Learning EDI - Day 2 : Difference Between EDI, XML, JSON, and Flat Files

1. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

EDI follows industry standards.

Example (X12 850 Purchase Order)

ISA*00*          *00*          *ZZ*BUYER*
GS*PO*BUYER*SUPPLIER*
ST*850*0001
BEG*00*NE*PO12345
SE*4*0001
GE*1*1
IEA*1*000000001

Characteristics

• Highly standardized
• Used between trading partners
• Requires EDI translator/mapping
• Common in retail, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing

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2. XML (Extensible Markup Language)

XML uses opening and closing tags.

Example

<PurchaseOrder>
    <OrderNumber>PO12345</OrderNumber>
    <Customer>ABC Hospital</Customer>
</PurchaseOrder>

Characteristics

• Self-describing
• Easy to validate using XSD
• Widely used in SAP, Oracle, enterprise applications

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3. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

JSON uses key-value pairs.

Example

{
  "OrderNumber": "PO12345",
  "Customer": "ABC Hospital"
}

Characteristics

• Lightweight
• Easy to read
• Popular for REST APIs
• Common in cloud integrations

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4. Flat Files

Plain text files with delimiters or fixed positions.

CSV Example

PO12345,ABC Hospital,100

Pipe Delimited Example

PO12345|ABC Hospital|100

Fixed Length Example

PO12345   ABC Hospital       100

Characteristics

• Very simple
• Easy to create
• Common in legacy systems
• Often used in SAP PI/PO and batch integrations

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Example

Imagine a customer sends a Purchase Order.

EDI Version

BEG*00*NE*PO12345

XML Version

<OrderNumber>PO12345</OrderNumber>

JSON Version

{
  "OrderNumber":"PO12345"
}

Flat File Version

PO12345

Same business information, different formats.

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When to Use What?

Use EDI when:

• Working with retailers, distributors, hospitals, logistics providers.
• Exchanging official business documents.
• Trading partners require standards like X12 or EDIFACT.

Use XML when:

• Integrating enterprise systems.
• Need strong validation and hierarchical data.

Use JSON when:

• Building APIs.
• Cloud integrations.
• Modern web applications.

Use Flat Files when:

• Legacy systems are involved.
• Batch processing is sufficient.
• Simplicity is preferred.