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Fixed-Length (fixedlength2) Schema in Depth

Note: With the introduction of fixedlength2 schema, the old fixed-length schema is now considered deprecated. It will continue to work, and its documentation remains but it will not be directly linked from the homepage README.md. There is a migration section near the end of this page to illustrate the simple schema migration steps from fixed-length to fixedlength2.

Fixed-length (sometimes also called fixed-width) schema has 3 parts: parser_settings, file_declaration, and transform_declarations. We've covered parser_settings in Getting Started; we've covered transform_declarations in depth in All About Transforms. Before we go into file_declaration, we need to talk about the concept of envelope.

envelope Basics

An envelope is a basic data unit ingested in from the input, processed and transformed by omniparser for a fixed length input file. Here are a few examples:

  • Single line envelope (from this sample):

    2019/01/31T12:34:56-0800 10.5 30.2  N 33  37.7749 122.4194
2020/07/31T01:23:45-0500   39   95 SE  8  32.7767  96.7970

    Here each line in the input is an envelope, individually ingested, processed and transformed.

  • Multi-line envelope (from this sample):

    H001TW                  0689311345         030                           DEL                 ...
H0020689311345         BM  040670500067120
H0020689311345         CN  100000103732
H0020689311345         OA  2400 Highway 155 South
H0020689311345         OC  Locust Grove
H0020689311345         ON  THE HOME DEPOT 6705
H0020689311345         OO  W841206858
H0020689311345         OP  30248
H0020689311345         OST GA
H0020689311345         OT  US
H0020689311345         PO  7029083C
H001TW                  0689311348         030                           DEL                 ...
H0020689311348         BM  040677700277714
H0020689311348         CN
H0020689311348         OA  2500 Highway 155 South
H0020689311348         OC  Locust Grove
H0020689311348         ON  THE HOME DEPOT 6777
H0020689311348         OO  W938003272
H0020689311348         OP  30248
H0020689311348         OST GA
H0020689311348         OT  US
H0020689311348         PO  6816137C

    Each envelope consists of 11 consecutive lines, and these 11 consecutive lines are ingested, processed and transformed as a unit.

    Single line envelope is obviously a special case of multi-line envelope.

  • Variable length envelope encapsulated by a header and a footer (from this sample):

    A010 20191105
...
...
A999
V010 V
...
...
V999
V010 V
...
...
V999
...
...
Z001
Z999

    Here we have 3 different envelopes:

    • first envelope is encapsulated by A010 and A999. This envelope has one occurrence.
    • second envelope is encapsulated by V010 and V999. This envelope has multiple occurrences.
    • last envelope is encapsulated by Z001 and Z999. This envelope has one occurrence.

    Note if the footer is the same as the header, such envelope will consist of only one line. In such case, footer can be omitted for brevity of schema writing.

envelopes Hierarchy

In most use cases, a fixed-length input consists of a single-line envelope that repeats itself. Sometimes, we encounter input that consists of multi-line (but fixed number of lines) envelope that repeats itself. Occasionally, envelope with header/footer. But in some highly customized scenarios, we do see some nested and mixed envelope situation:

<envelope1> {0,}
    <envelope2> {1,2}
    <envelope3> {0,1}

where in the pseudo example above, envelope1 is followed by envelope2 1 or 2 times, then followed by envelope3 0 or 1 time, then repeats itself (envelope1). The following is adapted and simplified from the nested sample:

HDR...
GRH...

NWR...
SPU...
SPT...
SPT...

NWR...
SPU...
SPU...
SPT...

GRT...
TRL...

While this is a flattened text file with fixed length data encoded within, it, however, represents a hierarchical and nested data structure:

HDR
    GRH
        NWR
            SPU
                SPT
    GRT
TRL
  • There is 1 and only 1 HDR in the input.
  • HDR is paired with TRL.
  • Underneath HDR, there could be 0 or many repeats of GRH.
  • Each GRH is paired with a GRT.
  • Underneath GRT, there could be 0 or many repeats of NWR.
  • There is not closing pair, so to speak, for each of NWR.
  • Underneath NWR, there could be 0 or many repeats of SPU.
  • Underneath SPU, there could be 0 or many repeats of SPT.

