PhixFlow® Binary File Grammar Guide
PhixFlow Version 5
28 July 2015
Image Removed!worddav348d3085035cf3d99341a92e32d0d000.png|height=150,width=900!Table of contents
1 Introduction
2 Binary File Grammar Nodes
3 Node Descriptions and their Attributes
3.1 Common attributes
3.2 Control Nodes attributes
3.2.1 Grammar Node attributes
3.2.2 Repeat Node attributes
3.2.3 Sequence Node
3.2.4 Choice Node
3.3 Logic Nodes
3.3.1 Script Node Anchor_GoBack_GoBack 3.3.2 Validate Node
3.4 Data Nodes
3.4.1 Record Node
3.4.2 Attribute Node
3.4.3 Tag Node
3.4.4 Length Node
3.4.5 Name Node
3.4.6 Value Node
3.4.7 Bytes Node
4 This topic contains the pages:

Overview

To use a file collector to load data from a binary file, you must specify the file's structure or grammar. A binary file collector requires a grammar to define the file so that the collector can extract the data. Binary file grammars are defined in XML. With a binary file grammar you can define the structure of any binary or ASCII file that has a definable structure. The target nodes are the ones that will generate an output record.

To configure a File Collector to load data from a binary file you must:

• specify the grammar in the File Format Description section
• specify a set of target nodes in the Stream Item Node field.

The topic Binary File Grammar gives details of:

• creating binary file grammars
• creating File Columns in a file collector that reads binary files, in the section Creating the File Columns for the File Collector

...

• .
• details of using the data read from binary files in Streams, in the section Referring to File Columns in Stream Attribute Expressions.

Grammar

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This document is available via the PhixFlow online help. A binary file grammar is an XML document that specifies the structure of a binary or ASCII file. 

Note in the following sections that:

• attribute (beginning with lower case a) refers to attributes of nodes, in the standard terminology of XML.
• Attribute Node (beginning with upper case A) refers to a node that represents a target File Collector Column– that is, an Attribute in PhixFlow that can be used in the output Stream to populate a Stream Attribute.
• Control, Data, etc.Nodes – that is, types of nodes specific to PhixFlow binary file grammars – will start with an upper case letter.
• Expressions are PhixFlow scripting expressions – see PhixFlow help for more details. All Expressions must be inside curly braces in a grammar file, unless contained in a Script Node.

Nodes

There are three classes of node in a binary file grammar:

1. Control nodes that define the possible options, sequences, choices and repeating loops in the file. These nodes are:
   1. <Grammar/>
   2. <Repeat/>
   3. <Sequence/>
   4. <Choice/>
2. Logic nodes that run Expressions to calculate values that might be used later, or to carry out validation logic. These nodes are:
   1. <Script/>
   2. <Validate/>
3. Data nodes that construct the Attributes and Records that will be generated by the binary file reader. These nodes are:
   1. <Record/>
   2. <Attribute/>
   3. <Tag/>
   4. <Length/>
   5. <Name/>
   6. <Value/>
   7. <Bytes/>