Message types

A message type is the kind of EDIFACT message – ORDERS for a purchase order, DESADV for a despatch advice, INVOIC for an invoice. To read a message, NCS-EDI needs its segment table: the description of which segments may appear, in which order and how often.

What is this for?

• Define the permitted structure per message type and directory version.
• Keep the parser data-driven – new message types arrive as a definition file, not as a code change.
• Provide the basis for the syntax stage of the validation.

How to set it up

1. The definition files live in the data directory under definitions\directories\.
2. There is exactly one file per message type and directory version, named <DIRECTORY>_<MESSAGE>.dir.json – for example D01B_ORDERS.dir.json for ORDERS in directory D.01B.
3. The files are generated from the official UN/CEFACT directories; they are not maintained by hand.
4. Which message types are exchanged with a partner is defined on the partner under the messages tab.