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XML and Web Services In The News - 26 December 2006
Provided by OASIS |
Edited by Robin Cover
This issue of XML Daily Newslink is sponsored by BEA Systems, Inc.
HEADLINES:
ebXML-BP Version 2.0.4 Approved as an OASIS Standard
Staff, OASIS Announcement
OASIS announced that version 2.0.4 of the "ebXML Business Process
Specification Schema Technical Specification" has been approved as an
OASIS Standard, following successful ballot of the Committee
Specification. The document was produced by members of the ebXML
Business Process Technical Committee, and edited by Jean-Jacques Dubray,
Sally St. Amand, and Monica J. Martin. The specification defines a
standards-based business process foundation that promotes the
automation and predictable exchange of Business Collaboration
definitions using XML. The eBusiness Extensible Markup Language (ebXML)
Business Process Specification Schema (BPSS) technical specification
defines a standard language by which business systems may be configured
to support execution of Business Collaborations consisting of Business
Transactions. It is based upon prior UN/CEFACT work, specifically the
metamodel behind the UN/CEFACT Modeling Methodology (UMM) defined in the
"UN/CEFACT Modeling Methodology — Meta Model — Revision 10." In the
future, when a reference guide becomes available subsequent versions
will be evaluated and other metadata requirements analyzed. These could
include those developed under the United Nations Centre for Trade and
Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), such as from the
Unified Business Agreements and Contracts (UBAC). The ebBP technical
specification supports the specification of Business Transactions and
the choreography of Business Transactions into Business Collaborations.
The current version of the ebBP technical specification addresses
Business Collaborations between any number of parties (Business
Collaborations specialized to Binary or Multiparty Collaborations). It
also enables participants, which are capable of using Web service or
combined technologies (such as ebXML and web services) to participate
in a Business Collaboration. It is anticipated that a subsequent version
of this technical specification will address additional features such
as the semantics of economic exchanges and contracts, and context based
content based on the metadata requirements provided by relevant
organizations.
See also: the OASIS ebBP TC
W3C Publishes Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL 3.0)
Dick Bulterman, Pablo Cesar (et al., eds), W3C Technical Report
The Synchronized Multimedia (SYMM) Working Group at W3C has released
the First Public Working Draft for the "Synchronized Multimedia
Integration Language (SMIL 3.0)" specification. This the third version
of the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL, pronounced
"smile") is an XML-based language that allows authors to write
interactive multimedia presentations. SMIL version 3.0 version will
extend the functionality of SMIL 2.1, facilitate the reuse of SMIL
syntax and semantics in other XML-based languages, and define new
SMIL profiles. SMIL 3.0 is defined as a set of markup modules, which
define the semantics and an XML syntax for certain areas of SMIL
functionality. SMIL 3.0 has the following design goals: (1) allow
authors using SMIL 3.0 to can describe the temporal behavior of a
multimedia presentation, associate hyperlinks with media objects and
describe the layout of the presentation on a screen; (2) allow reusing
of SMIL 3.0 syntax and semantics in other XML-based languages, in
particular those who need to represent timing and synchronization.
For example, SMIL 3.0 components are used for integrating timing into
XHTML and into SVG; (3) extend the functionalities contained in the
SMIL 2.1 into new or revised SMIL 3.0 modules; (4) define new SMIL 3.0
Mobile Profiles incorporating features useful within the industry. SMIL
3.0 linking integrates the general features of the XHTML-2 access and
role attributes as an extension and replacement for the accessKey
attribute. This is expected to result in the deprecation or removal of
the accesskey attribute and the accesskey event from SMIL 2.1.
See also: the W3C news item
SugarCRM Gives Customers More Control Over Application Performance through the Use of AJAX
Staff, AJAXWorld News
SugarCRM Inc. announced that it has reached more than 1,000 paying
customers since the first edition of its commercial open source customer
relationship (CRM) software was released in September 2004. In addition,
Sugar Open Source has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times,
establishing a worldwide community of users who strengthen the product
through contributions, quality improvements, extensions and language
translations. SugarCRM began by serving small and mid-sized businesses
but has quickly established large enterprise customers, including
Honeywell, Yahoo, Starbucks, State of Oregon, NASA Ames Research, AXA
Rosenberg, First Federal Bank, and BDO Seidman. Customer adoption is
being fueled by the flexibility customers gain through multiple
deployment options (On-Site, On-Demand or Appliance-Based Solutions),
the ubiquity of open source technologies on which SugarCRM is based
(Linux, MySQL, Apache, PHP) and SugarCRM's support for multiple
platforms (Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, and Linux) as well as
database support for Oracle, Microsoft and MySQL. With Sugar 4.5,
SugarCRM is giving customers more control over how the application
performs through the use of AJAX, which allows users to quickly display
what information is displayed in the application. For example, the
State of Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon's largest state
public agency with over 9,000 employees, uses the Sugar Cube Appliance
to manage relations with 35,000 healthcare providers. Using SugarCRM,
DHS achieved HIPAA compliance while reducing paper-based healthcare
transactions and error rates.
