Using XML for Business and Life

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Using XML for Business and Life
Technology and Standards in Higher Education
May 2006 David RR Webber david_at_drrw.net
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Envisioning Statement

• Since its inception in 1998 XML has entered into
  every aspect of computing today
• XML is not just about data, its about process and
  control too
• Challenge Understanding how you can leverage the
  tools that XML provides to enable better
  education services
• Collaboration
• Information collection and presentation
• Service coordination and delivery
• Just what tools are out there and where is XML
  headed next?

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Popular Tools that can be XML driven

• News Reader services such as Reuters, Bloomberg
  and BLOGS
• Multimedia tools such as Flash and RealPlayer
• Internet Explorer and web forms
• Adobe PDF
• Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Open Office Suite
• Oracle database
• IVR systems VoiceXML
• Groove and Collaboration the new Office 12

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XML technology instant primer!

• ltexamplegt
• ltunit_titlegtQuick Primer on XMLlt/unit_titlegt
• ltdategtMay-01-2006lt/dategt
• ltauthorgtDavid RR Webberlt/authorgt
• ltURLgthttp//drrw.net/great-school/main.htmllt/URLgt
• ltProcessgt lt!-- example script items --gt
• ltstep IDmy-1 time1 unitminute/gt
• ltstep IDmy-2 time3 unitminute/gt
• ltstep IDmy-3 time5 unitminute/gt
• ltstep IDmy-4 time2 unitminute/gt
• lt/Processgt
• lt/examplegt

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Agenda
Collaboration

• Workflow wed like to have
• Internet technology and XML solution

Multimedia

• Presentation tools
• VoiceXML and more

Information Integration

• Information Alignment
• Forms, Scripting and Rules
• Sharing tools / Registry

Summary
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Collaboration

• Creating Open Simple Solutions

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Collaboration The Internet Today

• MySpace
• Blogs (e.g. blogger.com from Google)
• MailServers communities, action groups, help
  centers
• News feeds and aggregation services
• IM chat areas
• Integrated with wireless phone / PDA
• Multimedia and Photo sites
• Who do educators use these tools too?
• Can we have workflow and control across these
  spaces?

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RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

• How does XML enter the picture?
• What about blogging tools edits, web, email,
  admin?
• How about desktop tools like MS Word?
• How tough is this to do?
• Demonstration from Blog to RSS syndication
  server to HTML resource page
• http//drrw.net/great-school/main.html

Blog Pages
RSS feed
html script
Web page
XML
xhtml
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Simple Example Tools
atom XML
Free RSS server
RSS Feed processor
Blogger.com
RSS content
Templates for Pages and Postings
html script
Web page
Your web site
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Multimedia

• Using Web Browser
• Based Scripting tools

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Combining Photo Site Text

• How do you create educational content and
  learning experience?
• Plenty of free photo systems how can we make
  them smarter?
• Microsoft Web Browser supports DHTML and SMIL XML
  multimedia syntax
• Result We can drive the browser from script
• Example - http//visualscripts.net/SMIL/Somerset-P
  ics.html

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VoiceXML

• 1-800-TELL-ME and other IVC (interactive voice
  control) systems
• Disabled students
• Interactive menuing services
• W3C work - http//www.w3.org/Voice/
• Open source tools available
• http//www.vxml.org/
• lt?xml version"1.0" encoding"UTF-8"?gtltvxml
  version "2.1" gt ltformgt    ltblockgt   
  ltpromptgt      Hello World. This is my first
  telephone application.    lt/promptgt   
  lt/blockgt  lt/formgtlt/vxmlgt

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InformationIntegration

• Scripting for Business Rules

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Versioning Challenges

• If the schema version changes how to ensure it
  does not break our in place validations?
• How to rapidly adapt to rule changes in a
  production environment?
• How to develop user context driven deep version
  control and re-use of sub-components?
• Enhance and automate Test release cycle by
  improving transparency for CQ process and expose
  change deltas to speed testing process?
• XML can help!
• http//www.oasis-open.org/committees/cam

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Core Functional Needs

• Structure Validation
• Content Semantics
• Business Rules
• Database Persistence
• Transformation services
• Registry terms dictionary
• Context / Role aware processing

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Grants Application Example
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CAM template components
Logical business transaction can have more than
one structure variation
XML instance structure(s)
can add inline rules directly into structure
Content Assembly Template
template
Simple Declarative Statements
makeOptional() excludeTree()
Business context rules
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item type"noun" name"Agency/_at_AgencyID"
UIDReference"ukt000910"
Content Reference rules
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ltconditional expression"'//SupplierID' and
lookup(value,'SGIRWSDLsupplierID_check'
)"
Data Validation rules
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ltMapRule output"type" input"Sales/Company/Year/Q
tr/Product_at_type"/gt
External Mapping rules
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CAM Component Architecture
XML Parser / DOM
CAM
XPath handler
XML-aware
Built-in Functions
Rule Engine
Post- Processing / Errors
SQL persistence
Terms Registry
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jCAM validation template samples

• Simple template checking structure
• Extended template with context rule examples
• Message data persistence to SQL

Simple Template
Extended Template
SQL DB
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XML-driven solution

• Dynamic structure analysis and validation
• Ability to change XML script with rules and test
  then deploy
• Deep versioning thru structure components
• CQ and Test process expedited thru transparency
  of scripting syntax
• Combining four components CAM, Rules Engine,
  XSLT, JDBC data persistence

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Summary

• Quick Review

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Quick Review

• RSS and uses for collaboration sites Events
  Calendar, Work Lists, Meeting notes, FAQ, status
  reporting
• Multimedia SMIL, VoiceXML
• Information Integration Rules scripting OASIS
  CAM, ebXML Registry

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Q A

• Discussion