Extracting Base64 images embeded inside XML and Convert it into PDF using Biztalk

Question

Hi,
I'm presently working in a scenario, where we will be getting huge XML Files containing Base64 encoded images. The scenario goes like this :-
1) Client will dump the XML files with embedded Base64 images in a sFTP location.
1) Firstly, we have to extract Base64 encoded images and the metadata from the XML file.
3) Secondly, we need to convert the extracted Base64 encoded image into multiple pdf.
4) Then merge the PDF's into a single file.
5) Then the merge pdf will store to a particular location.
5) It is presume that, the file will be of very big in size ~ 1 GB XML file, so we need to take care of the performance as well.
The sample xml looks like:-
<ns0:tran xmlns:ns0="http://Sample.Schemas.Record_XML">
  <tranheader>
  </tranheader>
  <item>
    <image>
      <frontimage>
        <frontimage> image 1 part 1</frontimage>
      </frontimage>
      <rearimage>
        <rearimage>image 1 part 2</rearimage>
      </rearimage>
      <frontimage>
        <frontimage> image 2 part 1</frontimage>
      </frontimage>
      <rearimage>
        <rearimage>image 2 part 2</rearimage>
      </rearimage>
      <frontimage>
        <frontimage> image 3 part 1</frontimage>
      </frontimage>
      <rearimage>
        <rearimage>image 3 part 2</rearimage>
      </rearimage>
    </image>
  </item>
  <trantrailer>
  </trantrailer>
</ns0:tran>
Thanks & Regards

Answer 1

Do you really need to use BizTalk for this requirement? This can be done better with standard .NET code through a Windows service/schedule task/ if you want to poll,
you can implement file watcher class and poll the file as when it arrive to SFTP folder and convert the image in base64 to PDFs.
Another point, I don’t know why you want to “convert the extracted Base64 encoded
image into multiple pdf” (Point-3) and “Then merge the PDF's into a single file”-
point4. You can create a single PDF file (unless I don’t know the reason for creating separate PDF file and merge it again as single PDF file)
Anyway, if you still need to use BizTalk, you have somes options in general:
Option1:
Receive the message using BizTalk receive location using passthrouhg pipeline at receive end
Create a send port with filter for receive portname. In the send port use a custom send pipeline. In the send pipeline use a custom pipeline component which will extract the base64 content from
the XML file, convert the base64 encoded image as PDF and send the PDF file in the send port level.
Option 2 – this options works better if you have some process based on your
<tranheader> record:
Receive the message using BizTalk receive location using a custom pipeline strip off, decode and store the base64
encoded document in a temporary store (file system). So when the message is published in message box db, the message doesn’t contain the heafty encoded64 data part, message will be light weight when its published into message box.
Process the XML message (without bae64 encoded document) with or without orchestration where you will do processing based on your
<tranheader> record.
In send last moment –at send port level, retrieve the stored file from the
temporary store (file system), convert the image to PDF (i,e, hefty processing like creation of PDFs/merging) can be done at the send pipeline level and send the PDF file
to destination.
Following are the guidelines you should keep in mind if you need to achieve this process in BizTalk:
Try to avoid publishing the hefty message to message box.
Conversion of base64 to PDF can be done only using a .NET code. So your options to do this conversion in BizTalk are either in Receive pipeline/send pipeline/ .NET helper in orchestration.
Try not to use Orchestration as much as possible, because of heavy processing and message transmission is already involved.
Following articles shall help you in this context:
Dealing with base64 encoded XML documents in BizTalk
To convert Base64 to PDF/JPEG using C# code:
TechNet-Wiki Code: Converting Base64 strings
to Bitmap images
Convert Image to Base64 String and Base64
String to Image
Base64 encoding and decoding in .NET
Regards,
M.R.Ashwin Prabhu
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