Using XML with Legacy Business Applications

Sample Input and Output: Purchase Order

Following through with our simple procurement example, we'll use a purchase order as the sample document. (See Table 7.2 for the layout. Note that the Description column in this table includes a required or optional designation. This is something we'll be concerned about validating when importing into the application but not when we export from it.) We'll have several XML documents representing purchase orders from different customers, each ordering the gourmet hot chocolate mixes. We want to convert the XML documents to CSV format, in a single file, so that we can import them into our desktop bookkeeping and order management system.

Here are three purchase orders that follow this logical organization. ...