Transformation Process

Transform Component

A Transform component represents one configured transformation. It contains information on the dependencies and the rules of a particular transform. The iWay Transformation Engine processes input data and builds the output data according to these rules. The serialized form of a Transform component is called a Transform template.

Transform Template

A Transform template contains a blueprint of a transformation. It provides an XML representation of a Transform component, referencing its various parameters and rules. It is typically distinguished by a .gxp extension file format.

Configuration of a Transform Component

In this section:

Dictionary

The main modules within a Transform component are Dictionary and Mapping rules.

Dictionary

A data dictionary is an iWay representation of e-business metadata that describes the layout and grammar of a transaction or a document. The layout and grammar are stored in one or more files that contain dictionary components, such as headers or structures.

Dictionaries are required when the input or output data is not structural, for example, in EDI or SWIFT formats. Most dictionaries are converted to XML from the specifications of particular message types, which are managed and published by organizations. iWay Transformer supports the following dictionary component types:

Header. Provides the envelope details for the message, such as trading partner information and message layout.
Structure. Contains the layout and grammar of the document contained in the message, such as a transaction set of an EDI message.
Message. Represents a structural definition of an HL7 transaction set in XML format. Messages consist of segments and segment groups in sequential order.
Segment. Represents a business entity, for example, Patient Identifier, in an HL7 message. Segments consist of fields in sequential order, and are contained within the message component.
Field. Represents a basic building block of an HL7 message. A field consists of syntax or data type.
Datatype. Represents a syntax rule for a field, for example, "ASCII String".

The following table lists the component types that are supported for each data format.

Format	Header	Structure	Message	Segment	Datatype	Field
EDIFACT	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
EDI HIPAA	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
EDI X12	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Fixed Width	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
IDOC	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
SWIFT	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
HL7	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CSV	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
XML	No	Yes	No	No	No	No

You can edit the majority of non-XML Transformer dictionaries using the Dictionary Builder.

In iWay Transformer, dictionaries are typically used as a starting point for designing your mappings.