Batch API

Before you can perform any searches with the Batch API, you need to specify how and where Batch API will search for input addresses and the format in which output addresses are returned.

Batch API bases these processing decisions on a configuration (INI) file. This file contains many default settings which govern the basic processing that Batch API does and allows you to define options such as the dataset(s) you search in, cleaning options, and how the output address should look.

The configuration file which contains these settings by default is called qaworld.ini. Within this file, configuration information is stored within layouts. You can create multiple layouts within this configuration file, to encapsulate several different processing options and address formats.

However, if you would prefer to store layout information separately from other global settings, you should do so within a new INI file (custom.ini, for example) and specify its name in your call to QABatchWV_Open.

The default handling of custom INI files is to only load the output formatting settings. It is possible to start Batch API in Session Mode by using the qabwvflags_SESSION flag in QABatchWV_Startup. In Session Mode all layout settings will be loaded from the custom INI file.

In addition to layout settings, the file qawserve.ini contains settings pertaining to the installed datasets. This file is automatically used when the API is initialized. You should not rename it, move it, or attempt to call it with any of the API functions

Configuring Batch API

There are three steps to configuring the Batch API process:

1. Ensure that one or more datasets have been installed to the required location.
2. Specify which of these datasets should be used in address matching, and how the matching process should proceed.
3. Give Batch API a format in which to return matched addresses.

The first step involves checking settings in qawserve.ini. The remaining two steps require you to specify keyword values in qaworld.ini.