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Next issue (October 2002): Artificial Intelligence |
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August 2002 XML
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Guest
Editors:
Luis Sánchez-Fernández
and Carlos Delgado-Kloos
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Guest
Editors:
Acrobat Reader is required to display PDF files |
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Abstract: The President
of CEPIS, publisher of UPGRADE, describes objectives and current status
of EUCIP, a certification scheme that will increase the market value
of certified ICT practitioners, and will contribute to closing the European
competency gap by attracting new practitioners to the ICT field.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language): The ASCII
of the 21st Century?
Guest
Editors: Luis Sánchez-Fernández
and Carlos Delgado-Kloos
Presentation: XML, Panoramic
of a Revolution [HTML] [PDF:
3 pages, 400 KB]
(Includes Useful References
and a Glossary of Terms for those interested in knowing more about
XML)
Luis Sánchez-Fernández
and Carlos Delgado-Kloos, Guest Editors
Abstract: The guest editors introduce rationale and contents for this issue, that includes also a list of useful references and a glossary of terms for those interested in knowing more about XML. They explain that XML is a way to represent data which is to circulate on the internet and is therefore not necessarily linked to its presentation on a browser.
XML: The ASCII of the
21st Century [PDF: 5 pages, 414 KB]
Carlos Delgado-Kloos
and Luis Sánchez-Fernández
Abstract: In this article the authors provide an introduction to the world of XML. It includes a review of its origins, a short introduction to the XML language and the main standards related to it, a look into the reasons behind its success and some brief conclusions.
XML, the Development of
New Business Applications and the Software Industry [PDF:
4 pages, 406 KB]
Enrique Bertrand-López
de Roda
Abstract: The explanation for XML’s swift expansion can be found, among others, in the availability of a set of software products which guarantee a profitable and efficient use of this standard. We will examine the impact XML has had on several key areas of the world of business applications: development tools and platforms, storage systems and middleware and intra/inter-company integration infrastructures. We will not only talk about the new processing capabilities incorporated into existing products: ultimately XML opens up a need for a new family within the basic software of base, specifically linked to the support of this standard.
Application of XML Mark-up
Languages to Software Development [PDF:
7 pages, 732 KB]
Baltasar Fernández-Manjón,
Alfredo Fernández-Valmayor, Antonio Navarro, and José Luis
Sierra
Abstract: This paper outlines an approach to XML-based software development. According to this method, applications are described using domain specific, XML based, markup languages. With these languages we structure a set of XML documents that are subsequently processed to yield the executable application. The approach also makes an explicit distinction between contents documents and documents describing other application aspects (e.g. interaction, presentation and process). Using a software process model based on markup languages and documents we obtain some benefits such as an important code reuse and a significant maintenance improvement. This paper describes our experiences applying this approach in the hypermedia domain and in the development of an application framework for supporting a broader range of information-based applications.
Querying the Semantic
Web: Feasibility Issues [PDF: 5 pages, 440
KB]
José-Francisco
Aldana-Montes, Antonio-César Gómez-Lora, Nathalie Moreno-Vergara,
and María del Mar Roldán-García
Abstract: At the moment, a whole new technology is being developed based on XML standards for the query processing of heterogeneous data sources. This includes, among other things, the specification of query languages and techniques for the mediation and integration of data sources. The next great challenge consists of developing what is already known as the Semantic Web, taking this technology as a starting point. It is the very efficient treatment of information, held in the logic and ontological layers, which is envisaged as one of the main factors that will determine its practical success.
Digital Signature and
Encryption with XML [PDF: 5 pages, 364 KB]
Antonio F. Gómez-Skarmeta,
María-Encarnación Martínez-González, Eduardo
Martínez-Graciá, and Gregorio Martínez-Pérez
Abstract: XML is useful
for e-commerce applications because it uses standard tags to build business-like
documents that can be automatically and properly processed even in heterogeneous
environments. In this situation, XML digital signatures and encryption
standards are meaningful as they are the only way to obtain trustworthy
XML-based communications. In this paper, we describe the standard proposals
coming from the
W3C and the IETF, and two
basic e-commerce frameworks where these standards have been applied. The
first one is ebXML, which is in the definition phase and is being created
by OASIS and UN/CEFACT; the second one is x-SPEED, a payment protocol that
has been defined and implemented at the University of Murcia by our own
research group.
