If you are using Chameleon to parse HL7 messages, you can create the following Python scripts:

• The Global Inbound Script, which is executed before parsing begins;
• The Segment Inbound Scripts, which manipulate segment field data;
• The Table Inbound Scripts, which manipulate table column data;
• The Global Inbound Parse-complete Script, which is executed after all table inbound scripts have been performed, but before table data is inserted into the database;
• The Global Inbound Post Process Script, which is executed after the message data is placed into table objects.

	Iguana Users If you are using Iguana to develop your application, you need Chameleon to create the Message Definition File (VMD) file that handles the HL7 message parsing. You can use the Python scripts described in this section to edit the message data as it is parsed.

Here is a diagram that shows the order in which these scripts are executed:

The following sections describe these scripts in more detail.

	As the diagram shows, segment validation rules are executed in the same phase of the execution process as segment inbound scripts. For more information on segment validation, see Validation.