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XML and Web Services In The News - 06 December 2006
Provided by OASIS |
Edited by Robin Cover
This issue of XML Daily Newslink is sponsored by Innodata Isogen
HEADLINES:
DMTF Releases SMASH 1.0 Specification Suite for Data Center Management
Darryl K. Taft, eWEEK
The Distributed Management Task Force, Inc. (DMTF), an industry
organization leading the development, adoption and promotion of
interoperable management initiatives and standards, today announced the
public release of its Systems Management Architecture for Server
Hardware (SMASH) Implementation Requirements Specification and the
SMASH Server Management (SM) CLP-to-CIM Mapping Specification. Providing
a set of specifications that deliver architectural semantics, industry
standard protocols and profiles to unify the management of the data
center, SMASH 1.0 facilitates local and remote management of server
hardware in both Out-of-Service and Out-of-Band management environments.
The SMASH Implementation Requirements Specification, released today,
defines how to utilize these standards to deliver a comprehensive
solution for server management. SMASH 1.0 also includes: (1) The SM CLP
specification, which reduces management complexity by delivering a
human-oriented interface that provides a uniform command set for
controlling hardware in heterogeneous environments. Broadly implemented
in the industry, the SM CLP allows users to execute common operations
using the same commands across disparate vendor platforms. In addition
to these immediate benefits, the SMASH SM CLP also enables the development
of common scripts to increase data center automation, which can help to
significantly reduce management costs. (2) the SM Managed Element
Addressing Specification, which provides a user-friendly way to tap into
the power of the DMTF's widely implemented Common Information Model
(CIM) standard. By defining easier and shorter tags for accessing CIM
on the server, this specification provides users with a shorthand method
for addressing the more descriptive CIM object names, known as classes
and instances within CIM. (3) The SM CLP-to-CIM Mapping Specification
describes the common requirements for the mapping of SM CLP commands
to elements of CIM. (4) Server Management Profiles provide a template
to address specific management domains, helping with ease of use and
offering a simplified means to achieve interoperable distributed
management.
See also: the earlier news story
Sun Releases Developer Tools for NetBeans
Candace Lombardi, CNET News.com
Sun Microsystems announced the availability of two new sets of
developer tools for NetBeans IDE on Wednesday. The NetBeans Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) is a free, open-source environment that
lets developers create cross-platform software applications for the
desktop, the Web, the enterprise or mobile devices. The first new kit,
the NetBeans C/C++ Development Pack, allows people to work with the
NetBeans IDE in developing C and C++ applications for the Microsoft
Windows, Linux and Solaris operating systems, Sun said. The second,
the NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5, is a new set of tools for developing
Web applications and binding those applications to data sources. A
Data Provider API (application programming interface) includes
drag-and-drop features for managing data binding. It also lets
programmers create Web applications with AJAX-enabled JavaServer Faces
components. The Web pack also allows developed applications to be
packaged and used with standard Java Platform, Enterprise Edition
(Java EE) application servers such as JBoss, IBM's WebSphere and Tomcat.
See also: the web site
W3C Launches Mobile Testing and Device Description Groups
Staff, W3C Announcement
W3C has announced the launch of two groups as part of the Mobile Web
Initiative. The MWI Device Description Working Group, chaired by
Rotan Hanrahan (MobileAware), is rechartered to enable the development
of globally accessible data and service repositories for use in content
adaptation. Previously, the DDWG published documents on the landscape,
ecosystem and requirements associated with mobile device descriptions.
The requirements document outlined a set of interface requirements for
a repository of device descriptions. Such a repository is intended to
be especially useful for adaptation of content. Under its new charter
the DDWG will define the interface to such a repository and the nature
of the information that will initially populate such a repository. It
will encourage the realization of repositories with such interfaces.
For the purposes of this charter, "Mobile devices" are Web-enabled
devices that are normally used away from fixed locations and are
manufactured specifically to be portable and usable while being moved.
