NAME

       X12::Parser - Perl module for parsing X12 Transaction files

SYNOPSIS

           use X12::Parser;

           # Create a parser object
           my $p = new X12::Parser;

           # Parse a file with the transaction specific configuration file
           $p->parsefile (
               file => '837.txt',
               conf => 'X12-837P.cf'
           );

           # Step through the file
           while ( my $loop = $p->get_next_loop ) {
               my @loop = $p->get_loop_segments;
           }

           # or use this method instead
           while ( my ($pos, $loop) = $p->get_next_pos_loop ) {
               my @loop = $p->get_loop_segments;
           }

           # or use
           while ( my ($pos, $level, $loop) = $p->get_next_pos_level_loop ) {
               my @loop = $p->get_loop_segments;
           }

ABSTRACT

       X12::Parser package provides a efficient way to parse X12 transaction files. Although this
       package is built keeping HIPAA related X12 transactions in mind, it is flexible and can be
       adapted to parse any X12 or similar transactions.

DESCRIPTION

       The X12::Parser is a token based parser for parsing X12 transaction files. The parsing of
       transaction files requires the presence of configuration files for the different
       transaction types.

       The following methods are available:

       new
             $p = new X12::Parser;

         This is the object constructor method. It does not take any arguments. It only
         initializes the members variables required for parsing the transaction file.

       parsefile
             $p->parsefile(file => '837.txt', conf => 'X12-837P.cf');

         This method takes two arguments. The first argument is the transaction file that needs
         to be parsed. The second argument specifies the configuration file to be used for
         parsing the transaction file.

         To create your own configuration file read the X12::Parser::Readme man page.

       parse
             open($file, '837.txt');
             $p->parse(handle => $file, conf => 'X12-837P.cf');

         This method is similar to parsefile, except it takes an open file handle as input.

       closefile
             $p->closefile();

         Close a X12 file. If you parse an X12 file till the very end the Parser will close the
         file. But if you only parse a few segments you can explicitly close the file by calling
         closefile();

       get_next_loop
             $p->get_next_loop;

         This function returns the name of the next loop that is present in the file being
         parsed. The loop name is as specified in the cf file.

       get_loop_segments
             $p->get_loop_segments;

         This function returns the segments in the loop that was returned by get_next_loop().
         This function is to be used in tandem with the get_next_loop. If not it may
         return/produce undesired results.

       get_next_pos_loop
             $p->get_next_pos_loop;

         This function returns the next loop name and the segment position.  Note position 1
         corresponds to the first segment.

       get_next_pos_level_loop
             $p->get_next_pos_level_loop;

         Same as get_next_pos_loop() except that in addition this function returns the level of
         the loop. The level corresponds to the level of the loop in the loop hierarchy. The top
         level loop has level 1.

       print_tree
             $p->print_tree;

         Prints the transaction file in a tree format.

       get_segment_separator
             $p->get_segment_separator;

         Get the segment separator.

       get_element_separator
             $p->get_element_separator;

         Get the element separator.

       get_subelement_separator
             $p->get_subelement_separator;

         Get the sub-element separator.

       The configuration files provided with this package and the corresponding transaction type
       are mentioned below. These are the X12 HIPAA transactions.

                   type    configuration file
                   ----    ------------------
               1)   270    270_004010X092.cf
               2)   271    271_004010X092.cf
               3)   276    276_004010X093.cf
               4)   277    277_004010X092.cf
               5)   278    278_004010X094_Req.cf
               6)   278    278_004010X094_Res.cf
               7)   820    820_004010X061.cf
               8)   834    834_004010X095.cf
               9)   835    835_004010X091.cf
               10)  837I   837_004010X096.cf
               11)  837D   837_004010X097.cf
               12)  837P   837_004010X098.cf

       These cf files are installed in under the X12/Parser/cf folder.

       The sample cf files provided with this package are good to the best of the authors
       knowledge. However the user should ensure the validity of these files. The user may use
       them as is at their own risk.

   EXPORT
       None by default.

SEE ALSO

       For details on Transaction sets refer to: National Electronic Data Interchange Transaction
       Set Implementation Guide. Implementation guides are available for all the Transaction
       sets.

       X12::Parser::Readme for more information on the Parser and configuration files.

       X12::Parser::Tree

       X12::Parser::Cf

       If you have a mailing list set up for your module, mention it here.

       If you have a web site set up for your module, mention it here.

AUTHOR

       Prasad Balan, prasad@cpan.org

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       Copyright 2009 by Prasad Balan

       This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
       terms as Perl itself.