FLATFILECONSUMER cron task
The FLATFILECONSUMER cron task is the mechanism that you use to load flat files without any application user intervention.
Cron task parameters
The FLATFILECONSUMER cron task has the following predefined parameters:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| SOURCEDIRECTORY | A required parameter value that defines the directory where source files are loaded. This directory must exist on the application server. |
| DELIMITER | A required parameter that indicates the character that is used as field delimiter in the flat file. The default value is , (comma). |
| USEREXITCLASS | A custom processing class value to enable additional cron task capability (for example file load order). |
| TEXTQUALIFIER | A required parameter value that defines the character that is used as text qualifier in the flat file. The default value is “ (double quotation marks). |
| TARGETENENABLED | Ensure that the value is at the default of 0 (false). The functionality of this flag is superseded by the donotrun functionality. Use the donotrun parameter in the cron task framework to control which servers the cron task runs on. |
| ISFILEEXTRACT | When set to 1 (true), this parameter indicates that file-based error management is used for inbound message processing. |
All files available at the source directory are processed by the FLATFILECONSUMER cron task when you add a value to the SOURCEDIRECTORY parameter. The external system and the enterprise service are identified from the first record in the flat file that is imported, which is part of flat file definition.
Cron task processing properties
The FLATFILECONSUMER cron task uses the following processing properties for inbound messages:
- File processing order - The order in which files are loaded on to the server that is determined by the XML file time stamp. The cron task user exit class can be used to overwrite the inbound message processing logic.
- File split - Multi-noun files that are processed by the FLATFILECONSUMER cron task are split before they are written to the queue. The cron task identifies if the file that is loaded is a multi-noun XML file. If the XML file is a multi-noun file, the integration framework uses the enterprise service key columns to identify where the file split occurs. For example, PONUM and SITE in the MXPOInterface enterprise service.
- Queue processing - The FLATFILECONSUMER cron task identifies the queue in which the flat file is loaded. The location is based on the queue (continuous or sequential) specified at the external system and enterprise service level.
The cron task creates an index file (recovery_filename.txt) that contains a reference to the last successfully processed noun when you process a multi-noun file. The entry in the index file is updated when the noun is successfully committed to the queue. Index files are available in the RECOVERY folder which is created in the cron task source directory.
The FLATFILECONSUMER cron task uses the index file name to identify the file that was processed before the server or queue problem was encountered. The cron task continues to process the XML file starting at the last successfully committed noun in the index file. Errors that are identified after a message is successfully written to an inbound queue must be resolved in the Message Reprocessing application.