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Data fields

Once decided on the way data will be sent, it is important to define a data format specifying which information will be sent and how it will be formatted. Hexon encourages suppliers of inventory management systems to use their own format (unless using the API), for example the native format used by the application. This has two major advantages: there is less work to be done for the supplier (no need to adapt to a foreign format) and no data gets lost in the conversion (because there is none).

A couple of fields are described in the next sections. Please note that not all fields are applicable to all kinds of objects.

Guidelines

Some pointers about data fields in general:

  • Only convert data that consists of internal values. For example if the make of a vehicle is stored as a number (1 being Audi, 2 being BMW, etc.) convert this number to the corresponding label before sending it to DV.
  • If a data field allows for a fixed set of values, for example the type of petrol the engine uses, please document the possible values. The DV system automatically detects new undocumented values, but it takes time to have them properly recognized.
  • If possible, do not combine different types of data into one field. It will be difficult to unfold the data later on.
  • Try to differentiate between unknown values and zero. Should <co2_emissions/> be interpreted as an object with no CO2-emissions or an object with unknown emissions?
  • Be precise. Use precise figures ("1589kg") rather than ranges ("1500-1600kg")
  • Be specific. Use specific terms ("Electrically adjustable rear view mirrors") rather than ambigious terms ("Electric mirrors")
  • Avoid fields that change over time. Instead of sending the age of a vehicle, send the date it was first registered.
  • Document the character encoding used (see the previous sections). There is no need to convert the data to another character encoding, but DV needs to know the correct encoding in order to process the data.
  • There are no mandatory fields. DV only needs the unique identifiers of the advertiser and object in order to refer to it later on. However, the more information given, the more detailed the resulting advertisements will be, and the more often they will end up in search queries.
  • Only make changes to the format after proper communication with Hexon. Hexon needs time to adjust the DV software to the changes.
  • Only use one language, for example English, when naming fields. For field values see below.

How these fields are used

DV tries to advertise as much information about the vehicle as possible, in the best possible way. The way this is done differs per site. Some site have lots of parameters with options for users to filter on, some sites only have a few. They almost always have a description field, which DV uses to list the information that could not be sent in a more structural way. For more information see III.3.5. Description.

Language

The values of text fields, for example the remarks, can be supplied in multiple languages. Using settings, one can change which languages to use when advertising (per site).