Realities and Possibilities
of XML in the Standardisation of Digital TV with MHP (Multimedia Home Platform)
[PDF:
6 pages, 416]
Alberto Gil-Solla, José
J. Pazos-Arias, Cándido López-García, Manuel Ramos-Cabrer,
José-Carlos López-Ardao, and Raúl F. Rodríguez-Rubio
Abstract: The versatility
of the XML language is one of its main strengths, and because of this it
is well suited to being used in a very wide range of applications that
entail structuring, exchanging and processing information. This versatility
has favoured its widespread acceptance, a key advantage for its introduction
into the standardization processes. In this paper, this versatility is
described in three activity fields related to the
standardization of interactive
digital TV: in the specification of the MHP standard, in the specification
of the metainformation describing contents and in the scope of the implementation
of applications.
Application of XML to
the Journalism Field [PDF: 5 pages, 436
KB]
Luis Sánchez-Fernández,
Carlos Delgado-Kloos, Vicente Luque-Centeno, María del Carmen Fernández-Panadero,
and Laura Martínez-Bermejo
Abstract: Journalism
is a typical example of an application domain in which the use of XML is
changing the work processes. Currently news items are stored and exchanged
using proprietary formats. These formats are becoming obsolete, due in
part to the development of Internet and multimedia technologies. In these
circumstances the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC),
that is composed of the
organizations and companies
concerned with news collection, distribution and publishing around the
world is standardizing new formats based on XML to improve current work
processes in this field. In this article we present the work that we, and
representatives from the Department of Information Science of our university,
have carried out in this field. Our work is based on a model we have developed
for the work processes in the journalistic field based on XML.
A New Face for Each Show:
Make up your Content by Effective Variants Engineering [PDF:
8 pages, 435 KB]
Martina Hemrich
Abstract: This paper presents an approach for variant engineering to address use cases found in the production of information types, like reference works and legal publishing – where the composition of variant fragments to products demands concrete, practicable information technology concepts. It will then describe two usecases of reference works and legal publishing, the real solutions of which will be in the focus of the slides presentation at the conference. In the solutions presented we will show proven strategies for the multiple reuse of a piece of information for various products and under given aspects.
Business Maps: Topic Maps
go B2B [PDF: 4 pages, 408 KB]
Marc de Graauw
Abstract: Interoperability between ontologies is a big, if not the single biggest, issue in B2B data exchange. For the near (and probably distant) future there will not be a single, unifying, widely accepted B2B vocabulary. Therefore we will need mappings between different ontologies. Since these mappings are inherently situational, and the context is very complex, we cannot expect computers to create more than a small part of those mappings. We need tools to leverage the intelligence of human business experts. We need portable, reusable and standardized mappings. Topic Maps are an excellent vehicle to provide those ‘Business Maps’.
XML and Word and XML:
Downcasting and Upcasting XML Documents [PDF:
5 pages, 866 KB]
Stefan Hermann
Abstract: Microsoft
Word (MS Word) is the most commonly used document preparation system today
that is available on nearly every desktop computer. This paper describes
in general the basic architecture needed to embed MS Word into an environment
enabling the import, export and roundtrip of XML documents. In particular
it describes the two tools, downCast and upCast, that implement such an
XML architecture for MS Word based on the additional standards XSL and
CSS.
