outbound document and needs its internal format converted to its external format.
convertToValues This field is in an inbound document and needs its external format converted to its internal format.
validate String. The value of the input parameter validate from the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service.
true The value of the convertToValues validate parameter is true (validate).
false The value of the convertToValues validate parameter is false (do not validate). This value is always false when the value of the direction parameter is convertToString.
minLength String. Enables you to validate the minimum length of a field. If the field is extracted via a Fixed Position Extractor, this is the number of bytes that are extracted. If the field is not extracted via the Fixed Position Extractor and a Length Validator is associated with this field, this is the minimum length that will be considered valid. Otherwise, this parameter will not be present in the pipeline.
maxLength String. Enables you to validate the maximum length of a field. If the field is extracted via a Fixed Position Extractor, this is the number of bytes that are extracted. If the field is not extracted via the Fixed Position Extractor and a Length Validator is associated with this field, this is the maximum length that will be considered valid. If the maximum length is unlimited (–1) or there is no Length Validator, this parameter will not be present in the pipeline.
FormatInfo Document. Information that can be used by individual formatting services. This information can be obtained from one of 3 locations:
  • convertToString – You can specify FormatInfo in addition to the delimiter information for a call to this service.
  • convertToValues – If delimiter information is explicitly passed into the convertToValues service, FormatInfo can be specified.
  • From the UNEDIFACT UNA segment – The EDI document type automatically extracts the decimal separator from the UNA segment.

The only format services that use this feature are the decimal formatting services (for implied decimal and decimal formats). The FormatInfo IS document should contain a string called DecimalCharacter. If the decimal character is ‘,’ the number would be formatted as 100,10 (European format) instead of 100.10, as is common in the US.

Note: Changes to the data in this object will be reflected in all other format services that are invoked during execution of convertToString and convertToValues.

Output Variables

formattedValue String. The field value with appropriate formatting applied.
meetsFormat String. Whether the value could be formatted properly.
Value Description
true Indicates that the value could be properly formatted.
false Indicates that the value could not be properly formatted.
errorMessage String. If meetsFormat is false, this parameter provides a text message describing the formatting error.
valueToValidate String. The value that will be used by the validator for this field. If this value is not present, the value passed in the input variable value will be validated. This field is used only for situations in which the input variable validate is set to true.
maxLength String. Enables you to validate the maximum length of a field. If the field is extracted via a Fixed Position Extractor, this is the number of bytes that are extracted. If the field is not extracted via the Fixed Position Extractor and a Length Validator is associated with this field, this is the maximum length that will be considered valid. If the maximum length is unlimited (–1) or there is no Length Validator, this parameter will not be present in the pipeline.
FormatInfo Document. Information that can be used by individual formatting services. This information can be obtained from one of 3 locations:
  • convertToString – You can specify FormatInfo in addition to the delimiter information for a call to this service.
  • convertToValues – If delimiter information is explicitly passed into the convertToValues service, FormatInfo can be specified.
  • From the UNEDIFACT UNA segment – The EDI document type automatically extracts the decimal separator from the UNA segment.

The only format services that use this feature are the decimal formatting services (for implied decimal and decimal formats). The FormatInfo IS document should contain a string called DecimalCharacter. If the decimal character is ‘,’ the number would be formatted as 100,10 (European format) instead of 100.10, as is common in the US.

Note: Changes to the data in this object will be reflected in all other format services that are invoked during execution of convertToString and convertToValues.

pub.flatFile:getSupportedEncodings

WmFlatFile. Returns a list of supported encodings.

This service reports webMethods encodings only, not Java defaults. If the converters.jar file is not installed, the service returns null. To install the converters.jar file, in the IBM webMethods Installer select the Custom Character Encoding Support option under Integration Server and Microservices Runtime Libraries.

Input Variables

None.

Output Variables

encodings String List A list of supported encodings.

pub.flatFile.generate:createDocumentType

WmFlatFile. Creates an IS document type that defines the XML representation of a flat file schema.

Input Variables

FlatFileSchema String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file schema for which you want to generate an IS document type.
PackageName String. The name of the Integration Server package in which you want the created IS document type to be placed.


DocumentType Name

String. The fully–qualified name that you want to assign to the created IS document type.

Output Variables

None.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:createFFDictionary

WmFlatFile. Creates an empty flat file dictionary. This service throws an exception is if the flat file dictionary you want to create already exists when the service is invoked.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary you want to create.
PackageName String. The name of the Integration Server package in which you want the created flat file dictionary to be placed.

Output Variables

None.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFDictionary

WmFlatFile. Deletes a flat file dictionary.