If this nested structure embedded in a flat txt file reminds you of EDI, you are not alone :). In the wild business world, there are often such blend of things created: half EDI (with the concepts of hierarchy, loops, min/max occurrences, etc) half fixed-length with all the data pieces are in fixed locations without use of any delimiters.

file_declaration for fixedlength2

"file_declaration": {
    "envelopes": [                                   <= required
        {
            "name": <envelope name>,                 <= optional
            "rows": <integer value>,                 <= optional
            "header": <regex>,                       <= optional
            "footer": <regex>,                       <= optional
            "type": <envelope|envelope_group>,       <= optional
            "is_target": <true|false>,               <= optional
            "min": <integer value>,                  <= optional
            "max": <integer value>,                  <= optional
            "columns": [                             <= optional
                {
                    "name": "<column name>",         <= optional
                    "start_pos": <integer>,          <= required
                    "length": <integer>,             <= required
                    "line_index": "<integer>",       <= optional
                    "line_pattern": "<line regexp>"  <= optional
                },
                <more columns>
            ],
            "child_envelopes": [                     <= optional
                <more envelopes>
            ]
        }
    ]
}

  • name: the name of the envelope is used in xpath query in transform_declarations. It is optional in simple use cases where the envelope name isn't needed in any of the transform's xpath query, such as in this example.

  • rows: the fixed number of the rows in this envelope. If rows specified, header/footer must not be used; If none of rows, header, or footer is specified, the envelope is defaulted to being a rows based envelope with rows equals 1.

  • header/footer: the regex pattern matches the starting and ending lines of a variable-length envelope. rows must not be used when header/footer are used. If footer is omitted, it defaults to be the value of header, which means an envelope with only header specified will only match a single line for the envelope.

  • type: specifies whether an envelope is a sold envelope or an envelope_group which serves as a container for child envelopes. If type is envelope_group, rows/header/footer must not be used, as they are only relevant to solid/concrete envelope. Also envelope_group cannot co-exists with columns for the same reason.

  • is_target: specifies if an envelope is a streaming target. is_target concept here is the same as in EDI. Only one envelope (group or not) can have is_target: true. For ease and brevity of schema writing, if no is_target: true is specified, then the first envelope will be auto-marked as is_target: true.

  • min: specifies the minimum number of consecutive occurrences of the envelope in the data stream. min can be specified on envelope_group. If omitted, min defaults to 0.

  • max: specifies the maximum number of consecutive occurrences of the envelope in the data stream. max can be specified on envelope_group. If omitted, max defaults to -1, which means unlimited.

  • columns: specifies a collection of columns of the envelope.

  • column.start_pos: specifies the starting character position (1-based) for the column's data.

  • column.length: specifies the length of the column's data.

  • column.line_index: used in multi-line envelope (rows based or header/footer based) where the index indicates which line this column's data will be extracted from. 1-based.

  • column.line_pattern: used in multi-line envelope (rows based or header/footer based) where the pattern identifies which line this column's data will be extracted from.

  • child_envelopes: specifies, recursively, any hierarchical and nested child envelope structure.

Sample 1: file_declaration for Repeated Single-Row envelope

Full sample input is here. Full sample schema is here.

