The Import/Export Process

The following diagram shows the flow of data when importing content into or exporting data out of an Escenic publication:

The Content Engine provides an import service that can import syndication format files, and an export service that can export syndication files. These are the central functions of the Content Engine's syndication subsystem.

However, in order to import data from another system, it is usually necessary to convert content from some external format (the source system's export format, for example) to the Escenic syndication format. Similarly, when exporting data to another system, you will usually need to convert the exported syndication files to some other format understood by the external system. The syndication subsystem therefore also provides you with a means to include such conversions as automatic steps in the import and export tasks you define.

When defining an import task, for example, you can specify a Filter through which external data is to be piped before it is submitted for import. A Filter is a chain of XSL transformations that you can define to convert data from an external XML format to Escenic syndication format. For further information, see Configuring Filters. You can also implement your own StreamFilter classes for incorporating the automated extraction of metadata from binary files such as images into the import process. For further information, see Configuring Prefilters.

Similarly, when defining an export task, you can define XSL transformations for converting exported syndication files to the required external format. For further information, see Export Task Configuration Files.