The new MWI Test Suites Working Group is chaired by Dominique
Hazael-Massieux (W3C) and Carmelo Montanez (NIST), chartered to enable
conformance testing for mobile Web user agents. These test suites
should be more extensive than those typically produced by W3C Working
Groups as exit criterion from Candidate Recommendation, and could be
suitable for checking conformance of user agents to specifications in
the mobile Web space. The scope of the MWI Test Suites Working Group
includes: (1) inventory and review of existing test materials in the
mobile Web space; (2) collection, development and packaging of test
cases for mobile Web technologies — including XHTML Basic/MP, CSS
Mobile Profile, WICD, SVG Tiny; (3) coordination with existing testing
efforts for these technologies inside and outside W3C, in particular
with OMA.
See also: MWI Test Suites WG Charter
PostgreSQL 8.2 Closes the Gap
Sean Michael Kerner, InternetNews.com
After more than a year of active development, the open source
PostgreSQL 8.2 database is now available. The release is an effort to
close the gap on a performance and functionality basis between
PostgreSQL and its competitive proprietary counterparts such as Oracle,
IBM's DB2 and Microsoft's SQL Server. There are over 200 feature
improvements or additions in PostgreSQL 8.2, including Warm Standby
Databases that will enable database administrators to have a failover
copy of their database within a database cluster. Generalized Inverted
Indexes is another new feature that PostgreSQL Project Core Team Member
Josh Berkus said will help to lay the foundation for the large database
"semi-structured" database search tools of tomorrow. PostgreSQL 8.2
also includes some SQL syntax enhancements that are commonly requested
by those planning on migrating from Oracle. [Berkus:] "This release
further 'closes' the gap between PostgreSQL and the leading proprietary
databases for high-end OLTP and DW applications, and thus increases the
number of Oracle/DB2/SQL Server customers who can migrate to PostgreSQL
without sacrificing performance." PostgreSQL developers expect that the
new version will drive such migrations because of the improved
performance, features and administration capabilities. They anticipate
an overall performance gain of between 10 percent and 20 percent for
most applications. PostgreSQL 8.2 is also taking aim at the open source
MySQL database. "Our enhanced multi-processor scalability means that we
can now outperform MySQL for Web performance on some high-end systems
with heavy concurrency, which will encourage MySQL users with those
kinds of applications to migrate," Berkus said. Berkus said the fact
that PostgreSQL 8.2 performance is at the same level, or better than
Oracle, IBM DB2 or Microsoft SQL Server means that more companies will
now be open to using PostgreSQL.
StAX'ing up XML, Part 2: Pull Parsing and Events
Peter Nehrer, IBM developerWorks
The event iterator-based API provided by Streaming API for XML (StAX)
offers a unique blend of advantages over other XML processing methods
in terms of both performance and usability. The cursor-based API
represents a low-level method for parsing XML. Using this approach, the
application advances a cursor over a stream of XML tokens, examining
the parser state at every step to get more information about what was
parsed. This method is very efficient and especially suitable for
resource-constrained environments. However, the cursor-based API is
not object-oriented and thus not a natural fit for Java applications,
especially in the enterprise domain where the extensibility and
maintainability of code are just as important as its performance. For
example, a multi-layered Web service that uses a generic component to
process message envelopes while delegating any message-specific content
processing (such as argument binding) to other components would likely
benefit from an object-oriented approach. The other API style provided
by StAX is centered around event objects. Like its cursor-based
alternative, it is also a pull-based method of parsing XML; the
application pulls each event from the parser by using one of the
provided methods, then deals with the event as needed, and so on, until
the stream is parsed (or the application decides to stop parsing).
Where serial article Part 1 introduced StAX and described in detail
the cursor-based API, this installment delves deeper into the event
iterator-based API and explores its benefits to Java developers.