Carlos Delgado-Kloos
is
presently a Full Professor at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (Spain),
where he also holds the posts of Director of the Department of Telematics
Engineering and Director of the Master in E-commerce. His current interests
include design languages and techniques, as well as Internetbased applications
such as electronic publishing, tele-education and e-commerce. He has been
involved in many projects with European, national (Spanish Ministry) and
bilateral (Spanish-German and Spanish-French) funding. He has published
over 60
articles in national and
international conferences and journals, and has also written one book and
co-edited four more. He holds or has held various posts in national and
international bodies such as: vice-president of IFIP TC 10, secretary of
IFIP WG 10.5, editor of the Springer journal ‘Formal Aspects of Computing’,
assistant director of Telecommunication Engineering at his University and
manager of the National Programme for Information and Communication Technologies
at the Spanish Ministry for Science and Research. He has been programme
committee
member or chair at more
than 40 conferences and workshops, including vice-programme chair for the
IFIP'92 World Computer Congress and programme chair for DATE 2002. He belongs
to several professional associations in Spain and abroad, ATI being one
of them, and has published several papers in Novática, ATI’s journal
whose Editorial Board he was a member of. <cdk@it.uc3m.es>
We believe that Novática
and Upgrade have made an excellent decision to dedicate a monograph
to XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Since it first came on the
scene, promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in the
late 90s, XML has caused a revolution in the IT world. XML is being applied
in a great many fields and for various purposes: electronic archive and
contents management, web publishing,
interchange of electronic
documents, internal format of tools, software, e-commerce, education, and
many more fields too numerous to mention here. Among the less obvious fields
are: chemistry, biology, theology, tourism, law, and health. For a broad
overview of XML’s fields of application we recommend Robin Cover’s excellent
work of compilation, which can be seen at <http://xml.coverpages.org/>
Although, as we have said, XML is a standard developed by W3C, its applications go beyond what can be strictly speaking considered as the scope of the Web. In this sense we could very well have entitled our presentation of the monograph “XML, not just a Web standar”, to reflect the fact that it is a standard which started its life in the Web world but is used both within and outside the Web environment. XML is a way to represent data which is to circulate on the internet and is therefore not necessarily linked to its presentation on a browser.
In this monograph on XML we have included both technical articles and articles referring to case studies involving the use of XML in different fields. The monograph begins with an introductory article “XML: The ASCII of the 21st Century” which includes a brief history, a presentation of the XML language and some of the most important related standards and a discussion about why XML has been so successful.
Following that comes an article entitled “XML, the Development of New Business Applications and the Software Industry”, which in part complements the previous article. This article looks at XML from a business point of view and talks about the tools which are being developed by different software companies to support the standard.
Next come several technical articles presenting XML based developments or technologies: “Application of XML Mark-up Languages to Software Development”, “Querying the Semantic Web: Feasibility Issues” and “Digital Signature and Encryption with XML”.
The following two articles could be described as case studies, one concerning digital television (“Realities and Possibilities of XML in the Standardisation of Digital TV with MHP (Multimedia Home Platform)” ) and another about journalism “Application of XML to the Journalism Field”).
Finally we have included
three articles selected from the XML Europe 2002 Conference, the most important
conference in the field of XML in Europe. The first article, “A New
Face for each Show: Make up your Content by Effective Variants Engineering”,
deals with the reuse of contents by managing the different versions (variants)
of the same basic content unit (information object). The second article,
“Business Maps: Topic Maps go B2B”, deals with the definition of
correspondences between different ontologies in the field of B2B. The third
article,
“XML and Word and XML:
Downcasting and Upcasting XML Documents” deals with conversion between
RTF and XML formats, based on attaching a structural significance to Microsoft
Word styles.
Any reader interested in
reading more on the subject of this monograph can do so by visiting some
the Web pages devoted to XML which we supply links for in the following
section (see “Useful references to XML”). We also give references
to two books out of the many texts on XML which are constantly coming out
(a search at <http://www.amazon.com>
for books about XML yielded 359 hits), and provide a glossary of XML
terms.
We do not want to close without expressing our thanks to all the authors of the articles in this monograph for their contributions. Most of the authors belong to the XML-ES research network, partially subsidised by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through special funding. We would also like to express our thanks for the funding of this initiative. Finally, we would like thank the editors of Upgrade, Rafael Fernández Calvo and François Louis Nicolet, for having offered to publish this monograph and for all the help they have given us.
Note: This monograph
will be also published in Spanish (full issue printed, some articles online)
by Novática, journal of the Spanish CEPIS
society ATI (Asociación
de Técnicos de Informática) at <http://www.ati.es/novatica/>,
and in Italian (online edition only, containing abstracts and some articles)
by the Italian CEPIS society ALSI and the Italian IT portal Tecnoteca at
<http://www.tecnoteca.it>.
| Last updated on September 6th, 2002 | by Rafael Fernández Calvo and François Louis Nicolet, Co-editors of Upgrade |
| <rfcalvo@ati.es> |