"The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 develops standards for cross-industry electronic exchange of business information. During the past 20 years, ASC X12 made the first generation of e-commerce standards a reality. Today, more then 300,000 companies have saved billions of dollars and expanded their market reach by incorporating Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) into their business operations and trading partner relationships. Today, ASC X12's members include companies shaping the new global economy and pioneering the next generation of cross-industry, interoperable e-commerce standards. They are leveraging X12's 20+ years of cross-industry standards and semantics development to incorporate XML business syntax, actively participating in key international standards development initiatives, and modeling key business processes within an Internet-based e-commerce environment."
The XML Task Group "is chartered to develop recommendations for the Steering Committee, in conjunction with the X12 subcommittees, on XML. All plans and actions of the Task Group are subject to review and approval by the ASC X12 Steering Committee. The Group (1) Develops a framework for common approaches to XML and EDI development within X12. (2) Serves as the focal point within X12 on XML issues. (3) Develops recommendations for the Steering Committee, in conjunction with the ASC X12 subcommittees, on XML. (4) Proposes policies and procedures that relate to X12 and XML, in collaboration with the Policies & Procedures Task Group. (5) Provides recommendations to the Steering Committee for interaction with external XML groups."
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) chartered the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 in 1979 "to develop uniform standards for interindustry electronic interchange of business transactions -- electronic data interchange (EDI)." DISA (the Data Interchange Standards Association) was chartered by ANSI as a non-profit in 1987 to provide the X12 support for its national standardization efforts. In an X12 C Subcommittee Meeting (Communications & Controls Subcommittee, 2/3/98 - 2/5/98) it was determined that "XML may be the means to bridge EDI into Internet Electronic Commerce, by making the existing EDI knowledge base more palatable to the Internet EC developers. Because of this, CommerceNet Consortium, XML/EDI Group and ANSI ASC X12 have entered into a joint project to investigate how to translate ANSI ASC X12 data elements, segments and transactions into XML. The output of the investigation is at least three documents: 1) a FAQ, 2) recommendations and 3) a tutorial." [The ability to define data elements] "on a document by document, application by application, industry by industry or on a global basis allows a great amount of flexibility in identifying data, and allows XML to mimic other existing proprietary or standard data formats, yet do them in a manner that makes the data more easily transferred between application formats. Much of what today's EDI translators have to know can be retained in the XML format (DTDs) so that off-the-shelf XML tools can interpret the data structure, bypassing the need for complex applications-specific translators." Work is thus underway "to map the X12 and CEFACT data elements to XML documents, [through] the joint CommerceNet / X12 EDI/XML Workgroup formally chartered to develop the X12 to XML Data mapping and to move the existing X12 and CEFACT data dictionary to Internet."
References:
ANSI ASC X12/XML FAQ Sheet - Draft Version 0.2. [local archive copy]
[March 07, 2003] "ASC X12 Defines 2003 Strategic Direction, Develops New EDI Messages in X12 and XML Formats." - "The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 approved a strategic direction that embraces collaboration with domestic and international organizations while continuing to forge ahead to ensure ASC X12 member companies' electronic data interchange (EDI) requirements are met. ASC X12 committed in its new strategy to continue to clarify its message design architecture, XML schema syntax and XML design rules and guidelines. ASC X12 also intends to harmonize X12 XML business messages with UN/CEFACT's approach. The Committee will engage other organizations that are developing XML based business messages to incorporate the broadest possible representation of business needs and technical considerations. This strategy was finalized at the most recent ASC X12 meeting, Feb. 2-7, [2003] in Denver. As ASC X12 expands its reach to industries using EDI in a variety of formats, the Utility Industry Group and representatives from leading energy and utility companies are creating a charter and work plan for a new Subcommittee within ASC X12. Subject to approval by the ASC X12 membership, it is anticipated that this new Subcommittee will be formed officially this June at the next ASC X12 meeting in Nashville. A new Subcommittee will enable energy and utility companies from around the world to standardize their EDI transaction sets in X12 and XML formats. ASC X12 also continued to refine its draft X12 XML Design Rules, which will likely be approved this summer once the ASC X12 technical group deems them stable. Currently, ASC X12 members are using the draft XML Design Rules in their XML business message development initiatives to ensure the rules fulfill their organization's business message requirements... Two new EDI transaction sets were approved at the ASC X12 meeting in Denver: They include Equipment Inspection Report Transaction Set 228 and Implementation Acknowledgement Transaction Set 999. Developed by the ASC X12 Transportation Subcommittee, TS 228 can be used by transportation carriers to provide equipment owners with equipment inspection activity results. In addition, it can convey information regarding any damage to and repair of the equipment. Developed by the ASC X12 Communications & Controls Subcommittee, TS 999 is based upon a full or implemented subset of X12 transaction sets. The next ASC X12 publication - Version 4, Release 6, Subrelease 1 - includes 318 EDI transaction sets and will be available in March 2003..."
