Input File Validation
When TPHs upload files through the CCS application in the firm portal, strict validation checks are applied to validate compliance with all requirements of the input file specification below. For example, expiration dates are required to be provided in YYYY-MM-DD format. A single expiration date among thousands specified in an incorrect format, or representing an invalid date, will cause the upload to fail. TPHs are presented with detailed error messages describing all validation errors contained in an upload (not just the first validation error) facilitating a straightforward process to update the file and re-upload.
Common causes of input file validation errors include the following:
- Invalid expiry date format (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY specified rather than the required YYYY-MM-DD). This is the most common formatting error as input CSV files opened and saved in Excel will convert dates formatted YYYY-MM-DD to MM/DD/YYYY automatically.
- Wrong number of tokens in the header row (i.e., fewer than 11)
- Incorrectly formatted second or third row (typically one too many or one too few consecutive commas)
- Invalid class value - only SPX and SPXW are supported
- Expired options - expiration dates on current or prior date not allowed
- Invalid or nonlisted strike price - only currently listed strikes are allowed
- Null value (consecutive commas) provided where non-null values are required, or vice versa
- Leading, trailing or embedded whitespace
- Invalid floating point value format, such as using parentheses instead of minus sign ( -) to represent negative numbers
- Commas embedded in integer values
- Double-quotes output by some systems to escape values containing commas are not supported
- All zero values provided for close_benefit when opting in for multilateral compression
- No custom risk constraints defined for a multilateral compression submission
- Using Excel can lead to surprising date and numeric format changes when saving .xlsx files to CSV