Before deleting the dictionary, the Integration Server determines if other dictionaries depend on the dictionary being deleted, and gives the user the option of canceling the deletion.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully qualified name of the flat file dictionary that you want to delete.

Output Variables

deleted String. Whether the flat file dictionary was successfully deleted; deleted will be either true or false.
Value Description
true The flat file dictionary was successfully deleted.
false The flat file dictionary was not successfully deleted.

Usage Note

Before you run this service, you should run the pub.flatFile.generate:findDependants service to return the names of all flat file schemas and dictionaries that are dependent on the dictionary you are deleting.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFDictionaryEntry

WmFlatFile. Deletes a single entry from a flat file dictionary.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary that contains the entry that you want to delete.
EntryName String. The name of the entry that you want to delete.
EntryType String. The type of entry that you are deleting. Specify Record, Composite, or Field.

Output Variables

deleted String. Whether the flat file dictionary entry was successfully deleted; deleted will be either true or false.
Value Description
true The flat file dictionary entry was successfully deleted.
false The flat file dictionary entry was not successfully deleted.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFSchema

WmFlatFile. Deletes a flat file schema.

Input Variables

FFSchemaName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file schema that you want to delete.

Output Variables

deleted String. Whether the flat file schema was successfully deleted; deleted will be either true or false.
Value Description
true The flat file schema was successfully deleted.
false The flat file schema was not successfully deleted.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary

WmFlatFile. This IS document type defines the format to use when supplying a flat file dictionary or dictionary entry (in the FFXML variable) and the format that services return (in the FFXML variable) when you are retrieving a flat file dictionary or dictionary entry.

The structure for this IS document type is defined in the following XML schema:

Integration Server_directory \instances\instance_name\packages\WmFlatFile\pub\FFGeneration.xsd

Variables

FFDictionary Document. The dictionary entries that you want to add or update. FFDictionary has the following structure:


RecordDictionary Entry

Document List. Optional. The dictionary entries for records that you want to add or update in the flat file dictionary. Leave this null if you do not want to add or update record entries.
Variable Description
EntryName String. The name of the record.
RecordDefinition Document. The definition of the record. The information you specify in a record definition is the same as the information that you specify when creating a flat file dictionary using the Flat File Schema Editor. For descriptions of the fields, see IBM webMethods Service Development Help .


Composite DictionaryEntry

Document List Optional. The dictionary entries for composites that you want to add or update in the flat file dictionary. Leave this null if you do not want to add or update composite entries.
Variable Description
EntryName String. The name of the composite.
CompositeDefinition Document. The definition of the composite. The information you specify in a composite definition is the same as the information that you specify when creating a flat file dictionary using the Flat File Schema Editor. For descriptions of the fields, see IBM webMethods Service Development Help .


FieldDictionary Entry

Document List. Optional. The dictionary entries for fields that you want to add or update in the flat file dictionary. Leave this null if you do not want to add or update field entries.
Variable Description
EntryName String. The name of the field.
FieldDefinition Document. The definition of the field. The information you specify in a field definition is the same as the information that you specify when creating a flat file dictionary using the Flat File Schema Editor. For descriptions of the fields, see IBM webMethods Service Development Help .

Usage Notes

If you are using this IS document type to supply a flat file dictionary as input to the pub.flatFile.generate:saveXMLAsFFDictionary, be sure to supply all dictionary entries. If you are using this IS document type to update an existing dictionary, provide only the entries that you want to add or update and invoke the pub.flatFile.generate:updateFFDictionaryEntryFromXML to update the flat file dictionary.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:FFSchema

WmFlatFile. This IS document type defines the format to use when supplying a flat file schema (in the FFXML variable) and the format that services return (in the FFXML variable) when you are retrieving a flat file schema.

The structure for this IS document type is defined in the following XML schema:

Integration Server_directory \instances\instance_name\packages\WmFlatFile\pub\FFGeneration.xsd

Variables

FFSchema Document. The flat file schema that you want to add or update. FFSchema has the following structure:
Variable Description
Delimiters Document. The delimiters used in the flat files that adhere to this flat file schema. The information that you specify for Delimiters corresponds to the data you specify on the Flat File Definition tab in the Flat File Schema Editor. For a description of the fields, see IBM webMethods Service Development Help .