[January 22, 2003] "ASC X12 and HR-XML Collaborate to Develop Common Data Standards in XML Formats." - "The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 and the Human Resources XML (HR-XML) Consortium announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on data standards development for the human resources and insurance/health care industries. HR-XML brings a wealth of XML vocabulary expertise from all aspects of the human resources industry while ASC X12 is a cross-industry standards body with more than 300 plus EDI transactions sets implemented around the world. The first area of mutual interest HR-XML and ASC X12 will focus on is data standards development in the benefits enrollment arena. Together, they will work to develop an XML version of X12 transaction set 834 Benefit Enrollment and Maintenance and any other related EDI transaction sets. In addition to joint development of this XML message, HR-XML and ASC X12 will identify and exchange best practices as the industries the respective organizations represent often share trading partners and the goal to streamline information flow. 'We are delighted to join forces with the HR-XML to leverage our respective expertise and develop XML business message standards that can improve efficiencies across human resources and insurance industries,' said ASC X12 Chair David Barkley of Freddie Mac. 'This strategic relationship advances ASC X12's vision of collaborating with organizations to build the best of breed XML business message standards for the global marketplace'..."
[November 19, 2002] "ASC X12 Reference Model For XML Design." From ASC X12C Communications and Controls Subcommittee. [And from] Data Interchange Standards Association, Inc. (DISA). Technical Report Type II. ASC X12C/2002-61. [X12, X12C - Communications & Controls.] October 2002. 112 pages. With Executive Summary. "This Reference Model was motivated by the action item that X12's Communications and Controls Subcommittee (X12C) took at the August 2001 XML Summit to develop "draft design rules for ASC X12 XML Business Document development". Acting on that action item, X12C's EDI Architecture Task Group (X12C/TG3) determined that XML design rules could not be developed without a basis for determining which XML features to use and how to use them. Thus the group also set about developing a philosophical foundation and putting forth some general design principles. This Reference Model covers those topics in addition to a preliminary set of design rules. The approach discussed herein is a work in progress. It is intended to be the foundation for X12's future XML development, and will become the basis for XML equivalents to the X12 syntax based X12.6 and X12.59, and XML Design Rules. It is consistent with the decisions of X12's Steering Committee to develop its XML work within the ebXML framework..." The purpose of the document is to specify an approach to eBusiness messaging that: (1) links implementation with the standards, (2) enables cross industry differentiation, and 3) supports industry needed 'quick' solutions. The scope of the document includes: a granularity model, an architecture, meta data for storing architecture components and XML Syntax design with approaches to implementing XML syntax. The intended audience of this document is the X12 committee and others who are interested in collaborating with X12 in developing XML schemas for business documents. However, the broader initiative is aimed at a much larger audience. The X12 XML initiative is targeted at every sector of the business community, from international conglomerates to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in business-to-business (B2B), business-toconsumer (B2C) and application-to-application (A2A) trade. With that audience in mind, the X12 XML initiative is committed to developing and delivering products that will be used by all trading partners interested in maximizing XML interoperability within and across trading partner communities..." See also the 3-page CICA Executive Summary ['Context Inspired Component Architecture']. A related posting from David Barkley (ASC X12 Chair) to Margaret Pemberton and Mark Crawford identified the ASC X12 Reference Model for XML Design as a "formal contribution to the UN/CEFACT ATG XML message design efforts."
