IBM WTX Interview Questions and Answers

1. What are the uses of EDI?
Answer:

1) Manage Huge volumes of transactions
2) Less Operating Cost
3) Eliminates delays
4) Eliminates data entry errors
5) Bridges the information gap that exists between companies using different computer systems.
6) Elimination of paper documents
7) Greater accuracy of information
8) Better tracking
9) Speed. Because information is moved faster and with greater accuracy, time spent communicating with the suppliers decreased.

2. What is the purpose of the event server?
Answer: The Event Server automates the execution of systems of maps and can control multiple systems. On Windows platforms, the Event Server runs as a multi-threaded service. On UNIX platforms, the Event Server runs as a multi-threaded daemon.

3. What is workspace?
Answer: What are the methods to override input/output settings? Using RUN function and IFD settings. Data sources and targets, and other map settings can be overridden from the Integration Flow Designer or when a map is run using the command server or the Platform API.

4. What is the command server?
Answer: The Command Server is used to develop, test, and execute maps in development environments. It can also be used to execute commands in production environments but a single map at a time.

5. What is Floating Component?
Answer: The floating component represents an object that may appear after any component of the group. An implicit group can have a floating component; an explicit group cannot. If the group is prefix or infix delimited, the floating component appears before the delimiter. If the group is postfix delimited, the floating component appears after the delimiter. A floating component can be an optional component that may appear after any other component. However, it is not included in the component list because it does not appear at a specific location. If a group has a floating component, a component must be distinguishable from a floating component. For example, components and a floating component could start with different initiators.

6. What is Padding or Pad property?
Answer: If the data value to be mapped to the target item is smaller than the minimum length of that item, pad characters are used to pad the data to that minimum length. Input data may contain both content and pad characters. Output data is built according to the pad definitions of the types.

7. What is the use of IFD?
Answer: Use the IFD whenever you have multiple maps to manage within your enterprise. One-click can build or port as many maps as you have defined in any system.

Note You must use the IFD to generate systems if you plan to use the Event Server. The IFD is the client definition facility for the Event Server.

You do not need the IFD if you are using a Command Server. However, you will find it to be useful as a client facility for managing maps that will be run by a Command Server. The IFD generates process control information for Command Servers in the form of command files. Generating these command files manually is tedious and error-prone. Using the IFD eliminates possible manual errors.

8. Working of event server?
Answer: The Event Server runs systems of maps that are created and generated using the Integration Flow Designer (IFD). These systems of maps that are generated specifically to run in the Event Server are called Event Server system files (.msl); sometimes referred to as Event Server control files. When the Event Server starts running, it is initialized with .msl files in the deployment directory.

9. When to use a functional map?
Answer: The use of functional maps is very common. Almost every executable map created will use at least one functional map. To map a group in the input to a different group in the output, use a functional map. For example, use a functional map to map an input row to an output row when the rows are defined differently. Or, use a functional map to map from a file containing many input rows, to generate a file of many output rows with one output row per input row. The first output row would correspond to the first input row, the second output row corresponds to the second input row, and so on.

A map defines how to generate output data. One important factor to consider in determining when to use a functional map is the presence of an output component with a range of more than one. For example, ranges of (s) or (1:10). The number of this output object to be created is based on the number of some input object. Another important factor in determining when to use a functional map is when you want to transform the data – mapping from one or more types to a different type. In the preceding example of the functional map that maps one Message to one row in a database table, the input row and the output row are two different types.

Note Use a functional map when the number of a certain output group that you want to create is based on the occurrences of some input or output data – and the types are different types.

10. What is explicit and implicit?
Answer: A Sequence group has either an Explicit or Implicit format. For example, if each component of a fixed group has a fixed size, the component is distinguished from the next component by its position in the data. Or, a group may have delimiters that appear for missing components. In these cases, the format is apparent; the group has an explicit format.

If a group does not have an explicit format, it has an implicit format. An implicit format relies on the properties of the component types. In this example, the components make some pattern in the data and it is possible to distinguish between them, but the format is not fixed and if delimiters separate components, they do not appear for missing components.

When deciding what format a group has, it may help to ask first whether it is clear where one component ends and another begins. Generally, a group has an explicit format if the position of each component in the data stream is always the same or if a delimiter always marks the place for each component.