[November 11, 1998] Marshall Industries has announced a new initiative called ECMData designed to "enable the automatic retrieval, indexing, and cataloging of electronic manufacturers' data sheets and technical papers over the Internet." ECMData (Electronic Component Manufacturer Data Sheet Inventory Specification) is a proposed standard that would use XML as the principal document format, as docmented in the Electronic Component Manufacturer Datasheet Library DTD. Related standards are planned for parametric part information (ECMparameter) and standard pricing information (ECMprice).
"Marshall Industries is among the largest global distributors of industrial electronic components and production supplies. Major products include semiconductors, connectors, passive components, computer systems and peripherals, production supplies, tool kits, test equipment and workstations."
[January 13, 1999] On January 12, 1999, Andy Brown (Internet Projects Manager, Marshall Industries) posted an announcement indicating that the ECMdata XML specification has been updated to version 0.9. The proposed Electronic Component Manufacturer Data Sheet Library Specification - ECMData would create a standard to "enable the automatic retrieval, indexing, and cataloging of electronic component manufacturers' data sheets and contents of those datasheets." The 'ecmdata.dtd' is a simple XML DTD for exposing datasheet libraries on websites for the automation of indexing and linking datasheets to part numbers or series. The revised version of the XML model and DTD specifications have been made available, are open for discussion.
References:
ECMData Summary. Contains the 0.9 DTD. Revision 0.9 or later, 1999-01-12.
ECMDL DTD - Electronic Component Manufacturer Datasheet Library. November 19, 1998. [local archive copy]
Electronic Component Manufacturer Data Sheet Inventory Specification - ECMData. Basic Information
Press Release: "Marshall Announces Initiative for Datasheet Link Automation."; [local archive copy]
