[ebxml-dev] more user FACTS

[James Governor <jgovernor@red-monk.com>]

According to latest news from OASIS---organizations such as the US Navy
(doing LOTS of buying at the moment, as you can imagine), and just as
importantly SWIFT (the interbanking clearing system) is also adopting
ebxml. Parts are also referenced in the US Federal XML Developers guide.
OK-so those are just the spec, but will definitely influence decisions.


UN/CEFACT ebXML Core Components Technical Specification Approved for
Implementation Verification. 

The UN/CEFACT Techniques and Methodology Group (TMG) recently approved
the version 1.90 UN/CEFACT ebXML Core Components Technical Specification
for Step 6 'Implementation Verification' as defined in the
UN/CEFACT/TRADE/22 Open Development Process for Technical
Specifications. The Step 6 verification review period "is the most
critical part of the development process as problems and issues are
identified; the editing group collects the problems and issues
identified from the implementors in order to further refine and improve
the specification." According to a posting from Mark Crawford, Editor of
the UN/CEFACT Core Components specification, "the OASIS Universal
Business Language (UBL), OAG, EAN-UCC, SWIFT, UN/CEFACT, ANSI ASC X12,
and a host of other standards organizations are already using this new
[Core Components] approach as the basis for building interoperable XML
business standards; the Department of the Navy has included aspects of
this specification in its XML Developers Guide, and it is referenced in
the Federal XML Developers Guide as well." CCTS addresses the "lack of
information interoperability between applications in the e-business
arena. Traditionally, standards for the exchange of business data have
been focused on static message definitions that have not enabled a
sufficient degree of interoperability or flexibility. CCTS seeks to
define a flexible and interoperable way of standardizing Business
Semantics. The UN/CEFACT ebXML Core Component solution described in the
CCTS specification presents a methodology for developing a common set of
semantic building blocks that represent the general types of business
data in use today and provides for the creation of new business
vocabularies and restructuring of existing business vocabularies



James Governor
RedMonk
(+44) 207 254 7371


-----Original Message-----
From: Fraser Goffin [mailto:goffinf@hotmail.com] 
Sent: 02 January 2003 14:03
To: ebxml-dev@lists.ebxml.org
Subject: [ebxml-dev] Microsoft Refuses to support ebXML

All,

sorry for the attention grabbing and slightly imflamatory title but it
is 
something that has been said to me a number of times over the past year
or 
so.

I am currently involved in a major project whose objective is to provide
a 
very significant industry portal for accessing web services for a
partical 
market sector in the UK.

Part of the process is to define the web service interface specification

that will be used. In this context, ebXML MS (v2.0c) is one of the
proposals 
for message 'packaging'.

I have just received the latest specification which rules out the use of

ebXML MS (although I think the author is a bit confused about what 
specifications he's referring to), and sites a number of grounds for
this. I 
have no particular issue with not using ebXML MS but I do have to admit
to a 
degree or irritation about some of the comments made.

There are many things that I could say about this particular section of
the 
document but I am somewhat sensitized to the particular debate and 
personalities in this project and I need to be as objective and 
dis-passionate as I can be (not easy). So, I would very much welcome 
comments from you guys, since you have no special axe to grind about
this 
implementation per se.

I want to be sure about that any comments I do make are factually
correct or 
are based on sound assumptions. BTW - the text is quite short

I do have to respond very quickly to this (by 6th Jan !), so I would
prefer 
it if you would copy your comments directly to my email address please
:-

goffinf@hotmail.com

Many thanks

Fraser.

--- Text from ebXML section follows (its quite short) :-

ebXML arose from the EDI community in an effort to reduce costs EDI by
using 
the Internet in place of expensive VANs.

ebXML is an international initiative established by UN/CEFACT (United 
Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation) and OASIS (Organization for the 
Advancement of Structured Information Standards).

ebXML is an open standard XML business specification that enables XML to
be 
used in a consistent manner for the exchange of all electronic business 
data. The phase 1 spec was published in May 2001.  Late in the drafting 
cycle, ebXML adopted SOAP + attachments as it's transport.

EbXML has a business process information model (BPIM) and uses UML and
UMM 
for process modelling.

The primary objective of ebXML is to lower the barrier to entry to 
electronic business in order to facilitate trade, particularly with
respect 
to small businesses and developing nations.

The ebXML Transport Routing and Packaging specification released
February 
2002, provided support for SOAP 1.1.

There is huge overlap between the technologies used by ebXML and SOAP,
WSDL 
and UDDI.  However the goals of ebXML are more ambitious based as it is
on 
standardising business processes.  This may prove to be it's undoing as 
companies tend to have different business processes and generally do not

change them without very good economic justification.

While most of the industry is aligned behind SOAP, WSDL and UDDI, only
Sun 
is championing ebXML while Microsoft refuses to support it.

There is considerable momentum behind the SOAP, WSDL, UDDI camp and new 
standards are emerging all the time.  For instance Business Process 
Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS) specification was released

recently with the aim of replacing IBM's Web Services Flow Language
(WSFL) 
and Microsoft's XLANG.

Another view of ebXML is that it is a top down approach whereas SOAP is
a 
bottom up approach.  The consensus view seems to be that lightweight 
approach adopted by SOAP is more likely to achieve critical mass across
the 
industry and that it will quickly add the superior features of ebXML.
SOAP 
+ attachments is therefore the recommended approach for xxx.


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