VRL definition format

The format of a VRL definition file is similar to an FRL. It is composed of a limited set of directives and a list of keyed list entries. Each keyed list entry has a type that identifies its purpose.

Before configuring, specific transaction information is required, including:

  • The types of transactions that are processed by each connection
  • The record layouts for those transactions
  • The types of data that are handled by each transaction
  • The way that data is processed or translated

Then, use VRL Configurator to define:

  • Variable-length flat-record layouts that format input and output data
  • Separator characters to delimit positioned fields
  • Tags to denote tagged fields
  • Masks that define the layout of commonly used record fields
  • Groups that define a group of related fields

Records can contain delimited fields, with user-defined separator characters or tagged fields, with user-assigned tags.

Global properties

These define the structure of the VRL message.

Global properties must be set before beginning VRL message configuration.

To configure user-defined global properties, select Options > Global Properties on the IDE’s menu bar. This opens the Global Properties dialog box, where default field properties are shown.

This table shows the parameters in the Global Properties dialog box:

Parameter Description
Field Separator Identifies the user-defined field-separator character. The default is shown initially. Specify a different character, if necessary.
Default Subfield Separator Shows the current default subfield separator. The default is shown initially. Specify a different character, if necessary.
Default SubSubfield Separator Shows the current default subsubfield separator. The default is shown initially. Specify a different character, if necessary
Termination Identifies the termination separator, which separates the different VRL segments from one another in a VRL string. This is because VRLs are usually used in HRLs as different segments. The default is shown initially. Specify a different character, if necessary.

Termination characters are used when separating the repeated VRL messages in a HRL message. Therefore, a termination character must be used in a repeating VRL; otherwise, you cannot use that as a segment to iterate on.

Use Tagged Fields Sets the option to identify fields with user-assigned tags. Tags are set in the Field, Mask, and Group Field Properties configuration panes.
Enable Outbound Escape Handling Enables/disables the outbound escape handling, as the handling could have an effect on performance. Clear this if you are concerned with the performance of the outbound VRL encoding. This feature is cleared by default.

If your message uses tags, then select the Use Tagged Fields option on the Global Properties dialog box before beginning each new layout.