XML :XML September 23, 2000 IMA Northeast Regional Council Neal Hannon, CMA


What is XML andwhat does it mean toe-commerce? :What is XML andwhat does it mean toe-commerce?


David Turner, Product Manager, Microsoft :David Turner, Product Manager, Microsoft ''The introduction of XML is in many ways like the creation of writing in the evolution of language. People had spoken language for a long period before they got to the point of inventing writing. But as soon as they did, they were able to make huge steps forward.''


Slide 4:“It's just a compromise everyone can live with for structuring data.” XML developer, David Megginson


What is XML? :What is XML? XML means “Extensible Markup Language” extensible - not fixed format like HTML XML is a metalanguage - a language for describing other languages Enables you to define your own customized markup languages for different classes of documents


What is XML? (cont.) :What is XML? (cont.) Abbreviated version of SGML IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Sun all agree: XML is the key to e-business XML enables business application sharing, direct transactions and other business applications.


What is SGML? :What is SGML? SGML is the international standard for defining descriptions of the structure and content of different types of electronic documents A universal language used to describe thousands of different data types


What is HTML? :What is HTML? HTML is HyperText Markup Language, a specific application of SGML used on the World Wide Web A simple, fixed type of document. Markup designed for simple reports with provisions for hypertext links and multimedia


What is XML? (cont.) :What is XML? (cont.) XML: Heir apparent to electronic data interchange (EDI) as primary means for executing business transactions over the internet If XML schemas became widely adapted, data could be extracted from a multitude of similar reports on the net


What is XML? (cont.) :What is XML? (cont.) Report mining (searching for data in a report, applying rules and triggering actions) becomes practical Extensible Forms Definition Language (XFDL) Designed for complex business forms over the Internet


Why is XML used? :Why is XML used? Designed for ease-of-use with Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) Goal is to enable SGML to be served, received and processed beyond what is now possible with HTML


Who is responsible for XML? :Who is responsible for XML? XML is a project of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C); development is supervised by W3C’s XML Working Group Open-Sourced; formal W3C recommendation since Feb. 1998


Why is XML important? :Why is XML important? Removes two constraints holding back Web development: (1) Dependence on a single, inflexible document type - HTML (2) The complexity of full SGML, whose syntax allows many powerful, but hard-to-program, options


Why is XML important?(cont) :Why is XML important?(cont) HTML is at the limit of its usefulness as a way of describing information HTML will continue to play an important role for content Many new applications will require a more robust and flexible infrastructure


Why is XML important?(cont) :Why is XML important?(cont) Information content can be richer and easier to use because the hypertext linking abilities of XML are greater than those of HTML XML supports XLink, XPointer and XPath Enables location of remote resources, anchors and targets, and complex harmonies


XML vs. EDI :XML vs. EDI Electronic Document Interchange (EDI) has been used in e-commerce for many years EDI exchanges documents between commercial partners regarding a transaction EDI requires special proprietary software, but EDI data will soon travel inside XML


XML vs. EDI (cont) :XML vs. EDI (cont) EDI failed to become the universal data description language due to its high cost and complexity, blocking small businesses EDI-to-XML and XML-to-EDI translation is already taking place, ebXML group taking the lead


What does XML mean for e-commerce? (cont) :What does XML mean for e-commerce? (cont) Companies running different accounting and business management applications will exchange documents in a cross-system flow ebXML is mapping business processes to facilitate XML to XML B2B


XML Organizations :XML Organizations Over 250 XML industry efforts documented by Robin Cover at OASIS.org XML.org, XML.com, RossettaNet.org UDDI: Facilities XML to XML exchanges XBRL: The Business Reporting Language