Properties   Methods   Events   Configuration Settings  

The AS3Sender component implements an AS3 / EDI-INT client.

NOTE: What follows is a very short description of the component interfaces. For more information, please consult the help files that come with the respective package.

Remarks

The AS3Sender component may be used to send EDI or other messages over FTP/S, using the AS3 protocol. It may also be used to verify Message Disposition Notifications (MDNs) returned by the server.

A typical AS3 transaction is as follows:

(1) The sender sends an EDI document to the receiver using FTP. The document may be signed, encrypted, and/or compressed, and a signed or unsigned receipt may be requested.

(2) The receiver decompresses and decrypts the message and verifies the signature.

(3) The receiver sends a signed receipt back to the client. The signature is over the hash of an MDN, which contains a hash of the received message.

When sending an EDI message, the client should specify, at a minimum, AS3From and AS3To, EDIData, and EDIType. You will also need to specify User, Password, and RemoteHost to Logon to the FTP server. After doing this you may send the data by calling Send.

To secure the EDI transmission, the message may be signed and/or encrypted by setting the appropriate certificates. By default, the component will apply message security if the appropriate certificates are specified. To sign the data set SigningCert. To encrypt, set RecipientCert.

SSL may be enabled by setting the SSLStartMode property. In case your trading partner is using a self-signed certificate it will be necessary to set SSLAcceptServerCert or trap the SSLServerAuthentication event to accept the certificate.

The message may also be compressed by setting CompressionFormat.

To request a receipt, or Message Disposition Notification (MDN), simply set the MDNTo property. The MDN will be returned to the FTP URL specified. The MDNOptions property may be used to customize the request. By default, the component will request a signed MDN over an SHA1 hash.

Validating AS3 MDNs

AS3 MDNs will be returned asynchronously over a separate connection. You may verify MDNs by invoking ReadReceipt. This will read the receipt from the FTP server (or from the MDNReceipt property). It will determine the MessageId of the original message and determine the originator and recipient of the MDN.

You should then look up your trading partner's certificates as well as the OriginalContentMIC (which you must store externally to verify signed receipts), and invoke VerifyReceipt.

Property List

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The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AS3From	The identity of the sending system.
AS3To	The identity of the receiving system.
AS3Version	The version of AS3 being used.
Attachments	Collection of files attached to the current message.
CompressionFormat	The compression format (if any) to use.
Connected	Shows whether the component is connected.
EDIData	The EDI or other data to be sent.
EncryptingAlgorithm	The algorithm used to encrypt the EDI data.
Firewall	A set of properties related to firewall access.
FTPCommand	An FTP command to be sent directly to the FTP server.
FTPLastReply	The last reply from the FTP server.
LocalHost	The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted.
LogDirectory	The path to a directory for logging.
LogFile	The log file written.
MDNOptions	Used to indicate the options requested for the MDN receipt.
MDNReceipt	The MDN receipt returned from the server.
MDNTo	The system to which an MDN should be directed.
MessageId	The Id of the message.
OriginalContentMIC	The Message Integrity Check(s) (one-way hash) of the outgoing message.
Passive	Controls whether to direct the server into passive mode. Recommended if behind a firewall.
Password	The password to login with.
ReceiptSignerCert	The public key certificate for the MDN receipt signature.
RecipientCert	The public key certificate of the recipient.
RemoteHost	The domain name or IP address of the FTP server.
RemotePath	The current path in the FTP server.
RemotePort	The port for the FTP service (default is 21).
SigningCert	Contains the certificate to use when signing messages.
SSLAcceptServerCert	Instructs the component to unconditionally accept the server certificate that matches the supplied certificate.
SSLCert	The certificate to be used during ssl negotiation.
SSLServerCert	The server certificate for the last established connection.
SSLStartMode	Determines how the component starts the SSL negotiation. By default, SSL will not be used.
Subject	The subject of the message.
User	The user id to login as.

Method List

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The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Abort	Abort Current Upload/Download.
Config	Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.
DeleteFile	Remove a file specified by FileName from an FTP server.
GetFileSize	Gets the size of a file on the FTP server.
GetFileTime	Gets the last modification time of a file on the FTP server.
ListDirectory	List the current directory on an FTP server.
ListDirectoryLong	List the current directory on an FTP server.
Logoff	Logoff from the FTP server by posting a QUIT command.
Logon	Logon to the FTP RemoteHost using the current User and Password .
ReadReceipt	Reads and parses (but does not verify) an MDN receipt.
Send	Prepares and sends the AS3 message.
VerifyReceipt	Verifies an MDN receipt.

Event List

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The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ConnectionStatus	Fired to indicate changes in connection state.
DirList	Fired when a directory entry is received.
EndTransfer	Fired when a file completes downloading/uploading.
Error	Information about errors during data delivery.
PITrail	Traces the commands sent to the server, and the respective replies.
SSLServerAuthentication	Fired after the server presents its certificate to the client.
SSLStatus	Shows the progress of the secure connection.
StartTransfer	Fired when a file starts downloading/uploading.
Transfer	Fired during file download/upload.

Configuration Settings

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The following is a list of configuration settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

ActiveModePORTAddress	Allows the specification of the PORT address value for active mode connections.
CalculatePercentDone	Enables or Disables calculating the percent complete for downloads.
MaxDirEntries	Instructs component to save the amount of entries specified that are returned by the server after a ListDirectory call has been made.
PortRange	Allows the specification of a port range where the component listens for active mode connections.
UseEPSV	Allows extended passive mode
UseRemoteHostAddressForPassive	Instructs component to use the in passive mode
UseClearChannel	Allows for the Clear Command Channel (CCC) command
UseClearDataChannel	Allows for the PROT C command
UseOldAUTHSSL	Allows use of the 'AUTH SSL' command instead of 'AUTH TLS'.
UseProtWhenImplicit	Sends the PROT P command to the server.
MaxLineLength	The maximum amount of data to accumulate when no EOL is found.
FirewallListener	If true, the component binds to a SOCKS firewall as a server (IPPort only).
CloseStreamAfterTransfer	If true, the component will close the upload or download stream after the transfer.
TcpNoDelay	Whether or not to delay when sending packets
ReuseSSLSession	Determines if the SSL session is reused.
SSLCipherStrength	The minimum cipher strength used for bulk encryption.
SSLEnabledProtocols	Used to enable/disable the supported security protocols.
SSLProvider	The name of the security provider to use.
SSLSecurityFlags	Flags that control certificate verification
OpenSSLCADir	The path to a directory containing CA certificates.
OpenSSLCAFile	Name of the file containing the list of CA's trusted by your application.
OpenSSLCipherList	A string that controls the ciphers to be used by SSL.
OpenSSLPrngSeedData	The data to seed the pseudo random number generator(PRNG).
AbsoluteTimeout	Determines whether timeouts are inactivity timeouts or absolute timeouts.
FirewallData	Used to send extra data to the firewall.
InBufferSize	The size in bytes of the incoming queue of the socket.
OutBufferSize	The size in bytes of the outgoing queue of the socket.
CodePage	The system code page used for Unicode to Multibyte translations (Windows/COM only).