Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2011!

I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous Happy New Year 2011, including a successful business running a lot of EDI connections ;-)

My XML/EDIFACT Serializer written in XSLT is open!

The source XSLT code of my XML/EDIFACT Serializer is open at Google Code ;-)

If you want to have try, you can use the test XML/EDIFACT instance available here. It's the result of the parsing of the ORDERS D.97A sample instance from Seagate by parse-EDIFACT.net.

Then, you can process it with your favorite XSLT processor ;-)

By the way, what is your favorite XSLT processor?

One of My Favorite Quote

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Albert Einstein

For us, programmers, I think it's the first part of this sentence, which is the most challenging. We all know very well how easy it is to create a complex/long/unstructured solution, and on the other hand, how difficult (and time-consuming) it is to create a simple/elegant solution to a given need ;-)

I am currently working on my EDIFACT parser and serializer - sorry for the delay on my Babelabout demonstration (see my previous post) - challenged by Mathias, and I am again realizing how a few extra thinking can save you hundred thousands of lines of code!

I am currently testing this re-design of my EDIFACT parser and serializer. I will hopefully then take some time writing a post explaining the "architecture shift" and how it saves hundred thousands of lines of code. Then, I will probably finally share the code as open-source ;-)

Babelabout Demonstration #1 (Upcoming...)

I would like to start developing a series of live demonstrations based on different scenarios. My first scenario would a supplier who is required to send his invoices to a customer as EDIFACT messages with the AS2 transport protocol.

Demonstration #1: Send to your customer an EDIFACT INVOIC via AS2, by uploading to Babelabout.net a CSV file with FTP.

New scenarios should then be added shortly including ORDERS and DESDAV, as well as other EDI flavors, any other suggestions are welcome ;-)

AS2Box: Your Managed AS2 Gateway

You have to exchange files/messages using AS2 with your trading partner tomorrow, and you do not know the AS2 (RFC 4130) transport protocol. On the other hand, you have experience transferring files/messages with FTP or HTTP (WebDAV).

Then, AS2Box is the solution to your problem!

An AS2Box is a simple folder structure with an "incoming" and an "outgoing" folders, which you can access via FTP or WebDAV.

We manage the AS2 connectivity with your trading partners.

The messages that your trading partner sent to your AS2Box will be received into your "incoming" folder, while the messages you upload to your "outgoing" folder will be picked up and sent to your trading partner.

You can directly go to http://www.as2box.net/signup.html and fill the registration/configuration form, or send me an e-mail to babelabout@gmail.com if you have any questions/remarks.

parse-EDIFACT.net, how does it work?

Thanks to Mathias from Australia, who asked me a few questions about parse-EDIFACT.net, I have started to write some detailed documentation explaining how it is working.

It might be the first step to the complete opening of the source...

Have a look at the Architecture Wiki page and give me some feedback at babelabout@gmail.com, or just comment this post ;-)

parse-EDIFACT.net is looking for alpha testers...

The http://parse-EDIFACT.net web-function is the first tangible outcome of one of my (old) numerous "dreams", in this case, create my own EDIFACT parser (*) from scratch using XSLT.

(*) By EDIFACT parser, I mean a program/function that transforms my incoming EDIFACT into an (nice) XML representation, allowing the usage of XSLT as mapping/transformation technology.

Recently, I was able to spend some time on this work, and for the first time, I reach to finalise a working prototype ;-)

Despite the fact that I have created the parse-edifact project on Google Project Hosting since the Jan 26, 2009, I am still wondering if I will really open my source code. I am actually waiting for your feed-back... Is there any interest?

Anyway, for now, I am looking for alpha testers to test the on-line version available at http://parse-EDIFACT.net. This current version only works with a limited part of the ORDERS D.97A. I have indeed used the EDI specifications of the company Seagate - publicly available at http://www.seagate.com/www/en-gb/partners/edi - in order to start my development.

Let me know (1) if it works on your browser, (2) if you are interested in a free/open-source EDIFACT parser, (3) with which message you would like me to continue my development, etc.

Many thanks in advance for your help!

You can now support BabelAS2 using PayPal

If you find our open source project useful, please support us by making a donation. Your funding will help to ensure continued development of BabelAS2.

Many thanks in advance for your help!

AS2, AS2, AS2, AS2 & AS2

I was dreaming about this big company, impacted by the Auditing Standard 2 (AS2), developing Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) software, with a user interface written in ActionScript 2.0 (AS2) language, used to distribute any kind of data from the video game Assassin's Creed 2 (AS2) to the latest scientific report on the importance of the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) gene in the leaf venation system.

Keyword Search sucks :-/

Let's use Twitter as a Time Tracking Tool

Starting now, I will try to consistently use my Twitter account as a Time Tracking Tool. Thus, if you want to know what I am doing:

BabelAS2 version 0.04 has been released!

You can download BabelAS2 version 0.04 at

Google: http://babelas2.googlecode.com/files/BabelAS2.v0.04.zip

SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/babelas2/files/BabelAS2.v0.04.zip/download

I had to correct a few bugs :-/

Do not forget to send feedback to babelabout@gmail.com, many thanks in advance!

AS2Box.net - Website Updated!

Clear your cache and go to http://www.as2box.net/, the content of the website have been updated. Go to the Demo page and have a (2nd) try with demo's AS2Box ;-)

Do not hesitate to contact us at babelabout@gmail.com if you have further questions!

AS2Box Lite: Managed AS2 Services for FREE

With an AS2Box Lite, you can instantly (*) setup AS2 connections with your trading partners - NO SOFTWARE installation is needed.

1. Have a try with the demo account, send a file to the mendelson AS2 test server:
   • If you are using Internet Explorer, go to the post AS2Box.net - Yes, it can simpler!
   • If you are using not Internet Explorer, go to the post Demo's AS2Box Sends Messages to mendelson AS2 Test Server


2. Create your own account, register for an AS2Box Lite, it's FREE.

Please, do not hesitate to e-mail us at babelabout@gmail.com if you have any further questions or remarks!

(*) At this stage, some parts of the account creation have not yet been automated, thus you can have 1 working day delay for your account creation. But, we are working on it! Many thanks in advance for your support and patience.

AS2Box.net - Yes, it can simpler!

1. Click on the link http://demo.as2box.info/outgoing/, and connect with user: demo and password: demo.

   Unfortunately, this WebDAV integration seems to work only with Microsoft Internet Explorer. If your browser does not support the WebDAV integration, you will be redirected to the Microsoft web site ;-)

2. Drag-and-drop the file you want to send to the mendelson AS2 test server into the folder.
    
3. Then, you can go to http://as2.mendelson-e-c.com:8080/webas2, and connect with user: guest and password: guest, in order to check if your file has arrived.

Of course, I am not very happy about the fact that it only works with Internet Explorer, so I will have to look for an script-based file manager for web user interface, any suggestions are welcome ;-)