Learn C#: with EDI FileAction

During my tenure at Nissan I experienced my first exposure to EDI. A nightly batch cycle collected EDI workflow from Sterling Commerce and all of the distributed Vehicle Processing Centers. This process was time sensitive input because completion of the mainframe batch cycle had a completion deadline of 3:00 AM daily. The inbound workflow process I managed was convoluted and failed at least 3 nights per week. The outbound process at 3 AM was similarly prong to failure.
Needless to say it was mentally and physically challenging as I was up late and/or early to resolve these issues almost daily.

Determined to find the solution, I studied the workflow, designed a solution, and went to work on coding. After implementing the change, I experienced success and there were no more after-hours failures. This was the birth and the creation of FileAction. My manager was impressed because she was told by my predecessor that a solution, any solution, was simply not possible.

Gradually over the years I have been able to evolve FileAction’s functionality. The product of this book has been developed and deployed time and time again in countless programming languages and various platforms. Today’s instance of FileAction has been perfected to handle complex routing decisions by comparing a file’s name and/or content to known expectations. These expectations are documented in a simple and understandable XML file format. This addition of an XML control file makes FileAction extensible. As such it is no longer locked by pseudo code to a specific workflow scenario. Extensibility introduces the opportunity of writing of this book.

So what is one to do when a book demands to be written? Well, in my case, the book wrote itself. I selected C# and .Net as the operating environment. Creating the C# program version took only a few weeks. While it took a few years to write this book it was a labor of love. How can one not love what one feels passionate about?

I hope you enjoy experiencing FileAction as much as I did writing about it. Sooner or later you too will see how FileAction will be a valuable addition to your own war chest.