Summary

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BizTalk Framework 2.0 provides a means to move information contained in a SOAP document across boundaries. BizTalk document elements are wrapped in BizTags. Each BizTalk document must use the appropriate BizTags in the SOAP Header section and contain the structured business transaction information in the SOAP Body section. The BizTalk message can be defined and validated using schemas. You can use the BizTalk message to create a loosely coupled message that can be sent across any boundary.

Currently, only the Microsoft XML parser can properly validate BizTalk schemas. It is likely that when the W3C schema is complete, all the major software companies will add the capability to validate XML documents with schemas. When this happens, the BizTalk format will provide the capability to move information across boundaries to and from any software platform.

Up to this point, we have discussed the basic structure of XML, DTDs and schemas that are used to define XML documents. We have also examined SOAP 1.1 and the BizTalk Framework 2.0. In the rest of the book, we will see how to actually write applications using the knowledge we have gained in the first half of the book.