Document Structure

Document. The structure of the flat files that adhere to this flat file schema. The information that you specify for DocumentStructure corresponds to the data you specify on the Flat File Structure tab in the Flat File Schema Editor. For a description of the fields, see IBM webMethods Service Development Help .
Variable Description
Ordered String Whether the child records appear in the flat file in the order they are defined in the flat file schema.
RecordStructure Document List Definitions of the records within the flat file.
Variable Description
Ordered String. Whether the child records appear in the flat file in the order they are defined in the flat file schema.
RecordUsage Document. Information about how the record is used, including either the dictionary reference for this record or the definition of the record.
RecordStructure Document List. Child records of this record. This is a recursive reference to the RecordStructure defined in FFSchema/DocumentStructure.
RecordParser Document. The type of record parser. In this IS document, specify only the one variable that corresponds to the type of record parser to use. That is, specify one of FixedLengthParser, DelimitedParser, VariableLengthParser, or EDIParser. For DelimitedParser, VariableLengthParser, and EDIParser, you do not need to specify a value; just have the variable in the pipeline.


DefaultRecord Reference

Document. Optional. The dictionary name and entry name that identifies the default record for the flat file schema. If you specify a default record, when using the flat file schema to parse a flat file schema, the default record is used for any record that cannot be recognized.


Record Identifier

Document. Where to locate the identifier to use to correlate a record in the flat file to a record definition in the flat file schema. Specify either the NthFieldIdentifier variable or the FixedPositionIdentifier variable:
  • Use NthFieldIdentifier to identify the field in the record (counting from zero) that contains the identifier.
  • Use FixedPositionIdentifier to identify the character position in the record (counting from zero) where the record identifier is located.


UndefinedData Allowed

String. Whether you want the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service to generate undefined data errors when you use this flat file schema to convert a flat file to an IData object.
  • Specify true if you want to allow undefined data and do not want the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service to flag undefined data errors.
  • Specify false if you do not want to allow undefined data and you do want the pub.flatFile:convertToValues service to flag undefined data errors.


Document Areas

String List. Areas for this flat file schema. An area is a way to associate an arbitrary string with a given record.
FloatingRecord String. Optional. The name of the record that is defined in the schema as a floating record.
Note: If the floating record has an alternate name, specify the alternate name.
Description String. Description of the flat file schema.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:findDependants

WmFlatFile. Returns the names of all flat file schemas and dictionaries that are dependent on a given flat file dictionary.

Input Variables

ffDictionaryName String. The name of the flat file dictionary whose dependents you want to find.

Output Variables

dependants Document List The dependent objects and the packages that contain them.
Variable Description
packageName String. The name of the package that contains the dependent object.
name String. The name of the dependent object.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:findReferences

WmFlatFile. Returns the names of all flat file dictionaries that are referenced by a given flat file dictionary or flat file schema.

Input Variables

name String. The name of the flat file dictionary or flat file schema whose references you want to find.

Output Variables

references Document List The referenced objects and the packages that contain them.
Variable Description
packageName String. The name of the package that contains the referenced object.
name String. The name of the referenced object.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:getFFDictionaryAsXML

WmFlatFile. Returns a dictionary as an XML string.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary that you want returned as XML.

Output Variables

FFXML String. The returned flat file dictionary as an XML string. The returned XML string conforms to the pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary IS document type.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:getFFDictionaryEntryAsXML

WmFlatFile. Returns a single dictionary entry as an XML string.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary that contains the entry that you want returned as XML.
EntryName String. The name of the entry that you want to returned as XML.
EntryType String. The type of entry that you want returned. Specify Record, Composite, or Field.

Output Variables

FFXML String. The returned flat file dictionary entry as an XML string. The returned XML string conforms to the pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary IS document type.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:getFFSchemaAsXML

WmFlatFile. Returns the specified flat file schema as an XML string.

Input Variables

FFSchemaName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file schema that you want returned as XML.

Output Variables

FFXML String. The returned flat file schema as an XML string. The returned XML string conforms to the pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary IS document type.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:listFFDictionaryEntries

WmFlatFile. Lists all entries in a specified flat file dictionary that are of a specified type.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary that contains the entries that you want listed.
EntryType String. The type of entries that you want listed. Specify Record, Composite, or Field.

Output Variables

EntryName String List. The list of returned flat file dictionary entries.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:saveXMLAsFFDictionary

WmFlatFile. Creates a flat file dictionary in the Integration Server namespace by converting the specified flat file dictionary that is in XML format into a namespace flat file dictionary.

If a flat file dictionary with the same name already exists in the Integration Server namespace, use the pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFDictionary service to delete the flat file dictionary before invoking this service. This service throws an exception is if a flat file dictionary with the same name already exists when it is invoked.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary that you want to create in the Integration Server namespace.
PackageName String. The name of the Integration Server package in which to save the flat file dictionary.
FFXML String. The flat file dictionary (as an XML string) that you want to create in the Integration Server namespace. The XML string must conform to the pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary IS document type.
Note: To see examples of how to supply the XML string in FFXML by mapping data from another file, see the samples provided in the WmFlatFileSamples package. For sample code that shows how to retrieve the data for FFXML from an XML file in the local file system, see Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .
maxNumOfErrors String. Optional. The maximum number of errors that you want returned. The default is 100.

