The batch we’re developing requires a fixed width input file with different line definitions for each entity.
Eg. the first line defines a family, the second and third line define family members of that family. The family record has different column definitions than the family member records.
I would like to create test cases in something human-readable (even if it has to be Excel) and then convert it to the input file format.
Any suggestions on how this can be done without too much hassle?
XML and XSLT is probably going to be the best options.
You should try that and post question updates if you encounter problems.