Project to Tag Tokyo Neighborhood with RFID
Martyn Williams, ComputerWorld
A location-based services trial that will see a famous Tokyo
neighborhood blanketed with around 10,000 RFID (radio frequency
identification) tags and other beacons got its start in December 2006.
The Tokyo Ubiquitous Network Project seeks to install RFID, infrared
and wireless transmitters throughout Tokyo's Ginza area, which is the
most famous shopping area in the capital. The tags and transmitters
will provide location-related information to people carrying prototype
readers developed for the trial. The system works by matching a unique
code sent out by each beacon with data stored on a server on the
Internet. The data is obtained automatically by the terminal, which
communicates back to the server via a wireless LAN connection and
requests the data relevant to the beacon that is being picked up.
Designers say the system will be able to provide users with basic
navigation and information about the shops and stores in the area in
at least four languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. For
example, bringing the terminal close to an RFID tag on a street lamp
will pinpoint the user's location and the system will be able to guide
them to the nearest railway station while walking past a radio beacon
in front of a shop might bring up details of current special offers
or a menu for a restaurant... In one of the trials, RFID tags have
been embedded in yellow studded rubber tiles that are often put onto
pavements as an aid to blind or partially sighted people. An RFID
reader at the tip of a cane picks up the tags and a transmitter box
mounted higher on the cane sends the tag's ID to the prototype
terminal which gets relevant information from the server. In a
demonstration of the system the terminal alerted the user that the
pavement is coming to an end but that there's a ramp to the right
and stairs to the left.
FujiFilm, IBM Team to Create First 700GB Tape Cartridge
Chris Preimesberger, eWEEK
Storage media provider FujiFilm revealed that it has joined forces
with IBM to create a tape cartridge with 700GB of uncompressed storage
capacity. The technology was developed for use in the IBM System
Storage TS1120 Tape Drive, introduced in 2005, and now the first
enterprise-grade tape system to use the 700 GB cartridges. In May
2006, the two companies demonstrated putting a record amount of data
onto a test tape at a density of 6.67 billion bits per square inch.
The 700 GB cartridge is the next step to achieving multiple terabyte
storage on a single cartridge, a goal first announced at that time.
The cartridge, which is smaller than a typical VHS cassette, will be
able to hold the text from 8 million books — volumes that if lined
up, would fill 92 kilometers' (57 miles) worth of bookshelves. The
System Storage 3592 Extended Data high-capacity tape media was
announced in October and is now available from IBM in both rewriteable
or WORM formats. It is the first 700GB tape media available to
customers, a company spokesperson said. The cartridges may be
integrated into the IBM TS3500 Tape Library, the 3494 Tape Library
and the Silo Compatible Tape Drive Frame 3592 Model C20 as well as
into stand-alone environments. The cartridge tape includes Fujifilm
Nanocubic magnetic coating method.
Implementing Persistent Identifiers
Hans-Werner Hilse and Jochen Kothe (eds.), CERL Technical Report
This 70-page report contains an overview of concepts, guidelines, and
recommendations on "Persistent Identifiers" for resources on the Web.