The service ensures the flat file dictionary is valid before saving it in the Integration Server namespace. The validation occurs in two stages.

  1. Structural validation of the XML.
  2. Logical validation of the XML contents.

If structural validation errors occur, the service reports the structural validation errors, but does not proceed with logical validation. When the XML string contains no structural validation errors, the service proceeds with logical validation and reports any logical validation errors.

Output Variables

saved String. Whether the flat file dictionary was saved successfully. It will have one of the following values.
Value Description
true The flat file dictionary was successfully saved.
false The flat file dictionary was not successfully saved.
Errors String List. Optional. Errors that occurred while attempting to save the flat file dictionary to the Integration Server namespace.
Warnings String List. Optional. Warnings about the flat file dictionary that was created.

Usage Note

Use this service to add a new flat file dictionary. Use the pub.flatFile.generate:updateFFDictionaryEntryFromXML if you want to update one or more entries in a flat file dictionary rather than creating a new flat file dictionary.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:saveXMLAsFFSchema

WmFlatFile. Creates a flat file schema in the Integration Server namespace by converting the specified flat file schema that is in XML format into a namespace flat file schema.

If a flat file schema with the same name already exists in the Integration Server namespace, use the pub.flatFile.generate:deleteFFSchema service to delete the flat file schema before invoking this service. This service throws an exception is if a flat file schema with the same name already exists when it is invoked.

Input Variables

FFSchemaName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file schema that you want to create in the Integration Server namespace.
PackageName String. The name of the Integration Server package in which to save the flat file schema.
FFXML String. The flat file schema (as an XML string) that you want to create in the Integration Server namespace. The XML string must conform to the pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary IS document type.
Note: To see examples of how to supply the XML string in FFXML by mapping data from another file, see the samples provided in the WmFlatFileSamples package. For sample code that shows how to retrieve the data for FFXML from an XML file in the local file system, see Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .
maxNumOfErrors String. Optional. The maximum number of errors that you want returned. The default is 100.

The service ensures the flat file schema is valid before saving it in the Integration Server namespace. The validation occurs in two stages.

  1. Structural validation of the XML.
  2. Logical validation of the XML contents.

If structural validation errors occur, the service reports the structural validation errors, but does not proceed with logical validation. When the XML string contains no structural validation errors, the service proceeds with logical validation and reports any logical validation errors.

Output Variables

saved String. Whether the flat file schema was saved successfully. It will have one of the following values.
Value Description
true The flat file schema was successfully saved.
false The flat file schema was not successfully saved.
Errors String List. Optional. Errors that occurred while attempting to save the flat file schema to the Integration Server namespace.
Warnings String List. Optional. Warnings about the flat file schema that was created.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength

pub.flatFile.generate:updateFFDictionaryEntryFromXML

WmFlatFile. Updates one or more entries in a flat file dictionary in the Integration Server namespace.

This service goes through all entries that you specify in the FFXML variable. If an entry with the same name and type already exists in the flat file dictionary, this service overwrites the existing entry. If the entry does not already exist, this service creates the entry in the specified flat file dictionary.

Input Variables

FFDictionaryName String. The fully–qualified name of the flat file dictionary that contains the entries that you are replacing, adding, or both.
FFXML String. The dictionary entries (as an XML string) that you want to use to replace an existing entry or that you want to add to the flat file dictionary. The XML string in FFXML must conform to the pub.flatFile.generate:FFDictionary IS document type.
Note: To see examples of how to supply the XML string in FFXML by mapping data from another file, see the samples provided in the WmFlatFileSamples package. For sample code that shows how to retrieve the data for FFXML from an XML file in the local file system, see Flat File Schema Developer’s Guide .
maxNumOfErrors String. Optional. The maximum number of errors that you want returned. The default is 100.

The service ensures the flat file schema is valid before saving them in the flat file dictionary. The validation occurs in two stages.

  1. Structural validation of the XML.
  2. Logical validation of the XML contents.

If structural validation errors occur, the service reports the structural validation errors, but does not proceed with logical validation. When the XML string contains no structural validation errors, the service proceeds with logical validation and reports any logical validation errors.

Output Variables

saved String. Whether the dictionary entry was saved successfully. It will have one of the following values.
Value Description
true The dictionary entry was successfully saved.
false The dictionary entry was not successfully saved.
Errors String List. Optional. Errors that occurred while attempting to save the entry to the flat file dictionary.
Warnings String List. Optional. Warnings about the dictionary entry that was updated or added.

Examples

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:delimited

sample.flatFile.generateFFSchema:fixedLength