RE: Doc 2 of 4: BP Worksheets and Gudielines

[Bob Haugen <linkage@interaccess.com>]

I'm familiar with the EDI use of the word "message", and
agree that is one of the sources of verbal confusion in
ebXML-BP.  

I would be happy to settle on "signal" for the BSV-level stuff.
Use Business Document where it applies.  *Do not* use the
word "message" at all.

>I'm not sure how you could easily keep a natural desitinction between
>process-based approaches and document-based ?

Here is a feeble attempt, please help:
Process-based approaches have communicating processes
at each end of business collaborations that are a necessary
part of the approach.  Document-based approaches just
send documents back and forth without modeling the
communicating processes, or the larger patterns of
communication.

ebXML is a process-based approach, even at the
transaction level, because the requesting and responding 
activities (processes of a type) govern the transactions.

X12 and EDIFACT documents could be used in a process-based
way (from process to process with responses etc) or in a document-
based approach with single or batched documents being transmitted
over the wire with no governing activities other than sending and
receiving.

In reality, it's the usual fuzzy line...with clear distinctions between
extremes and gradations in the middle.

-Bob


-----Original Message-----
From:	Welsh, David [SMTP:David.Welsh@nordstrom.com]
Sent:	Sunday, March 18, 2001 9:57 AM
To:	'Bob Haugen'; 'Marcia L. McLure Ph.D.'; 'ebXML-CCBP-Analysis (E-mail)'; 'ebxml-bp@lists.ebxml.org'
Subject:	RE: Doc 2 of 4: BP Worksheets and Gudielines

Bob,
You may find another bigger problem with "message" with the EDI folks. While
X12 calls their documents 'transactions', all EDIFACT documents are formally
called 'messages'. 
I'm not sure how you could easily keep a natural desitinction between
process-based approaches and document-based ? It's not a perfect world but
maybe you have to consider using the word 'signal' some more to help
distinguish the extra nature involved with process-based approaches.

Dave