[June 20, 2002] "ANSI ASC X12 Develops New XML and EDI Transactions for Finance, Government, Mortgage and Transportation Industries." - "ANSI Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 members recently finished drafts for the following Extensible Markup Language (XML) standards: the Product Delivery Invoice created for use in the financial industry and the Status Notification, which allows a transportation carrier to send the status of a shipment to a shipper, consignee or third party. A formal member review of these new standards is slated for August 2002. Committee members are also embarking on the following new project proposals submitted at the most recent ASC X12 Meeting June 2-7 to: (1) Elevate the ASC X12 Reference Model for XML Design to an official X12 standard; (2) Create a specific set of XML Design Rules equivalent to the X12 Design Rules and Guidelines; (3) Create the X12 XML Syntax Standard. The following new transaction sets (TS) will be published in the next ASC X12 Version 4, Release 5, Subrelease 2, which includes 316 TSs and will be available in August 2002. [1] Residential Mortgage Insurance Explanation of Benefits (TS 259) - developed by the ASC X12 Finance Subcommittee - transmits the results of a claim for mortgage insurance benefits between a mortgage insurer and the customer receiving the financial benefit. This TS will be used for transmitting the results of both pool and primary mortgage insurance claims. [2] Tax Jurisdiction Sourcing (TS 158) - developed by the ASC X12 Government Subcommittee - transmits any address in the U.S. Postal Service format from a wireless telecommunications vendor to the tax jurisdiction sourcing information holder for the state in which the address resides. In exchange, the wireless service provider receives the set of taxing jurisdictions having governance over the address in question. This TS meets the requirements of the 2000 Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (MTSA), which provides the industry with a method of determining the correct taxing jurisdictions for wireless service..."
[June 18, 2002] "ANSI ASC X12's Convergence and Outreach Task Group Addresses Universal Interoperability." - "With the goal of understanding and enabling universal interoperability in Extensible Markup Language (XML), the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 Convergence and Outreach Task Group (COTG) met recently with numerous industry group representatives to speed development, harmonization and implementation of XML standards and specifications used for business exchange within and across industries. The ASC X12 COTG met with organizations such as the OASIS Universal Business Language Technical Committee, the Interactive Financial eXchange Forum, the North American Energy Standards Board, and many others during the dynamic ASC X12 meeting June 2-7 [2002] in Minneapolis. 'The discussions from the variety of groups defining XML vocabularies for their industries highlighted the very challenging goal of universal interoperability,' said ASC X12 COTG Chair Karen Raper of LittleSys Inc. 'ASC X12 has a long standing commitment to cross-industry interoperability in EDI [electronic data interchange]. We must honor and maintain that commitment as we proceed with our XML standards work. By collaborating with groups external to ASC X12 as a union of equals, together we can leverage all our work to address and resolve the issues that prevent cross-industry implementations of XML. We look forward to participating with those who joined us in Minneapolis, as well as many others who seek cross-industry interoperability.' Offering a place for global XML convergence and interoperability, ASC X12 COTG serves as a point of entry and outreach for organizations developing business message specifications for their industries. The COTG will continue this essential work over the summer via listserve discussions and teleconferences." To join the COTG listserve, subscribe via the forms interface.