    "file_declaration": {
        "envelopes" : [
            {
                "columns": [
                    { "name": "DATE", "start_pos": 1, "length": 24 },
                    { "name": "HIGH_TEMP_C", "start_pos": 26, "length": 4 },
                    { "name": "LOW_TEMP_F", "start_pos": 31, "length": 4 },
                    { "name": "WIND_DIR", "start_pos": 36, "length": 2 },
                    { "name": "WIND_SPEED_KMH", "start_pos": 9, "length": 2 },
                    { "name": "LAT", "start_pos": 42, "length": 8 },
                    { "name": "LONG", "start_pos": 51, "length": 8 }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }

Note, many of the envelope fields are omitted to use default values for simplicity and brevity:

  • rows/header/footer omitted and defaulted to rows:1.
  • type omitted and defaulted to type:envelope.
  • is_target omitted and defaulted to is_target:true.
  • min omitted and defaulted to min:0.
  • max omitted and defaulted to max:-1.
  • column.line_index omitted since each envelope contains only 1 line.
  • column.line_pattern omitted since each envelope contains only 1 line.

Sample 2: file_declaration for Repeated Multi Fixed-Number-of-Rows envelope

Full sample input is here. Full sample schema is here.

    "file_declaration": {
        "envelopes" : [
            {
                "rows": 11,
                "columns": [
                    { "name": "tracking_number_h001", "start_pos": 464,  "length": 30, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "destination_country", "start_pos": 607,  "length": 2, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "guaranteed_delivery_date", "start_pos": 376,  "length": 8, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "event_date", "start_pos": 142,  "length": 8, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "event_time", "start_pos": 150, "length": 8, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "event_timezone", "start_pos": 158, "length": 4, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "event_city", "start_pos": 564,  "length": 30, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "event_state", "start_pos": 594, "length": 2, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "scan_facility_zip", "start_pos": 596, "length": 11, "line_pattern": "^H001" },
                    { "name": "tracking_number_h002_cn", "start_pos": 28,  "length": 50, "line_pattern": "^H002.{19}CN" }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }

Sample 3: file_declaration for Repeated Variable Length envelope Bounded by header/footer

Full sample input is here. Full sample schema is here.

    "file_declaration": {
        "envelopes" : [
            {
                "name": "HEADER", "min": 1, "max": 1, "header": "^A010", "footer": "^A999",
                "columns": [ { "name": "carrier", "start_pos": 6, "length": 6, "line_pattern": "^A060" } ]
            },
            {
                "name": "REC", "header": "^V010", "footer": "^V999", "is_target": true,
                "columns": [
                    { "name": "tracking_number", "start_pos": 6, "length": 15, "line_pattern": "^V020" },
                    { "name": "delivery_date", "start_pos": 6, "length": 8, "line_pattern": "^V045" },
                    { "name": "observation_type", "start_pos": 6, "length": 1, "line_pattern": "^V060" },
                    { "name": "reason_for_observation", "start_pos": 6, "length": 2, "line_pattern": "^V070" },
                    { "name": "date_observation", "start_pos": 6, "length": 8, "line_pattern": "^V080" },
                    { "name": "time_observation", "start_pos": 6, "length": 6, "line_pattern": "^V081" },
                    { "name": "weight_in_grams", "start_pos": 6, "length": 6, "line_pattern": "^V110" },
                    { "name": "postal_code_addressee", "start_pos": 6, "length": 6, "line_pattern": "^V160" },
                    { "name": "city_name_addressee", "start_pos": 6, "length": 24, "line_pattern": "^V180" },
                    { "name": "country_code_addressee", "start_pos": 6, "length": 2, "line_pattern": "^V200" }
                ]
            },
            { "name": "FOOTER",  "min": 1, "max": 1, "header": "^Z001", "footer": "^Z999" }
        ]
    }

Note the use of is_target:true on envelope named REC.

Sample 4: file_declaration for Nested Hierarchical envelopes with Different Types

Full sample input is here. Full sample schema is here.

