« Back to Glossary Index

XML

 

XML is an extensible markup language used to describe and structure data in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. It was developed by the W3C and has become a widely recognized open standard. XML offers flexibility in defining custom structures and tags to suit specific domain and application needs.

Use Case:

A relevant use case for XML is in the field of e-commerce. Let’s assume a company wants to transmit and receive business documents such as invoices, orders, and shipping notices in a standardized and interoperable format with various business partners. By using XML and the EDIconnect platform, the company can define the relevant data structures in XML format and utilize them to create and process business documents efficiently and reliably. This enables seamless integration and coherent data exchange between different systems and business partners.

Example of Script Code:

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

root = ET.Element(“invoice”)
customer = ET.SubElement(root, “customer”)
customer.set(“name”, “John Smith”)
customer.set(“address”, “123 Main Street”)

item1 = ET.SubElement(root, “item”)
item1.text = “Product A”

item2 = ET.SubElement(root, “item”)
item2.text = “Product B”

tree = ET.ElementTree(root)
tree.write(“invoice.xml”)

Best practices:

1. Adhere to the XML standards and specifications defined by the W3C to ensure interoperability between different systems and applications.
2. Use a Document Type Definition (DTD) or an XML Schema Definition (XSD) to validate and ensure the conformity of XML structures with business requirements.
3. Avoid excessive nesting and custom tags, maintaining a balance between flexibility and ease of processing XML data.
4. Regularly test and validate XML documents to detect and address any errors or compatibility issues.

To implement and manage data exchange in XML format, you may consider using the EDIconnect platform. EDIconnect is an EDI solution provider that supports various formats and standards, including XML. The EDIconnect platform can assist you in integrating XML into your EDI workflows and leverage its advanced features for efficient transformation, validation, and exchange of XML documents with business partners.