[March 21, 2002] "ASC X12 Reference Model for XML Design Rules." Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 and DISA. Version 0.4. Draft. February 25, 2002. 74 pages. ['This paper was motivated by the action item that X12's Communications and Controls subcommittee (X12C) took at the August 2001 XML Summit to develop 'draft design rules for ASC X12 XML Business Document development'. Acting on that action item, X12C's EDI Architecture Task Group (X12C/TG3) determined that XML design rules could not be developed in a vacuum, without a basis for determining which XML features to use and how to use them. Thus the group also set about developing a philosophical foundation and putting forth some general design principals. This Reference Model covers those topics in addition to a preliminary set of design rules. The approach discussed herein is intended to be the foundation for X12's future XML development. It is consistent with the decisions of X12's Steering Committee to develop its XML work within the ebXML framework. We expect it to undergo further refinement as the work progresses from its current status as a Task Group Reference Model to a full X12 standard.'] "This Reference Model addresses the semantic and syntactic representation of data assembled into business messages. The semantic representation defines an overall architectural model and refines the model to an abstract level of detail sufficient to guide the message development process. The syntactic representation utilizes features of the target syntax, while imposing semantic-to-syntax mapping rules and syntax constraints intended to simplify the task of interfacing business messages to business information systems and processes. The large-scale structure of this architecture has five discrete levels of granularity. Each level builds on the levels below it in manners particular to their differing natures. The five levels are: (1) Template; (2) Module; (3) Assembly; (4) Block; (5) Component. The first two levels, Template and Module, provide features that promote interoperability between national cross-industry standards and proprietary user communities. The remaining three levels, Assembly, Block, and Component have characteristics expressly designed around a rational semantic model for granularity. Specifications of optionality and repetition are supported for all levels with the exception of the Template level. Special attention has been paid to the differing needs of senders and receivers in expressing the use of optionality and repetition required by their particular business practices. The five-level structure of this architecture is designed to provide useful granularity, while at the same time preserving a useful semantic clarity. Design rules come in two basic forms: [1] Syntactic, and [2] Semantic. An example of a syntactic design rule in X12 would be the basic data types, i.e. alphanumeric, date, etc. An example of a semantic design rule in X12 would be the general prohibition against duplication. These two aspects of design cannot stand alone. The existing X12 design rules are a direct outgrowth of the particular X12 syntax and the history that created it. For the ASC X12 XML Reference Model, a semantic design approach has been selected, breaking the EDI lexicon into units for re-use. This approach has some pitfalls that result from a decomposition of EDI issues using only syntax as a guide... A primary requirement for this effort has been to meet a need first expressed at the first XML Summit in August 2001. This was a desire for non-X12 participants to contribute and make use of X12 work but in a manner that didn't require an all-or-nothing commitment to either the X12 process or X12 conclusions in every detail. The top two layers, Template and Modules, directly support this need. An external entity, corporation, organization, or individual can contribute fully-constructed Modules that fit into a Template." [cache]
[July 23, 2001] "DISA Launches Free News Wire Service: E-Business Standards Today." - "To help business and technical professionals navigate and better understand the confusing landscape [of e-business standards], the Data Interchange Standards Association announces E-Business Standards Today, a daily news wire and weekly newsletter devoted to developments related to standards in e-business. Every business day, E-Business Standards Today chronicles information on changes in communications infrastructures, additions to Internet or XML standards, new industry vocabularies, developments involving business consortia and their use of e-business, and reports of research on the use of technologies and best practices related to e-business. DISA posts the daily newswire at www.disa.org/dailywire. Members of the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 or DISA's affiliated industry groups may also subscribe to a free weekly newsletter distributed by e-mail that compiles the week's developments. DISA staffer Alan Kotok, a veteran reporter and writer on e-business, serves as editor of the daily wire and weekly newsletter. Kotok prepares the copy directly in XML, using the News Industry Text Format, a publishing industry vocabulary for news copy. DISA also maintains the news database in XML. As the co-author of a new book coming this August from New Riders Publishing - ebXML: The New Global Standard for Doing Business on the Internet - Kotok's expertise provides clarity to the multifaceted e-business standards environment. DISA is home for ASC X12 and industry groups developing cross-industry e-business standards that provide the foundation enabling individuals and organizations to participate in global e-business. Driving an array of e-business initiatives, DISA provides technical and administrative support to its affiliated organizations..."
