Altova MapForce 2012 Enterprise Edition - Upgrade from Altova MapForce Standard Edition 2012

What's new in Altova Mapforce 2012?

• Streaming reading for large files - MapForce 2012 includes new streaming reading functionality for large XML, CSV, and FLF (fixed length format) files and databases. This enhanced read feature is equivalent to the direct file output feature introduced in v2011r2. Now the MapForce built-in execution engine can read arbitrarily long input sources and create correspondingly large output streams. Users no longer have to split extremely large XML, CSV, or FLF input files into chunks for processing, and MapForce can even theoretically read an entire relational database in one pass and generate an XML or other output file in a single pass. This is an important feature for extremely large ETL (Extract/Transform/Load) applications. MapForce already has included streaming output capabilities in recent releases and the streaming input capabilities allow MapForce to perform the most demanding ETL tasks.
• New parse-date and parse-time functions - Users must produce a tremendous variety of representations of date and time in data transformation projects. Sometimes an input data stream includes a value that represents only the date or only the time. These two new functions make it easier to process these formats than the existing parse-dateTime function.
• Visual alignment guides - Complex data mappings with many components and functions can appear very cluttered on the screen. MapForce 2012 introduces new horizontal and vertical alignment guides to help users organize a mapping as they drag elements into place.
• JDBC database driver support - Now, in addition to ODBC and ADO drivers, MapForce 2012 supports JDBC database drivers for database connectivity. When the user clicks the Insert Database toolbar icon or menu selection, the database connection dialog now includes a selection for JDBC drivers.
• New Java API - The same features of the new Java API described above in the XMLSpy section are available in MapForce 2012, allowing Java developers to directly manipulate MapForce functionality via the Java API. New API examples for all programming languages demonstrate API functionality much more extensively than previous versions.
• Search in Project window - Also as described above in the XMLSpy section, search functionality has been added to the Project window in MapForce 2012. This means users can find files contained in large, complex MapForce projects more easily.

What’s new in MapForce Enterprise 2011r3?

• Define multiple ranges in a single Excel worksheet
• Native Support for HIPAA 5010
• Auto-generation of 999 messages for X12 version 5010
• Command line extensions 
• Support for .NET 4 in built-in execution 
• Save individual values or entire sub-trees in intermediate variables  
• Support for XML signatures on output

What’s new in MapForce Enterprise 2011r2?

• Direct file output (data streaming)
• Expandable if-else component (switch statement)
• Ability to process different EDI message types in a single mapping
• Support for the IATA PADIS EDI format
• Reverse existing mapping
• Ability to execute SQL statements prior to database output
• New parsing functions
• New function to retrieve node name
• Ability to search Function Library
• Custom analysis reports via StyleVision integration

What’s new in MapForce 2011?

Chained transformations
Chained transformations enable users to create complex mappings in which the output of one mapping becomes the input of another. This is a feature that adds to MapForce's ability to execute fully automated transformations. Each chained component becomes a modular entity in an interdependent transformation sequence, allowing for conversions to be made on-the-fly. MapForce users can create chained transformations using any number of mapping components connected to a final target component. Preview and code generation features can be displayed/generated for intermediate components, as well as for the final mapping result. Intermediate mapping components will also now have a "pass-through" button in the title bar. This button will enable users to define the set of data that gets passed on to the following component.

Integration with StyleVision for output components
Integration with StyleVision lets MapForce users automatically render results of their XML and XBRL mappings using an associated StyleVision template design. This means that these components can be previewed as HTML, RTF, PDF, or Word 2007+ documents. This feature for MapForce essentially combines its capabilities with those of StyleVision, meaning that users can now automate report generation from virtually any data format - as long as it can be mapped to an XML Schema or XBRL taxonomy.

Formatting of numbers, dates, and times
One of the most frequently requested features, this enables MapForce users to easily convert numbers, dates, and times to their string representations using a variety of different formatting functions. For example, the simple format-number function below converts a numerical input (e.g., 12345) to a monetary one in with a USD prefix, comma separating the thousands digits, and two decimal places (e.g., $12,345.00).

Two new parameters in auto-number function
The auto-number generator function in MapForce has been updated to include two additional parameters, global-id and restart-on-change, adding to the ways in which you can manipulate data between source and target format(s). Global-id assigns a global identifier to an auto-number sequence, making it accessible throughout the data mapping project, including in user-defined functions.  Restart-on-change allows users to restart auto-numbering every time the value supplied this parameter changes, enabling them to create intelligent numbering sequences.

Functions for working with timezones
Two new functions have been added to the MapForce function library to handle mappings that involve timezones. "convert-to-utc" will change time or datetime to a UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) or GMT value, while "remove-timezone" will simply strip the timezone information from a time or datetime conversion.

Extended support for UN/EDIFACT
Support for the EDIFACT international EDI standard has been extended to include 08B, 09A, and 09B messages.

Extended support for ANSI/X12
Support for the X12, the official national EDI standard of the United States of America, has been extended to include the 6010 and 6020 transaction sets.