    "file_declaration": {
        "envelopes": [
            {
                "name": "HDR", "header": "^HDR", "min": 1, "max": 1,
                "child_envelopes": [
                    {
                        "name": "GRH", "header": "^GRH",
                        "child_envelopes": [
                            {
                                "name": "NWR", "header": "^NWR", "is_target": true,
                                "columns": [ { "name": "title", "start_pos": 20, "length": 60 } ],
                                "child_envelopes": [
                                    {
                                        "name": "SPU", "header": "^SPU",
                                        "columns": [ { "name": "publisher_name", "start_pos": 31, "length": 45 } ],
                                        "child_envelopes": [
                                            {
                                                "name": "SPT", "header": "^SPT",
                                                "columns": [ { "name": "territory_id", "start_pos": 51, "length": 4 } ]
                                            }
                                        ]
                                    },
                                    {
                                        "name": "SWR", "header": "^SWR",
                                        "columns": [
                                            { "name": "writer_id", "start_pos": 20, "length": 9 },
                                            { "name": "last_name", "start_pos": 29, "length": 45 }
                                        ],
                                        "child_envelopes": [
                                            {
                                                "name": "SWT", "header": "^SWT",
                                                "columns": [ { "name": "territory_id", "start_pos": 45, "length": 4 } ]
                                            }
                                        ]
                                    }
                                ]
                            },
                            { "name": "GRT", "header": "^GRT" }
                        ]
                    },
                    { "name": "TRL", "header": "^TRL" }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }

The schema is lengthy but fairly straightforward:

  • The input/schema has a singleton/global header envelope named HDR, it is paired with a trailer envelope TRL. Therefore both envelopes specify min/max to 1.
  • Inside the global singleton header/trailer, we have unlimited repeats of an envelope named GRH, which is also paired with a trailer GRT.
  • Under GRH, we have unlimited repeats of NWR which is our streaming and transform target.
  • Each NWR can have two "loopy" children, SPU and SWR, each of which has unlimited repeats of child envelope, SPT and SWT, respectively.
  • Each envelope is a single line, thus no line_index or line_pattern is used.

Fixed-Length IDR Structure

See here for more details.

Migration from 'fixed-length' Schemas

If one looks at the documentation for the old fixed-length schema here, you notice fixed-length and fixedlength2 schemas are really similar! It certainly makes migration incredibly trivial:

  • For single-row envelope based schema, migrating from fixed-length schema to fixedlength2 schema requires only 1 change:

    "parser_settings": {
    "version": "omni.2.1",
    "file_format_type": "fixed-length"   ===> change it to "fixedlength2", yes the "-" is gone.
}

  • For multi-row envelope based schema, migrating from fixed-length schema to fixedlength2 schema requires 2 changes:

    • Change 1: the same parser_settings.file_format_type change mentioned above.
    • Change 2: 
      "file_declaration": {
    "envelopes" : [
        {
            "by_rows": 11,          ===> change it to "rows".
            "columns": [
                ...
                ...
            ]
        }
    ]
},

  • For header/footer envelope based schema, migrating from fixed-length schema to fixedlength2 schema requires 3 changes:

    • Change 1: the same parser_settings.file_format_type change mentioned above.
    • Change 2: 
      "file_declaration": {
    "envelopes" : [
        {
            "by_header_footer": { "header": "^A010", "footer": "^A999" },
            ...
        }
    ]
},
      Any mentioning of "by_header_footer": { "header": "^A010", "footer": "^A999" } changes to "header": "^A010", "footer": "^A999". Basically remove the by_header_footer field, and move header and footer one level up: 
      "file_declaration": {
    "envelopes" : [
        {
            "header": "^A010", "footer": "^A999",
            ...
        }
    ]
},
    • Change 3: 
      "file_declaration": {
    "envelopes" : [
        {
            "not_target": true,
            ...
        }
        {
            ...
        }
    ]
},
      Any mentioning of "not_target": true, remove that line. Any envelope that doesn't have "not_target": true (there should be one and only one of such envelope), add a line "is_target": true to it: 
      "file_declaration": {
    "envelopes" : [
        {
            ...
        }
        {
            "is_target": true,
            ...
        }
    ]
},

That's all the migration changes needed!