EDI Requires Standards

September 1996 / International Features / Internet + VANs = A Serious EDI Platform / EDI Requires Standards

EDI needs not just communications standards; it requires document standards to cover the syntax, design, and content of messages. At the heart of the international EDIFACT standard are the United Nations Standard Messages (UNSMes), a structured set of data values relating strongly to business functions.
Each UNSM is identified by a six-character name, such as SAFHAZ (for Safety and Hazard Data Sheet) or DISADV (for Dispatch Advice). Within each UNSM, the content is broken down into further detail, with segments with names such as NAD (for Name and Address). These segments contain such data elements as street , city, country, and so forth.
There are still many national EDI standards around the world, but most are evolving or changing to EDIFACT. However, a lot of companies are using the U.S. X.12 standard. Although the migration to EDIFACT was intended to be completed in 1997, it's clear that X.12 will be used by many companies during the next few years.

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Matthew Wilson
My approach to software engineering is far more pragmatic than it is theoretical--and no language better exemplifies this than C++.

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