EDI instance based transaction set definition

• US 7,984,373 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gaurav, Suraj, Machiraju, Surendra
• Primary Examiner(s): Ries; Laurie
• Assistant Examiner(s): SMITH, TIONNA M
• Application Number:
  US11/362,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20070203928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,971 Days
• Field of Search: 715/239
• US Class Current: 715/239
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

Creating an electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction from a description of the EDI schema. The description defines the EDI schema in a non-EDI structure. The description of the EDI schema is received. A plurality of data units included in the received description of the EDI schema is identified. The plurality of data units describes the content of the EDI schema. The identified plurality of data units is analyzed to determine the content of the EDI schema. The document definition is generated for the EDI schema as a function of the analyzed plurality of data units. The document definition is used to create an EDI transaction according to the EDI schema.

Claims

1. One or more computer storage media having computer-executable components for creating an electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction from a description of an EDI schema, said computer-executable components comprising:

an interface component for receiving, instead of the EDI schema, the description of the EDI schema and other documents of the EDI schema specifying a format of the description, said received description being a non-EDI structured document and a non-self-describing markup language document, said received description comprising only a plurality of data units describing only the content of the transaction according to the EDI schema;

a data component for separating the non-EDI structured document from the other EDI documents, said data component identifying the plurality of data units included in the received non-EDI structured document and associated with each of the following transaction set definition;

segment ID; and

data elements;

an analysis component for analyzing the identified plurality of data units to determine a data type for each data unit and to determine the content of the EDI schema, said analysis component executing a set of programmed heuristic logic to determine properties of the plurality of data units, wherein the plurality of data units includes one or more of the following;

a string, an integer, an enumeration list, an enumeration list having string type with restrictions, a date, and a time;

a document component for generating a document definition for the EDI schema as a function of the analyzed plurality of data units based only on the received non-EDI structured document; and

an application component for creating the EDI transaction according to the EDI schema using the generated document definition.

2. The computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the data component is configured to identify a structure of EDI schema.

3. The computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the interface component further receives a user input in identifying the plurality of data units.

4. The computer storage media of claim 1, further comprising a knowledge base, and wherein the document component accesses said knowledge base to determine properties of data elements for generating the document definition for the EDI schema.

5. A system for creating an electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction from a description of an unknown EDI schema, said system comprising:

an interface for receiving the description of the unknown EDI schema, said received description being a non-EDI structured document and a non-self-describing markup language document, said received description comprising only a plurality of data units describing only the content of the transaction according to the EDI schema;

a processor for executing computer-executable instructions for;

identifying the plurality of data units included in the received non-EDI structured document;

categorizing each of the identified plurality of data units into one or more data types, wherein the plurality of data units includes one or more of the following;

a string, an integer, an enumeration list, an enumeration list having string type with restrictions, a date, and a time;

analyzing the identified, categorized plurality of data units to determine the content of the EDI schema;

generating a document definition for the EDI schema as a function of the analyzed plurality of data units and based only on the received non-EDI structured document; and

creating the unknown EDI transaction according to the unknown EDI schema using the generated document definition.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to identify a structure of the unknown EDI schema.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the interface further receives a user input in identifying the plurality of data units.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of data units includes data values associated with one or more of the following:

transaction set definition, segment ID, and data elements.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a knowledge base, and wherein the processor is configured to access said knowledge base to determine properties of data elements for generating the document definition for the unknown EDI schema.

10. A method executed by a computer for creating an electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction from a description of an EDI schema, said method comprising computer executable instructions for:

receiving, instead of the EDI schema, the description of the EDI schema and other E-D4 documents of the EDI schema specifying a format of the description, said received description being a non-EDI structured document describing a sample instance of an EDI transaction formatted according to the EDI schema, said received description comprising only a plurality of data units describing only the content of the transaction according to the EDI schema;

separating the non-EDI structured document from the other EDI documents;

identifying the plurality of data units included in the separated non-EDI structured document;

categorizing each of the identified plurality of data units into data types, wherein said categorizing the plurality of data units comprises scanning the non-EDI structured document for each of the following data types;

a string, an integer, an enumeration list, an enumeration list having string type with restrictions, a date, and a time;

analyzing the identified, categorized plurality of data units to determine the content of the EDI schema;

generating a document definition for the EDI schema as a function of the analyzed plurality of data units based only on the received non-EDI structured document; and

creating the EDI transaction according to the EDI schema using the generated document definition.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying the plurality of data units comprises identifying a structure of EDI schema.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising receiving a user input in identifying the plurality of data units.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying the plurality of data units comprises identifying the plurality of data units including data values associated with each of the following:

transaction set definition, segment ID, and data elements.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising accessing a knowledge base to determine properties of data elements for generating the document definition for the EDI schema.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein generating comprises generating an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) template for the EDI schema.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein one or more computer storage media have computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 10.