The report was written by the Research and Development Department of
the Goettingen State and University Library at the request of the
Advisory Task Group (ATG) of the Consortium of European Research
Libraries. It is co-published by the Consortium of European Research
Libraries (CERL) and the European Commission on Preservation and Access
(ECPA). Citing the problem of broken links, the report notes: "To
create a more reliable system for referring to published material on
the web, from the mid-1990s a number of schemes have been developed
that use name spaces to identify resources, enabling retrieval even if
the location on the web is unknown. The report explains the principle
of persistent identifiers and helps institutions decide which scheme
would best fit their needs. It discusses Handles, Digital Object
Identifiers (DOIs), Archival Resource Keys (ARKs), Persistent Uniform
Resource Locators (PURLs), Uniform Resource Names (URNs), National
Bibliography Numbers (NBNs), and the Open URL, providing examples and
extensive references for each... The report emphasises that supporting
persistent identification requires administrative effort and
commitment. The systems presented support these administrative tasks
but do not render them obsolete. All changes in location, ownership or
metadata must be reflected in the name-space system — causing the
organisations that run an identification system to incur costs. To
assist organisations that wish to implement a persistent identification
scheme, the report details questions that need to be addressed and
offers possible strategies to tackle a number of scenarios. The authors
of this report hesitate to recommend the implementation of one specific
technical implementation. This is due to many reasons: First of all,
in most cases the actual implementation is secondary to the commitment
to identifier persistence. However, none of these systems ensure
persistence: persistence can only achieved by administrative commitment."
[Note: the second sentence of the report's 'Executive Summary' contains
a potentially misleading statement about links being 'broken' when
content is moved to another location. Links do not "break" and they do
not "get broken": URI owners break them through acts of irresponsible
URI management. As the still-classic 1998 article from Tim Berners-Lee
clarifies ("Cool URIs Don't Change"), there is no technical reasons for
link breakage. Only lame excuses. Period. People break links through
intentional and unintentional acts — all of which resolve to inadequate
commitment to protecting digital information.]
See also: the ECPA web site
Sea Change at SAP
Ephraim Schwartz, InfoWorld
If anyone doubts that competition spurs change, let them sit down with
Dennis Moore, general manager for emerging solutions at SAP, and talk
about what SAP has on tap for 2007. As I see it, what's coming out of
SAP this year represents a sea change taking place across the software
industry. Enterprise Search, which the company will also introduce in
the first half of the year, looks to me to be one of the more
interesting products of 2007. As you know, most search products focus
on text. If you're looking for news, reviews, or an esoteric piece of
information about an obscure author, Google is the way to go. But what
if you want to know the status of a customer shipment, how much inventory
is left, who is so-and-so's supervisor, or whether I am authorized to
give him or her a raise? These are the kinds of questions Enterprise
Search is built to answer. Enterprise Search comes with pre-built
connections to SAP systems, and its Web service connectors can be used
to hook it up to any other system. The search itself works by finding
business-object matches. For example, if I'm looking for a customer
whose company name has Palo Alto in it, Enterprise Search won't bring
up irrelevant customers just because they have the words Palo or Alto
buried somewhere in their documentation. Best of all, Enterprise Search
works from any browser. The company is also building its own gadgets
that give you an alert box for, say, an RSS reader that tracks business
events rather than news or blogs. That way, a sales manager can monitor
when a sales rep closes a deal, for example. There are also alerts for
corporate KPIs (key performance indicators), as well as alerts for
tracking workflow queues, such as notifying a purchasing manager of
requisitions waiting for approval. Sounds like a dashboard, but these
applets embody more of a Web 2.0 approach — they're updated over the
Internet, you don't have to install anything, they're more dynamic than
what you get with a dashboard, and you get to pick the ones you want.
Using WSIF for Integration
Matjaz B. Juric, JavaWorld Magazine
In real-world scenarios, a BPEL (Business Process Execution Language)
business process will often have to connect to an existing application
or system. Of particular interest here is connectivity to J2EE
artifacts, such as Java classes, Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), Java
Message Service (JMS), enterprise resource planning systems accessible
through Java Connector Architecture (JCA), Java Database Connectivity
databases, or other Java resources. It is possible to convert these
resources to a Web service, but that approach has several disadvantages:
(1) The performance overhead of invoking Web service operations is
several orders of magnitude larger than that of invoking native Java
classes, and an order of magnitude larger than that of invoking EJBs or
other native Java resources. (2) Web services invocations lack the
important capability to propagate contexts during transactions. In
contrast, when using Java resources directly, transaction context can
be propagated automatically if the Java resource provides such support
(as EJB and JCA do, for example). Hence, the better approach is to
access these external resources natively. Native connectivity to Java
resources is not a standard feature of BPEL, but Oracle BPEL Process
Manager offers a solution for this purpose — Web Services Invocation
Framework (WSIF) — that does not require modifications or extensions
to BPEL code. This capability greatly extends the reach of BPEL and
makes it suitable for enterprise application integration (EAI).
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