Information Systems:Exploring TLAForm as an alternative to JetForm

Background

The ERP generates documents like invoices, purchase orders and statements (statement of account). These documents are in "raw" form coming from the system, and it is usually left to a third-party software to transform raw spooled output into visually appealing paper or electronic forms, as well as distribute them via various means e.g. email, fax etc. JetForm is this product. Despite its function being an important one in any ERP system, there do not seem to exist functionally equivalent alternatives (software that not only achieves the same result but also operate similarly on a technical level) in the market. So far, the two closest have been:

• DocPath/DocOrigin - Almost exactly like JetForm, mostly because it is JetForm i.e. the original creators sold JetForm to Adobe, and many years later re-wrote it to do the same thing under a different name.
• Adobe Forms - Adobe purchased JetForm and for some years maintained its core functionality, but since then have rewritten it enough that it no longer operates the same way as JetForm.

A separate class of software exists that may work as a JetForm alternative, especially considering uniPHARM's simpler document transformation/distribution needs. Of this class, the product TLAForm is being explored with sample spool file output from the DC1 upgrade project.

Form overlay vs Data stream

For the sake of simplicity, JetForm will be referred to here as a "data stream" type of program, while TLAForm is a "form overlay" program. Both function to produce forms from spool output, and distribute them. The differences are outlined below.

Form overlay method

• Takes a spool file and treats it as an image of sorts, where zones on the page are identified and mapped to certain pieces of information. For example, the customer number is mapped to a position 20 characters down and 30 characters to the right of the top left of the page, in a field 5 characters long.
• The basic principle is that data will always be found in the same area on the page, so this area can be treated as a zone that can be excised and rearranged/transformed. The contents of the zone can also be extracted as text data.
• The term "form overlay" seems to suggest that a template image is superimposed upon - or overlaid on - the spool file. While this can also be done, it is more elegant extracting zones of the page as blocks of content and assembling a page with them.

Data stream method

• With the Jetform method, the program generating the spool file (i.e. invoice generation program), must be altered. Rather than produce the default spool file, the data is sent in a "marked up" form i.e. like the X12 EDI format, XML, HTML etc. The resulting file is not meant to be human-readable, but instead is a "data stream" to a receiving process i.e. the JetForm server.
• The advantage to doing it this way is the precision that comes with sending the metadata along with the data. Every field is qualified - there is no ambiguity.