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XML and Web Services In The News - 29 March 2006
Provided by OASIS |
Edited by Robin Cover
This issue of XML.org Daily Newslink is sponsored by SAP
HEADLINES:
New W3C Working Draft: Disposition of Names in an XML Namespace
Norman Walsh (ed), W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG)
W3C has announced that its Technical Architecture Group (TAG) has
released the First Public Working Draft of "The Disposition of Names
in an XML Namespace." The document represents an approved finding
of the W3C TAG. It addresses the question of whether or not adding new
names to a (published) namespace is a sound practice. Namespaces are a
mechanism for managing names in a distributed way that greatly reduces
the likelihood that two independent parties will create the same name
for different purposes. An XML namespace has a namespace name (a URI)
and a set of local names (NCNames as defined in the W3C XML Namespaces
Recommendation). Using a URI leverages the well-understood URI
allocation mechanisms of "Architecture of the World Wide Web, Volume 1."
The XML Namespaces Recommendation defines a syntactic shorthand for the
combination of a namespace name and a local name: the qualified name,
or 'QName'. Namespaces, originally designed to provide names for XML
elements and attributes, have been adopted much more broadly by the
web community. They are now used not simply for elements and attributes
but for function names, tokens, and identifiers for ever more purposes.
The new working draft concludes that the following good practice
applies: "Specifications that define namespaces SHOULD explicitly state
their policy with respect to changes in the names defined in that
namespace." The Web Architecture document recommends that if a
namespace document is provided, the namespace change policy SHOULD be
stated in that namespace document.
See also: XML Namespaces references
Understanding XForms: The Model
Kurt Cagle, O'Reilly Developer Weblogs
This is the second in a series of articles from Kurt Cagle about the
ongoing XForms implementation in Mozilla Firefox. [In the effort to
socialize XForms] it hasn't helped that some of the most prevalent
examples have been things like calculators -- especially since
calculators can actually be implemented in far easier fashion with
straight Javascript on an ordinary HTML form, so XForms may be overkill
for it. The other canonical example is a W2 Form -- and to be perfectly
honest, while this actually is a better use of the technology, it is
far too complex to be very canonical. This article presents a much
simpler walk through to put together an XForm based application that
illustrates that it really isn't that difficult to create an XForm; you
just have to have an understanding of what XForms really are. One of
the first things that people do when they start exploring XForms is to
look for something like a 'form' element. They will have trouble finding
it for the very simple reason that it doesn't exist. This represents
one of the biggest differences between HTML forms and XForms.
See also: XML and Forms
Combining Service-Oriented Architecture and Event-Driven Architecture Using an Enterprise Service Bus
Jean-Louis Marechaux, developerWorks
The Enterprise Service Bus is an architectural pattern that facilitates
and simplifies business integration through transport, event and
mediation services. Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) defines a methodology
for designing and implementing applications and systems in which events
transmit between decoupled software components and services. EDA does
not replace, but rather, complements the SOA. While SOA is generally a
better fit for a request/response exchange, EDA introduces long-running
asynchronous process capabilities. Moreover, an EDA node posts events
and does not depend on the availability of a published service. It is
really decoupled from the other nodes. EDA is sometimes also referred
to as "event-driven SOA". An Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) combines
event-driven and service oriented approaches to simplify integration
of business units, bridging heterogeneous platforms and environments.
The ESB acts as an intermediary layer to enable communication between
different application processes. A service deployed onto an Enterprise
Service Bus can be triggered by a consumer or an event. It supports
synchronous and asynchronous, facilitating interactions between one or
many stakeholders (one-to-one or many-to-many communications). So the
ESB provides all the capabilities of both SOA and EDA paradigms. An
ESB is today's most effective way to address complex integration
challenges and is the technical solution that provides the greatest
business flexibility and efficient connectivity between dissimilar
applications.
