Computing 205/406 & IT8
Tutorial #19
- What is Electronic Data Interchange? How is it different to the
Internet and Unix electronic mail facilities you have used?
- Describe three (or more) advantages of using EDI compared to manual
systems. Do any of these seem more important than others?
- Describe the three key components of an EDI system. Are all three of
these necessarily going to be required in every EDI implementation?
- What is the significance of each of the X.12 and EDIFACT standards for
EDI?
- Comment on the EDIFACT message structure.
- In slide 7 of today's lecture, some
security concerns regarding EDI were
presented. Are there simple answers to any of these? Discuss.
- Virtually all small businesses now have a FAX machine. If such a
business wishes to work with a larger (EDI-capable) organisation, can
the FAX facility be utilised as a first step towards EDI? Does this
represent any gain for the larger organisation over manual methods?
- (Philosophical question) The emergence of the Internet has changed
the way in which many businesses do their computer networking.
Discuss the options for EDI in the Internet context. In particular, in
what ways do you think encryption will need to be used? Also: are
there likely to be cost benefits from using the Internet instead of a
proprietory EDI service?
Practical exercises:
- Are you aware of any local businesses who use EDI on a regular basis?
What have their experiences been? Is it worth the effort?
- Use the Web to try and find some more information on the EDIFACT
standards. Can you discover more details of the EDIFACT message
structure?
- What can you find out about EDICA using the Web?
This tutorial is also available in PostScript format.
Phil Scott