Re: [ebxml-dev] Can you explain BIE and ABIE?

[Todd Boyle <tboyle@rosehill.net>]

At 10:36 AM 11/14/01, Duane Nickull wrote:

>A Business Information Entity is a context specific core component.  An
>example may be where you have a core component called "MonetaryAmount".
>This represents a monetary amount but is not specific to any business
>context.... For instance, as part of a purchase order (which you are
>working on), it might become "InvoiceTotal" which may now include
>attributes for currency, currencySymbol, ISOcurrencyCode and perhaps
>evens a descriptor to determine if it is a Wholesale or retain price.

Duane, what are your thoughts on the issue of qualifiers?  For example,
in EDIFACT and OAGIS the date time and amount have hundreds of
qualifiers.  Many if not most of the business documents rely on the
qualifier for the fundamental meaning of the message.

The October 31st catalog of course has no qualifiers and I get the
impression that qualifiers (whether code or "plain english") are
deprecated, in the thinking of ebXML core components community?

Clearly the intention of chapter five is that the naming of the Object
Class and Property Term of a core component should reflect its
semantic meaning, i.e. those qualifiers are to be glued onto the
naming, at the front end of the Amount or Date.

Should CCs, or even BBIEs or ABIEs, be adopted which glue those
qualifiers back on the tail end?  something like,

Date Time Qualified
    child elements Date Time. Type, and Qualifier. Code
Amount Qualified
    child elements Amount. Type and Qualifier. Code

>An Aggregate busines information entity is a BIE comprised of two or
>more BIE's or aggregate BIE's.
>
>Using a similar example,  image a BIE called CompanyName.  If you
>aggregate that with CompanyAddress, CompanyPhoneNumber etc. etc. - you
>may build an Aggregate BIE called "Party".

Party is another potential Qualifier candidate.  Party Qualified might 
include Role...

I'm way outside my expertise here,

Todd