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Repository Focus
DEFINITION OF SCOPE:
- The purpose of this Scope Definition document is to establish a framework which will be used to guide discussions
and development efforts by the working group.
- The intent is to refine this framework within the discussion group and then to publish it. While this is primarily
a guide it is anticipated that from time to time the group members may review and amend the scope.
- The moderator for the list is Ron L. Schuldt, please contact him at: RonCals@aol.com
if you have specific questions.
WHAT ARE XML REPOSITORIES?
The combination of XML and EDI semantic foundations, called XML/EDI, will provide a complete framework where
a set of different technologies work together to create a format that is usable by applications as well as humans.
These technologies are XML, EDI, Templates, Agents and Repository.
These components all work together to create an XML framework for business use:
- The XML tags can actually replace existing EDI segments or data-element identifiers, which produces a somewhat
bigger file than an EDI file (before compression), but in which all the labels of the data-elements (in other words
the descriptions or explanations) can optionally be used as XML tag names. The XML DTD (Document Type Definition)
that works with the XML carries the structural information and attribute information from the original EDI transaction
model.
- The repository is a location where shared Internet directories are stored and where users can manually or
automatically look up the meaning and definition of XML/EDI Tags. The repository is in fact the semantic foundation
for the business transactions.
- The templates are essentially rules that determine how the XML files should be interpreted. It can define the
layout of the file and is supplemented by DTDs that enable transaction operability. Templates can be stored in
repositories for global reference.
- The agents can interpret the templates to perform whatever job needs to be done (such as accessing local data
stores), but they can also interact with the transaction and help the user to create new templates for each specific
task.
What makes XML/EDI different from previous initiatives, is that it can use the know-how of business processes
captured in EDI messages. This is then delivered via the Internet and in a Web environment. Thereby the same file
can be viewed by a user in a desktop tool, or can be processed by an application component on a server. One core
concept this enables is that while traditional EDI is "door to door" between business partners, XML/EDI
can flow in through the "door" and be used in multiple locations within organizations.
Comment or vote on the XML Repository Discussion
document
Review a discussion of MOF, OMG and XML and
XMI
See the formal topics for discussion and goals of
the XML Repository Working Group
Sign-up for the XML Repository discussion listserver
Download a discussion
document on UML, Open-edi, and XML/EDI
Return to XML/EDI Repositories