JBoss Gears Up For Messaging, Web Servers
Clint Boulton, InternetNews.com
Open source firm JBoss is adding more flesh to its service oriented
architecture (SOA) portfolio for the enterprise market with new open
source JBoss Messaging and JBoss Web Server products. JBoss Messaging is
a standards-based messaging platform geared to help big corporations
communicate via computers. JBoss Web offers high-performance Web server
capabilities to Apache Tomcat and JBoss Application Server users. JBoss
Messaging and JBoss Web are free to download and use under the Lesser
General Public License (LGPL). The new software products were created to
boost the company's JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (JEMS), which the
company markets as an open source alternative to proprietary runtime
platforms from giants IBM, Oracle and BEA Systems. To provide a speed
boost over competing Web servers, the JBoss Web Server employs a hybrid
design that incorporates open source technologies for crunching data
with support for Java Enterprise Edition (EE) specifications. JBoss
Web Server is built on Apache Tomcat, incorporating the Apache Portable
Runtime (APR) and a Tomcat native layer, all of which adds up to allow
the software to handle over 10,000 concurrent connections. Other JBoss
Web Server features include support for the HTTP, HTTPS and Apache
JServ Protocol protocols; OpenSSL for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
support; real-time URL rewriting that supports an unlimited number of
rules and rule conditions; support for CGI and PHP scripts and ASP.NET
applications; and an application load balancer. JBoss Messaging 1.0
uses a messaging core capable of supporting large SOAs, which provide a
framework for Web services to zip across computer networks to exchange
messages or execute business transactions.
See also: InfoWorld
Book Preview: XAML in a Nutshell
Lori A. MacVittie, O'Reilly Announcement
The Windows Vista operating system will support applications that
employ stunning game-grade graphics. The cornerstone for building
these user interfaces is XAML, the XML-based markup language. Windows
developers are already jazzed by the possibilities of using XAML
for fixed and flow format documents like PDF and HTML, 2D and 3D
vector-based graphics, form development, animation, audio and video,
transparent layering, and a lot more. This no-nonsense book teaches
you everything necessary to design the new generation of user
interfaces and .NET applications, with plenty of examples to get you
started.
See also: sample chapter 3
XML Linking Language (XLink) Version 1.1 Issued for Review
W3C XML Core Working Group, Candidate Recommendation
W3C has announced the advancement of the "XML Linking Language
(XLink) Version 1.1" specification to the level of Candidate
Recommendation. The XLink 1.1 language allows elements to be inserted
into XML documents in order to create and describe links between
resources. It uses XML syntax to create structures that can describe
links similar to the simple unidirectional hyperlinks of today's HTML,
as well as more sophisticated links. The publication of this document
constitutes a call for implementations of this specification; the
specification will remain a Candidate Recommendation until at least
1-July-2006, and comments are invited. This specification implements
all of the XLink 1.1 requirements documented in the W3C Working Group
Note of 27-January-2005. These changes make XLink more useful in the
places where it is already being used and make it practical in a
variety of similar vocabularies. The goal also is to reduce the
dependence on annotations provided by external grammars (XML DTDs or
XML Schema, for example). Changes have been made to increase
interoperability by reducing the risk of markup errors or
misinterpretations.
See also: W3C announcement
OSDL to Finance Open-Source Software Developers
Elizabeth Montalbano, ComputerWorld
Open Source Development Labs Inc. (OSDL) has announced provision of a
new opportunity for developers working with open-source technologies to
receive funding for their projects. The OSDL has established the OSDL
Fellowship Fund to provide financial support to open-source developers,
according to the group. The OSDL is a global consortium aimed at
promoting the adoption of Linux and open-source software. Open-source
developers can submit applications to the OSDL for funding, and the
group's board of directors, with input from the advisory board, will
evaluate applications. Together, the two boards will decide how funds
get allocated and how much money projects will receive, according to
the OSDL. The OSDL currently is looking to secure financial support for
the fund. A Web site has been established to provide more information
about how to donate to the Fellowship Fund or to apply for funding.
See also: Fund web site
The Hidden Challenges of Federated Identity
Phil Windley, InfoWorld
Federation is the logical goal of identity infrastructures, but
achieving it takes more than just technology. To users, federated
identity systems present a way for a single identity to be used across
multiple systems and services. But behind the scenes, it's more
complicated than that. Not surprisingly, the hard part isn't usually
the technology. Rather, the hard part is governing the processes and
business relationships to ensure that the federation is reliable, secure,
and affords appropriate privacy protections. The ultimate goal of
federation is to enable decentralized and distributed identity systems
to interoperate in a way that provides all the necessary features for
supporting modern business practices. The Internet is the best example
of an interoperable, distributed system; protocol and the policies that
govern network interactions are the pixie dust that makes it all
possible. Similarly, making federated identity work for your
organization requires that you pay attention to protocol and policy.
It's important that you choose which of the competing federation
standards you'll use and which you won't. Record your choices in a
special policy called an IF (interoperability framework). Beyond the
technical standards that are critical for interoperability, other
important policies govern how the business uses, controls, and protects
identity data. Your federation policies should cover how your
organization establishes trust in partners, what reviews are necessary
for what kinds of projects, and how data will be protected.
See also: Liberty Alliance
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