[October 25, 2000] "ASC X12 Agrees to Jointly Develop Business XML." - "ASC X12 Committee continued their focus on improving business-to-business communications across industries by voting at their October meeting to develop accredited cross-industry business standards based on the Extensible Markup Language or XML. This respected standards body, accredited by American National Standards Institute (ANSI), will prepare these new standards based on the emerging Electronic Business XML (ebXML) initiative. 'This expansive ASC X12 standards-setting initiative will make possible for a factory in Toledo to send electronic orders over the Web to customers in Sao Paulo or Stuttgart, just like they send them to Dearborn or St. Louis,' says David Barkley, chair of the X12 Committee. Barkley adds, 'By working together with our EWG partners and basing the effort on ebXML, we can reach our goal of a unified business message standard.' X12 also agreed to join forces with the UN/EDIFACT Working Group (EWG) for the definition and validation of a set of protocol-neutral electronic business objects valid within both the UN/EDIFACT and the X12 business processes. This single set of business objects would be the basis for future developments with new and emerging technologies, and would be submitted for inclusion into the UN/CEFACT and OASIS ebXML initiative. To further underscore their commitment to a unified business message standard, X12 also agreed to appoint committee spokespersons for ebXML technical specifications efforts. Building on two decades of experience defining business communications syntax and transaction sets, ASC X12 will be helping to define business processes and modeling using core business objects via XML. Building on the framework in the international arena, X12 will be working to help formalize the modeling process. The ebXML initiative is a worldwide effort to develop a common framework for using XML for business messages. A critical part of the initiative combines a definition of business processes with an identification of common or core components used in most business messages. The XML standards proposed by X12 will be based on ebXML recommendations. ASC X12, comprised of cross-industry representation, develops the most widely used EDI standards that interact with a multitude of e-commerce technologies and serves as the premier tool for integrating electronic applications. Through standards setting and active participation in emerging and technically relevant initiatives, ASC X12 facilitates the effective exchange of electronic information. DISA, the association driving global e-business, is the leading provider of educational and networking forums on the booming digital marketplace. DISA also provides technical and management services to standards and XML specification development organizations, including ASC X12, the OpenTravel Alliance, the Interactive Financial Exchange Forum, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, Open Philanthropy Exchange, and the XML/EDI Group. DISA's affiliation with the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association, EC User Groups and emerging initiatives around the world facilitates an interchange of e-commerce development in the marketplace."
[March 09, 2000] "X12 Committee Energizes Digital Marketplace Complementary EDI and XML Initiatives Support Broad Base of Users." - "As a key player in the development of the electronic economy, the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 is accelerating its processes, expanding its reach to include extensible markup language (XML) and object oriented electronic data interchange (OO-EDI) and collaborating with related standards development initiatives. ASC X12's collaborative efforts with e-commerce organizations will help support the requirements of a broad base of users by bringing together the EDI foundation with XML development. To accomplish these objectives, the committee focused at its recent ASC X12 meeting on refining the goals of the newly created XML Task Group, which is charged with providing X12 input into complementary XML initiatives. This dynamic group covers the breadth of XML technical work and facilitates a forum for industry experts to address similar initiatives. In a parallel move, the X12 Committee actively participates in and formally endorses the Electronic Business XML (ebXML) initiative, which is working to provide an open XML-based infrastructure enabling the global use of electronic business information in an interoperable, secure and consistent manner by all involved parties. ASC X12 will pursue its XML development efforts within the framework being defined by ebXML. Furthermore, the committee encourages XML education and the development of emerging business requirements. ASC X12, comprised of cross-industry representation, delivers the most widely implemented EDI standards that interact with a multitude of e-commerce technologies and serves as the premier source for integrating electronic applications. Through the X12 Committee's standards and active participation in emerging and technically relevant initiatives, ASC X12 links together multiple industries and sets the norm for a more effective exchange of information. To learn more about ASC X12, visit www.x12.org. The Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA), a Virginia-based not-for-profit association, is the leading provider of educational and networking forums on e-business. Promoting e-commerce in a global marketplace, DISA provides technical and management services to standards and XML specification development organizations, including ASC X12, the OpenTravel Alliance, the Interactive Financial Exchange Forum, the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, and the XML/EDI Group."
