Portable Data

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One of the major problems in today's business environment is the diversity of the data storage formats. For example, assume that Alpha Company uses an Oracle database system to operate its sales system. Assume further that Beta Company uses a SQL Server database system to operate its purchasing system. Now consider the problem that occurs when Alpha Company and Beta Company want to do business over the Internet. Although there might be several issues, the one problem we will address here is the fact that the two databases are not directly compatible. Our goal is to create an electronic purchase order for Beta Company using SQL Server, which will interact directly with Alpha Company's sales system, which uses Oracle.

Furthermore, many companies must move the information within their organization, as well as to other companies. Much electronic commerce is transacted over both the Internet and local intranets . The types of business systems that require electronic commerce are obviously quite varied.

XML provides standards to move data in a variety of ways. Often we can think of data as moving vertically and horizontally. The term vertical means that data is meant to move through multiple industry groups. Industry groups such as those in accounting and finance (FpML, Financial products Markup Language) have developed their own markup languages that provide standard data definitions. These vertical applications provide the specific business models and terminology to move information across multiple industries. These standards are often called a vocabulary . Thus, industry groups are using XML to form a vocabulary.

The other approach to XML standards is that of horizontal applications. Horizontal applications are specific to a particular industry, such as retail or transportation. In all electronic commerce applications, the sharing of data is paramount. Figure 12.1 represents how data can move vertically and horizontally through various industries.

Figure 12.1. XML across industries.

graphics/12fig01.gif

One interesting example of an industry XML application is that of the RecipeML (Recipe Markup Language). RecipeML is an XML vocabulary that defines standards for industries involved with food, such as hotels, restaurants , publishers, and so on. Using RecipeML allows these industries to move data back and forth in a standard and portable manner. Some of the industries with XML-based standards include legal, hospitality, accounting, retail, travel, finance, and education.

Here is where we consider the concept of portable data. Although the low level data (at the bit level) is certainly not portable, we want to create a higher-level portability at the information level. Whereas Java and C# provide certain levels of portability at the programming language, XML provides this information portability that we considered in the previous paragraph.

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Object-Oriented Thought Process
Object-Oriented Thought Process, The (3rd Edition)
ISBN: 0672330164
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 164
Authors: Matt Weisfeld

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