Peter, Thank you for stating this thumbnail so eloquently.
EXACTLY!!! This is right on with what ebXML is moving to achieve - using the Registry to store the central published artifacts. Then the Core Component and Realization work provides a common format to express semantics, and then the AssemblyDoc work provides a neutral way of expressing both the structure and the context rules. Notice EDI uses paper MIG's to do this last piece, while DTD's and Schema fail completely to provide mechanisms. A DTD or Schema is the complete set of ALL possible combinations of structure you may receive (for an EDI 850 - that's 1,000's of possible combo's!!) and thats the issue. Where as for your business process and trading partner you want to define the one-and-only-one structure you've agreed to use. Then as you note - you can apply your middleware of choice to complete the movement of the information. The business process definition states the steps and remedial actions necessary to complete the formal process electronically. This is what ebXML is providing here in phase 2 of the specifications. We're not quite there yet with all of this - right now there are partial pieces - but by this time next year - we will be. Thanks, DW. ===================================== Message text written by OLIVOLA Peter > Okay, trying to keep this to a discussion of technique, I would have envisioned a loosely coupled architecture being adopted intra--organization that allowed anyone to generate a DTD/schema with only the need to agree on terms. The DTD/schema repository is available to all to define source/definition formats for mapping any document. They don't have to be one "standard." They don't have to be a standard at all as long as there is a DTD or schema in the repository. Each application is responsible for its own data format and any it chooses to publish. Using middleware, even traditional EDI tools, would provide a mechanism for mapping from any format to any other format as needed by each application. If, for instance, inbound X12 data is needed by several applications the EDI tool can either map to a published format all systems can use or map to separate formats according to individual application DTD/schemas. < ------ XML/edi Group Discussion List ------ Homepage = http://www.XMLedi-Group.org Unsubscribe = send email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Leave the subject and body of the message blank Questions/requests: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To receive only one message per day (digest format) send the following message to [EMAIL PROTECTED], (leave the subject line blank) digest xmledi-group your-email-address To join the XML/edi Group complete the form located at: http://www.xmledi-group.org/xmledigroup/mail1.htm