[February 04, 2000] "Data Interchange Standards Association Becomes New Host Of XML/EDI Group." - "The XML/EDI Group, the largest grass-roots organization advocating the Extensible Markup Language (XML) for business exchanges over the Internet, has joined with the Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA) for management of its business and technical services. The XML/EDI Group and DISA made the announcement today at the Electronic Business XML (ebXML) meeting in Orlando, Fla. The XML/EDI Group becomes the latest client of DISA's rapidly growing Collaborative Services Division. Like other Collaborative Services clients, DISA will host the XML/EDI Group's web site and e-mail discussion list, as well as provide a venue for regular meetings of the group. DISA will also provide the XML/EDI Group with publishing and administrative services. The XML/EDI Group began in July 1997 as an ad hoc collection of a few professionals and volunteers in various industries dedicated to promoting and guiding the future of XML standards and products applied to electronic data interchange (EDI). The Group has grown to about 1,700 members focusing on the technology of incorporating XML with e-business particularly for smaller enterprises that have not before been able to use EDI. The XML/EDI Group has a popular e-mail discussion list that generates a continuous flow of serious yet lively exchanges on XML technology for e-business. The Group has written guidelines for XML's use with EDI and proposed specifications for repositories of XML/EDI specifications used by industry groups. The Group's activities have encouraged development of e-business standards in both North America and Europe where the group has active chapters. DISA, a Virginia-based not-for-profit association, is the leading provider of educational and networking forums on e-business. Promoting e-commerce in a global marketplace, DISA provides technical and management services to standards and XML specification development organizations, including the OpenTravel Alliance, the Interactive Financial Exchange Forum, Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, the XML/EDI Group, and the Accredited Standards Committee X12. DISA's affiliation with EC User Groups and emerging initiatives around the world facilitates an interchange of e-commerce topics hitting the marketplace. In other international arenas, DISA and ASC X12 serve as the entry point for the United States into the United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT), an international standard relating to the exchange of trade goods and services."
[November 17, 1999] "DISA Expands Role to Include XML, Broader E-Commerce Arena. New Collaborative Services Initiative Ensures DISA's Role in XML And Internet Technology Development." - "Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA) launched the Collaborative Services initiative that expands the association's reach to extensible markup language (XML) and Internet technology development. Embracing an innovative dynamic that is continually evolving, DISA is working on developing XML specifications with a wide array of organizations, including OpenTravel Alliance (OTA), Interactive Financial Exchange (IFX) Forum, and Mortgage Bankers Association of America's (MBA) Mortgage Industry Data Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) initiatives. Other DISA partnerships, such as BizTalk, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), and the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, are also crafting XML and Internet-related technologies. DISA offers today's organization a constellation of separate services that together provide a comprehensive package for every e-business initiative, including XML and Internet technologies. Favored for its professionalism and international recognition, DISA covers everything from managing membership administration to providing information technology services. DISA is devoted to offering the finest in collaborative services, including: (1) Standards development operations; (2) Membership development; (3) Standards database publishing; (4) Meetings logistics; (5) Marketing and communications; (6) Educational seminars."
[October 18, 1999] "ASC X12 Publishes Technical Report Representing X12 Semantics in XML Format Rising interest in XML initiatives prompts X12 to form XML group and endorse ebXML project." - "The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 embarked on an array of initiatives to express X12 semantics in eXtensible markup language (XML) syntax. At the recent ASC X12 meeting in Orlando, FL, October 3-8, 1999, X12's Communications and Controls Subcommittee approved for publication a technical report designed to provide an experimental representation of X12 semantics in XML syntax. In an equally substantive move, X12 formed a steering committee task group charged with drafting policies and procedures that relate to X12 and XML, serving as a liaison to other XML groups and creating common approaches for XML/electronic data interchange (EDI) development within X12. Additionally, ASC X12 members endorsed the efforts of the ebXML work group, formed by the United Nations Centre for the Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/CEFACT) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). As a contribution to ebXML endeavors, X12 Committee representatives submitted the technical report on XML and X12 to the newly formed ebXML work group. Several X12 members plan to participate in ebXML efforts to define the technical basis for standardizing the global implementation of XML."
SITG - The X12 strategic implementation task group.
"ASC X12 Eyes Potential Synergy of XML and EDI." - Press release. See also the PDF version.
X12 C Subcommittee Meeting - decisions on XML
[March 11, 1999] "Update on X12-XML Initiative. ASC X12 on the Brink of Completing X12-XML Technical Report."
"XML Global Alignment. International Cooperation Set to Enable Global XML Use." Press release. - "Electronic business standards organizations [DISA, XML/EDI Group, GCARI - Graphic Communications Association Research Institute] align to globally enable Extensible Markup Language (XML) use for business-to-business communication by providing a common framework for interchanging 'document structure grammars' between trading partners." [local archive copy]
