Using XML for Business and Life

May 2006

David RR Webber

david@drrw.net

Technology and Standards in Higher Education

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Envisioning Statement

Since its inception in 1998 XML has entered into every aspect of computing today

XML is not just about data, its about process and control too

Challenge: Understanding how you can leverage the tools that XML provides to enable better education services:

Collaboration

Information collection and presentation

Service coordination and delivery

Just what tools are out there and where is XML headed next?

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Popular Tools that can be XML driven

News Reader services such as Reuters, Bloomberg and BLOGS

Multimedia tools such as Flash and RealPlayer

Internet Explorer and web forms

Adobe PDF

Microsoft Office – Word, PowerPoint and Excel

Open Office Suite

Oracle database

IVR systems – VoiceXML

Groove and Collaboration – the new Office 12

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XML – technology instant primer!

<example>

<unit_title>Quick Primer on XML</unit_title>

<date>May-01-2006</date>

<author>David RR Webber</author>

<URL>http://drrw.net/great-school/main.html</URL>

<Process> <!-- example script items -->

<step ID=“my-1” time=“1” unit=“minute”/>

<step ID=“my-2” time=“3” unit=“minute”/>

<step ID=“my-3” time=“5” unit=“minute”/>

<step ID=“my-4” time=“2” unit=“minute”/>

</Process>

</example>

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Agenda

• Workflow we’d like to have• Internet technology and XML solution

Collaboration

Information Integration

• Information Alignment• Forms, Scripting and Rules• Sharing tools / Registry

Multimedia

Summary

• Presentation tools• VoiceXML and more

Collaboration

Creating Open Simple Solutions

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Collaboration – The Internet Today

MySpace

Blogs (e.g. blogger.com from Google)

MailServers – communities, action groups, help centers

News feeds and aggregation services

IM – chat areas

Integrated with wireless phone / PDA

Multimedia and Photo sites

Who do educators use these tools too?

Can we have workflow and control across these spaces?

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RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

How does XML enter the picture?

What about blogging tools – edits, web, email, admin?

How about desktop tools like MS Word?

How tough is this to do?

Demonstration – from Blog to RSS syndication server – to HTML resource page –

http://drrw.net/great-school/main.html

Blog

Pages

RSS

feed

XMLxhtml

html

script

Web

page

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Simple Example Tools

Blogger.comRSS

content

atom XML

Templates for

Pages and Postings

html

script

Web

page

RSS

Feed

processor

Your web site

Free RSS server

Multimedia

Using Web Browser

Based Scripting tools

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Combining Photo Site + Text

How do you create educational content and learning experience?

Plenty of free photo systems – how can we make them smarter?

Microsoft Web Browser supports DHTML and SMIL XML multimedia syntax

Result = We can drive the browser from script

Example - http://visualscripts.net/SMIL/Somerset-Pics.html

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VoiceXML 1-800-TELL-ME and other IVC (interactive voice control)

systems

Disabled students

Interactive menuing services

W3C work - http://www.w3.org/Voice/

Open source tools available

http://www.vxml.org/

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><vxml version = "2.1" > <form>    <block>    <prompt>      Hello World. This is my first telephone application.    </prompt>    </block>  </form></vxml>

InformationIntegration

Scripting for Business Rules

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Versioning Challenges

If the schema version changes – how to ensure it does not break our in place validations?

How to rapidly adapt to rule changes in a production environment?

How to develop user context driven deep version control and re-use of sub-components?

Enhance and automate Test release cycle by improving transparency for CQ process and expose change deltas to speed testing process?

XML can help!

http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/cam

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Core Functional Needs

Structure Validation

Content Semantics

Business Rules

Database Persistence

Transformation services

Registry terms dictionary

Context / Role aware processing

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Grants Application Example

XML content

XSD schemafrom Grants.gov

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DynamicStructure rules

Structure sub-form componentswith includes allows re-use

1

RR SF424SBIR STTRPHS398RR BudgetRR Submitter Profile

BusinessValidationrules

ErrorResponseformatting

Data PersistenceRules

3

Message Delivery to Agency System

CAM processOracle RDBMS

SQL tables

ResearcherPrepares GrantApplication and submits XMLto Grants.gov

Agency develops CAM template of validations rules and business content handlingGovernment form

definitions from Grants.gov

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ContentAssemblyTemplate

CAM template components

XMLinstance

structure(s)

Business context rules

+Content Reference rules

+Data Validation rules

+External Mapping rules

Logical business transaction can have more than one structure variation

can add inline rules directly into structure

makeOptional()excludeTree()

item type="noun" name="Agency/@AgencyID" UIDReference="ukt000910"

<conditional expression="'//SupplierID' and lookup(value,'SGIRWSDL:supplierID_check')"

<MapRule output="type" input="Sales/Company/Year/Qtr/Product@type"/>

Simple Declarative Statements

template

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2

3

4

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CAM Component Architecture

CAMCAMCAMCAM

XML ParserXML Parser/ DOM/ DOM

XML ParserXML Parser/ DOM/ DOM

Built-in Built-in FunctionsFunctionsBuilt-in Built-in

FunctionsFunctions

XPathXPathhandlerhandlerXPathXPath

handlerhandler

SQL SQL persistencepersistence

SQL SQL persistencepersistence TermsTerms

RegistryRegistryTermsTerms

RegistryRegistryRule EngineRule EngineRule EngineRule Engine Post-Post-ProcessingProcessing

/ Errors/ Errors

Post-Post-ProcessingProcessing

/ Errors/ Errors

XML-awareXML-awareXML-awareXML-aware

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jCAM validation template samples

Simple template checking structure

Extended template with context rule examples

Message data persistence to SQL

SimpleSimpleTemplateTemplateSimpleSimple

TemplateTemplate

ExtendedExtendedTemplateTemplateExtendedExtendedTemplateTemplate

SQL DBSQL DBSQL DBSQL DB

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XML-driven solution

Dynamic structure analysis and validation

Ability to change XML script with rules and test then deploy

Deep versioning thru structure components

CQ and Test process expedited thru transparency of scripting syntax

Combining four components – CAM, Rules Engine, XSLT, JDBC data persistence

Summary

Quick Review

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Quick Review

RSS and uses for collaboration sites – Events Calendar, Work Lists, Meeting notes, FAQ, status reporting…

Multimedia – SMIL, VoiceXML

Information Integration – Rules scripting – OASIS CAM, ebXML Registry

Q & A

Discussion