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.