|
Electronic Data Interchange
Federal
Information Processing
Standards Publications
http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/index.htm
Electronic Data Interchange
http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip161-2.htm
Electronic Data Interchange is the computer-to-computer
interchange of strictly formatted messages that represent documents other than
monetary instruments. EDI implies a sequence of messages between two parties,
either of whom may serve as originator or recipient. The formatted data
representing the documents may be transmitted from originator to recipient via
telecommunications or physically transported on electronic storage media.
In EDI, the usual processing of received messages is by computer only. Human
intervention in the processing of a received message is typically intended only
for error conditions, for quality review, and for special situations. For
example, the transmission of binary or textual data is not EDI as defined here
unless the data are treated as one or more data elements of an EDI message and
are not normally intended for human interpretation as part of on-line data
processing.
An example of EDI is a set of interchanges between a buyer and a seller.
Messages from buyer to seller could include, for example, request for quotation
(RFQ), purchase order, receiving advice and payment advice; messages from seller
to buyer could include, simi- larly, bid in response to RFQ, purchase order
acknowledgment, shipping notice and invoice. These messages may simply provide
information, e.g., receiving advice or shipping notice, or they may include data
that may be interpreted as a legally binding obligation, e.g., bid in response
to RFQ or purchase order.
Electronic Data Interchange is being used also for an increasingly diverse set
of concerns, for example, for interchanges between healthcare providers and
insurers, for travel and hotel bookings, for education administration, and for
government regulatory, statistical and tax reporting.
|