MapForce supports the following functionality:

• Graphical data mapping 
• Executing and saving mapping output  
• Bi-directional XML, database, flat file and EDI data mapping 
• Advanced data processing functions  
• Mapping data to WSDL operations 
• Visual function builder for creating custom functions 
• Building Web services  
• Project view for organizing mappings 
• Mapping multiple sources to multiple targets 
• Seamless integration with Eclipse and Visual Studio  
• Parsing flat files using FlexText utility 
• OLE and ActiveX controls 
• XSLT 1.0, XSLT 2.0, XQuery generation
• Java, C#, C++ program code generation

Simplify Web Services Development

Despite the advantages of Web services for exchanging information between disparate systems, writing the code to implement them by hand can be complicated, time consuming, and error-prone. Altova MapForce removes these drawbacks by allowing you to build Web services visually, then auto-generating the Java or C# code required to implement the Web service on a server.

To build a Web service, you simply load an existing WSDL (Web Services Description Language) file in the MapForce project view, and create a mapping for each transaction. All standard WSDL documents are supported, including those created in the graphical WSDL design view of Altova XMLSpy.

Once you’ve loaded a WSDL file, you simply define the operations for each transaction included in the Web service as a mapping design. MapForce represents the transaction’s input and output schemas graphically, and you can easily map data and perform operations by dragging connecting lines to link elements and dragging in function blocks from the library. Supported data sources include XML, databases, flat files, and EDI (EDIFACT and ASNI X12) formats, and you can map these in any combination to and from the operations in your WSDL transactions.

An extensible library of data processing functions is available for filtering and processing data before returning it to the output schema, and the MapForce visual function builder helps create and save complex functions for use in other mappings.

Once you’ve created mappings for the transactions in the WSDL file, you can generate code for a single transaction – or for the entire WSDL project – in Java or C#.

Now, instead of writing the hundreds to thousands of lines of code required to implement each Web services transaction, you can define mappings visually and let MapForce generate the code all at once. Code that used to take hours or days to write is now auto-generated in a matter of seconds. Visual design in MapForce removes the complexity from Web services development, allowing you to build standards-conformant Web services applications more quickly than ever before.

Integrate Enterprise Data

In addition to support for building Web services, MapForce allows you to design data integration applications for mapping any combination of XML, database, flat file, and EDI data.

• XML mapping support is based on XML Schema
• Database mapping support includes accessing database views and systems table in any relational database
• Flat file mappingsupport includes CSV, tab delimited, and fixed-width text files. Support for arbitrary or mixed layout flat files is also provided through MapForce FlexText, a versatile flat file parsing utility
• EDI mapping support includes the hundreds of messages covered by the two most popular EDI standards: UN/EDIFACT and ANSI X12

You can map XML, databases, flat files, and EDI in any combination, and multiple sources and multiple targets are supported. As with Web services creation, you define mappings between content models visually by dragging connecting lines linking corresponding elements in the source(s) and target(s) and inserting data processing rules. You can choose functions from the extensive MapForce function library, import your own function libraries, and create and save complex functions using the unique visual function builder.

The built-in MapForce Engine allows you to execute any mapping and view the output with one click. The output of the MapForce Engine can be saved as the result of a one-time mapping, or it can be used for previewing sample results, which simplifies the process of designing and testing complex mapping projects significantly. Then, with just one more click, MapForce auto-generates the software code required to programmatically marshal data from the source(s) to the target(s) for use in customized server-side data integration applications.

Altova provides free technical support for all customers for 30 days after the date of purchase.

If you wish to receive priority technical support beyond that date and receive software updates throughout the year, you need to purchase a "Support and Maintenance Package (SMP)" for your software. The Support & Maintenance Package is available in a one- or two-year plan. Please note that you can only add Support and Maintenance Package (SMP) to a product at the time you purchase the license (or up to 30 Days after you purchase).

Services included:

Priority Technical Support - Priority Technical Support is provided via a Web-based support form. Altova will respond within 1-2 business days during European or US business hours (MO-FR, 8am UTC - 10pm UTC, Austrian and US holidays excluded).

Free Minor & Major Versions - You will receive all maintenance releases and major software versions that are released during your Support Period. Updates that you receive cover the specific edition of the product that you have purchased and typically include many additional features.

Maintenance - During the Support Period you may also report any software problem or error to Altova using the same support process described above. If Altova determines that a reported reproducible material error in the software exists and significantly impairs the usability and utility of the software, Altova agrees to use reasonable commercial efforts to correct or provide a usable work-around solution in an upcoming maintenance release or update, which is made available at certain times at Altova's sole discretion.

Support Period

The Support & Maintenance Package that is currently offered with Altova products covers the product for which it is being purchased for a period of either one or two years. The support period begins on the day you purchase the product license and extends for a period of exactly 12 or 24 months, depending on whether you purchase the one- or two-year option. SMP may be purchased at the time you purchase a product license and during the 30 day period immediately thereafter. You may also renew an existing SMP for an additional one- or two-year period. During the Support Period, you will receive Support & Maintenance services from Altova as defined in section "6. SUPPORT & MAINTENANCE" in the Altova end-user license agreement ("EULA") or in the SMP Terms of Use, as applicable.