TNWiki Article Spotlight - BizTalk Server: Transform text files (Flat Files) into XML

Welcome to our TNWiki Article Spotlight on Tuesday!

A BizTalk developer will in his day to day job deal with many different formats. Many data interactions in the current industry still involve flat file formats, such as EDI, HL7, or custom formats that have been in operational use for quite a long time. This type of legacy computing will be around us for a long time to come, despite the rise of (web) services and SOAP.

It will not be a surprise to you that BizTalk developers will be required to work with flat files now and in the future. The good news is that BizTalk has tools that can aid developers working with flat file formats. Our spotlight article today will prove to be a great value in that aspect.

Today's spotlight article has been written by Sandro Pereira a BizTalk Server MVP from Portugal. Sandro has in the past provided the BizTalk community with a lot guidance on different BizTalk related topics. One of his recent contributions is the Transform text files (Flat Files) into XML article, which provides the reader excellent guidance and background information in working with flat files and BizTalk.

The focus in the article lies on transforming the flat file format into XML, the only format the BizTalk messaging engine can handle. It describes the end to end procedure a developer will have to follow in order to transform a flat file format text file into XML, so BizTalk can consume it.

If you are BizTalk developer and have to deal with flat files than I recommend that you read this article. You will greatly benefit from using the practices described in the article, and it can save you a lot time and frustration.

So go check out all the wonder, and dive in! The Wiki's warm.

- Ninja Steef-Jan (Blog, Wiki, Twitter, Profile)