Testing a Flat File Schema
By testing a flat file schema, you can discover any errors in the flat file schema that prevent flat files from being parsed correctly. Keep the following points in mind when testing a flat file schema:
When you test a flat file schema, you can select the launch configuration that
Designer uses. If a launch configuration does not exist for the flat file schema,
Designer creates a launch configuration and immediately prompts you for input values.
Designer then runs the launch configuration.
Designer saves the launch configuration in your workspace
Designer always performs validation when testing the flat file schema. To enable validation when processing a flat fie document using the
pub.flatFile:convertToValues service, set the
validate input parameter to true.
If the flat file schema specifies a fixed length parser,
Designer always preserves whitespace when processing a flat file document. For fixed length parsers, the
Skip whitespace value is ignored.
To test a flat file schema
1. In the Service Development perspective, in Package Navigator view, select the flat file schema to test.
2. Select Run > Run As > Flat File Schema.
3. If multiple launch configurations exist for the flat file schema, in the Select Launch Configurations dialog box, select the launch configuration that you want Designer to use and click OK.
4. If the launch configuration is set up to prompt for input before running or there is no launch configuration for the flat file schema, Designer displays the Enter Input for flatFileSchemaName dialog box. If the launch configuration is not configured to prompt for input, Designer runs the launch configuration.
5. To test the flat file schema using the input data provided in the launch configuration, click OK to run the launch configuration. Otherwise, specify the following input data:
a. In the Skip whitespace list, select true if you want Designer to ignore whitespace at the beginning of a record.
b. In the Encoding list, select the encoding for the flat file that you will be testing.
c. Next to the File field, click the Browse button to navigate to and select the flat file that you want this launch configuration to use when testing the flat file schema.
d. Click OK to run the launch configuration.
Designer displays the results in the Results view. The Pipeline tab contains the document (IData) created by parsing and processing the supplied flat file. The Message tab contains any errors encountered during parsing and processing.
