Re: Test vs. Production

["William J. Kammerer" <wkammerer@foresightcorp.com>]

Doug Anderson, of Kleinschmidt Inc., has written all around with:

   Today in EDI we have a test/production indicator in the header
   (ISA in ASC X12, UNB in UN/EDIFACT) that allows someone to route
   the data to the correct system.  Is there something similar in
   XML either in use today or on the drawing board?  We don't want
   to create something if this has already been solved.  We have a
   customer that will be moving some of their trading partners into
   production and would prefer not to have to change receiver ID's
   in order to differentiate between those trading partners in test
   vs. those in production.

Dear Doug:

The ebXML Initiative is developing a specification for Transport,
Packaging and Routing, roughly the analog of Internet EDI (EDIINT) and
ISO 9735 control information slapped together.  You can find the latest
specifications at http://www.ebxml.org/specindex.htm, including the
ebXML TR&P Overview & Requirements v0-96 and the ebXML Message Envelope
Specification v0-5.  Neither seem to cover this topic explicitly, though
the ebxmlheader <ServiceType> element, which looks like it is used for
internal routing to the appropriate application, might be called into
service for differentiating test and production.  ebXML is not ready for
prime-time, yet. I've copied this to the ebXML TR&P group so they vet my
answer and add the requirement to their "To-Do" list.

You can also take a look at the BizTalk Framework 2.0, at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/articles/biztalk/biztalkfwv2draft.asp.
N.B., BizTalk is now based on SOAP; it doesn't seem to have made a
provision for testing, either.

You probably want the indicator to be available in the transport and
packaging framework, rather than embedded within the application message
(e.g., the Open Travel Alliance (OTA) message root tag has a
production/test indicator).

Another alternative is to take the XML message and wrap it up in an ANSI
ASC X12 102 Associated Data transaction set!  Then you can avail
yourself of the existing X12 headers to route the data.  This would be
the most painless route for a "legacy" VAN, wouldn't it?

Out of curiosity, just what is your customer doing in XML?  What XML
"messages" are being used?  Which industry? Couldn't the customer have
just used EDI?  Why all this rush to use XML?

/s
A Luddite,

William J. Kammerer
FORESIGHT Corp.
4950 Blazer Memorial Pkwy.
Dublin, OH USA 43017-3305
+1 614 791-1600

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