Electronic data interchange transaction set definition based instance editing

• US 8,108,767 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2006
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gaurav, Suraj, Machiraju, Surendra
• Primary Examiner(s): Queler, Adam M
• Application Number:
  US11/533,658
• Publication Number:
  US 20080072160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,959 Days
• Field of Search: 715/234, 715/237, 715/255, 707/607
• US Class Current: 715/237
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

An EDI document instance is generated or edited via an editor tool that also displays a corresponding EDI schema, thus allowing editing of an EDI document instance alongside its corresponding EDI schema, thereby interrelating EDI document creation or editing with the corresponding EDI schema. Either the EDI document instance or the EDI schema elements can be modified via the editor tool, and in various non-limiting embodiments, any errors in the formation or modification of an EDI document are automatically highlighted or otherwise recorded and/or displayed via the editor tool. EDI instances can be edited in either native or XML form.

Claims

1. A method for editing electronic data interchange (EDI) messages, including:

retrieving from storage at least one EDI message instance and displaying the retrieved at least one EDI message instance in a first user interface portion, wherein the EDI message is displayed in a hierarchical tree structure;

displaying at least one EDI schema corresponding to the at least one EDI message instance in a second user interface portion, the second user interface portion including at least three simultaneously viewable and discrete sections, the at least three discrete sections including;

a first section displaying a hierarchical tree structure of the at least one EDI schema, wherein the nodes of the hierarchical tree structure of the at least one EDI schema correspond to the associated nodes of a hierarchical tree structure of the EDI message instance;

a second section displaying information about the at least one EDI schema; and

a third section displaying a tree structure defined by the EDI schema for the at least one EDI message;

displaying in a third user interface portion an error and warning pane within which is displayed selectable errors and warnings;

upon selecting a particular error or warning in the error and warning pane, causing a corresponding node within the hierarchical tree structure of the at least one EDI schema and a corresponding node within the hierarchical tree structure of the EDI message instance to be selected and highlighted; and

after retrieving the at least one EDI message instance from storage, modifying

(A) at least one EDI data element of the at least one EDI message instance; and

(B) at least one EDI schema element of the at least one EDI schema.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least one invalid EDI data element instance of the at least one EDI message instance based on analyzing the at least one EDI schema element of the at least one EDI schema.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying at least one indication of the at least one invalid EDI data element instance.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said determining includes determining at least one reason why the at least one invalid EDI data element instance does not conform to the at least one EDI schema.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

displaying at least one indication of the at least one invalid EDI data element instance and the corresponding at least one reason in a third user interface portion.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying of the at least one EDI schema includes displaying a plurality of hierarchically related EDI schema elements including at least one of a data type, simple data element, composite data element, segment or loop comprising the at least one EDI schema.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said modifying includes modifying at least one EDI schema element of the at least one EDI schema.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying at least one indication of the at least one invalid EDI data element of the at least one EDI message instance that becomes invalid as a result of said modifying of the at least one EDI schema element.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

where the modifying includes modifying the at least one EDI message instance, determining if the modifying results in at least one invalid EDI data element based on analyzing the at least one EDI schema.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating a warning where said modifying results in at least one invalid EDI data element in the EDI message instance.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

where the modifying includes modifying the at least one EDI message instance, storing the modified EDI data elements of the at least one EDI message instance in a relational data store, and wherein the first and second interface portions are simultaneously displayed in different portions of a same user interface application.

12. A computer readable storage device having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform the method of claim 1.

13. A computing device comprising:

a processor;

a computer readable storage device having stored thereon computer executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1; and

a display device in communication with the processor.

14. A computing subsystem of an electronic data interchange (EDI) communications system for transmitting and receiving EDI messages, including:

at least one computer storage device having stored thereon;

an EDI document generator including;

(i) a first user interface component that displays a specified at least one EDI schema definition in accordance with a tree structure,

(ii) a second user interface component that displays at least one user input portion that receives at least one value for input to at least one EDI data element of at least one EDI document to be generated based on the at least one EDI schema definition,

(iii) a third user interface component that displays the at least one EDI document in a hierarchical tree structure in accordance with the at least one EDI schema definition, the at least one EDI document being displayed in response to the at least one value being received by the at least one user input portion, wherein each of the first, second and third user interface components are simultaneously viewable, and

(iv) a fourth user interface component that displays an error and warning list wherein when a particular error or warning is selected in the error and warning list a corresponding element in the EDI schema definition and a corresponding element in the EDI document is caused to be selected and highlighted thereby facilitating editing of one of the EDI schema definition or the EDI document; and

an engine component that generates an EDI document based on the at least one value received by the at least one user input portion, and in accordance with EDIFACT or X12 standards.

15. The computing subsystem of claim 14, wherein the engine component enables generation of at least one notification when at least one value received by the at least one user input portion does not conform to the at least one EDI schema definition.

16. The computing subsystem of claim 14, wherein the EDI document generator enables modification of at least one schema element of the EDI schema definition, such that the second user interface component displays at least one user input portion that receives at least one value for input to at least one EDI data element of at least one EDI document to be generated based on the modified at least one EDI schema definition.