See also: Part 1
Why Ajax Works So Well with Ruby
Bruce Tate, IBM developerWorks
Ajax is not without its problems. When things go well, the whole
experience can be breathtaking. When things break, you may find that
debugging takes on a whole new dimension, and debugging techniques and
tools still don't match those you'll find in other languages. Ruby on
Rails does have one core advantage: simplicity. The Rails wrappers,
combined with fantastic community support, make it easy to break into
this new world with a very low initial investment. But the Rails
support can take you only so far. Two frameworks that do not span the
whole Ajax continuum will not satisfy every user. The Java language
has many more Ajax frameworks and approaches to choose from. You can
find much greater flexibility, and you'll also find a fantastic support
base. But flexibility comes at a price. You'll need to pick not only a
strong Ajax framework, but also a Web development framework. For
example, integrating the JSF framework is a dramatically different
experience from integrating Struts. New technologies often call for
simplification. Ajax on Rails may be just the ticket for problems
that require the sophistication of Ajax in the UI but none of the
advanced enterprise-integration features the Java language provides.
How Vista Lets Microsoft Lock Users In
Cory Doctorow, InformationWeek
According to the author, Technology called "Information Rights
Management," combined with copyright law and Windows Vista, give
Microsoft the tools to hold users' data hostage in Office. We've had
access control for documents for years, through traditional
cryptography. Using PGP or a similar product, you can encrypt your
files so that only people who have the keys can read them. But
Information Rights Management (IRM), first introduced in Office 2003,
goes further — it doesn't just control who can open the document, it
also controls what they can do with it afterwards. Crypto is like an
ATM that only lets you get money after you authenticate yourself with
your card and PIN. IRM is like some kind of nefarious goon hired by
the bank to follow you around after you get your money out, controlling
how you spend it. With IRM, an Office user can specify whether her
documents can be printed, saved, edited, forwarded — she can even
revoke access to the documents after sending them out, blocking leaks
after they occur. Documents travel with XML expressions explaining
how they can and can't be used. This has been a purely theoretical
problem until recently — but the advent of Vista and Trusted Computing
should put it front-and-square on your radar. The deck is stacked
against open file formats. Risk-averse enterprises love the idea of
revocable documents — HIPPA compliance, for example, is made
infinitely simpler if any health record that leaks out of the hospital
can simply have its "read privileges" revoked. This won't keep patients
safer. As Don Marti says, "Bill Gates pitch[ed] DRM using the example
of an HIV test result, which is literally one bit of information. If
you hired someone untrustworthy enough to leak that but unable to
remember it, you don't need DRM, you need to fix your hiring process."
But it will go a long way towards satisfying picky compliance officers.
Look for mail-server advertising that implies that unless you buy
some fancy product that auto-converts plain Office documents to
"revocable" ones, you're being negligent. No one ever opts for "less
security." Naive users will pull the "security" slider in Office all
the way over the right.
See also: DRM and XML
Sun's Open-Source Chief Rallies Behind GPLv3
Richard Thurston, CNET News.com
Sun's chief open-source officer has backed the third version of the
General Public License. On a company blog, Simon Phipps said that
existing work towards GPLv3 had been "extraordinary and effective" and
that he is "frankly amazed by the criticisms." Phipps' comments may
be surprising, given Sun's decision last month to release Java under
version 2 of the GPL, which governs Linux and many other open-source
products. They are also noticeable because of Phipps' senior position
at a commercial software vendor. "Sun has been engaged directly in
the GPLv3 process since it started...and we continue to take a close
and positive interest in the proceedings. My personal view is that
the GPLv3 process has been extraordinary and effective so far in
taking a somewhat partisan initial draft and evolving it into a solid
license," Phipps wrote in the blog entry last week. He added that
criticisms of the GPLv3 process seem to ignore the positive way it is
evolving and find fault with things that are already being tackled by
developers. "I would be very surprised if the final GPLv3 was not an
effective tool for some of the communities Sun sustains or will
initiate in the future." For now, the Java platform will licensed
under just the GPLv2, he stressed, though he did add that he hoped
Sun would be able to use it eventually. "Maybe we could have delayed
the Freeing of the Java platform until the new license was ready, but
we felt that was too long to wait," he noted. The GPLv3 process is
expected to be completed in the spring.
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