Envelope Structure
Typically, EDI data consists of several nested envelopes. For example, the outermost interchange envelope encloses one or more functional group envelopes. Each functional group envelope encloses one or more transaction set envelopes. Each transaction set envelope encloses one or more transaction sets of the same type.
The following table describes the envelope layers:
| Envelope | Description | Envelope Layer |
|---|---|---|
| Interchange envelope | Contains one or more functional groups from one sender to one receiver |
|
| Functional group envelope | Contains one or more transaction sets of the same type from one sender to one receiver |
|
| Transaction set envelope | Contains at least one transaction set, the EDI equivalent of a paper document |
|
The following figure shows the envelope hierarchy, consisting of the interchange envelope, the functional group envelope and multiple transaction set envelopes:
