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UBL – ebXML based XML D ocument Library, Schemas and N aming & Design Rules

UBL – ebXML based XML D ocument Library, Schemas and N aming & Design Rules. Eve Maler, Sun Microsystems Editor, UBL Naming & Design Rules sub-committee Mavis Cournane, Cognitran Editor, UBL Naming & Design Rules sub-committee Sue Probert, Commerce One

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UBL – ebXML based XML D ocument Library, Schemas and N aming & Design Rules

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  1. UBL – ebXML based XML Document Library, Schemas and Naming & Design Rules Eve Maler, Sun Microsystems Editor, UBL Naming & Design Rules sub-committee Mavis Cournane, Cognitran Editor, UBL Naming & Design Rules sub-committee Sue Probert, Commerce One UBL Liaison to UN/CEFACT Forum’s Trade & Business Group (TBG) Electronic Business XML Copenhagen November 7, 2002

  2. ebXML phase 2 TRP TC UN/CEFACT OASIS ebXML Messaging ebXML JCC CPPA TC ebXML Partner Profiles & Agreements Joint Architecture Forum RegRep TC ebXML Registry & Repository TBG ATG TMG UBL TC Syntax Neutral BP Models & CCs Syntax Solutions EDIFACT & XML XSD Design Rules, Document Schemas And Context Assembly ebXML CC & BP Tech Specs

  3. The standards venue • UBL is being developed within an OASIS Technical Committee • OASIS offers: • An objective and effective process • Openness of its work to public view in real time • Easy and inexpensive opportunities to join • ISO TC/154 Class A Liaison • eb MoU Class A Liaison • Jon Bosak (F.O.X.) is the chair and original founder

  4. Aeon ACORD Boeing Certivo Cognitran Commerce One Contivo Danish Bankers Association France Telecom General Electric Government of Hongkong Government of Korea HP KPMG LMI Northrup Grumman Ontogenics Oracle PricewaterhouseCoopers SAP SeeBeyond Sterling Commerce Sun Microsystems SWIFT UK APACS UK Cabinet Office United Parcel Service U.S. GSA U.S. Navy Visa International Some UBL participants

  5. Formal liaisons so far • Industry groups • ACORD (Insurance) • ARTS (Retail Sales) • e.centre (EAN UK) • EIDX (Electronics) • HL7 (Healthcare) • RosettaNet (IT) • SWIFT (Interbank Network) • UIG (Utilities) • VCA (Prescription Eyewear) • XBRL (Accounting) • De jure standards organizations • ISO TC154 • ANSI X12 • UN/CEFACT

  6. UBL subcommittee organization • Modeling and content • Library Content • Context Drivers • (future domain-specific) • XML representation and mechanisms • Naming and Design Rules • Context Methodology • Tools and Techniques • Administrative functions • Marketing • Liaison • Subcommittee chairs

  7. UBL’s relationship with ebXML • UBL is not actually an “ebXML” deliverable – yet! • UBL does not mandate a particular messaging framework but is built to support ebXML • UBL is committed to international semantic standardization and the UBL work is, in fact,a real ebXML CCTS implementation • We tried mapping from ebXML CCs to UBL BIEs but gave up… • Now we’re committed to defining candidate CCs from UBL BIEs to and we will contribute the results to the CC effort • UBL believe that the combination of ebXML + UBL offers the promise to enable the “B2B web”

  8. Development strategies • Start with the low-hanging fruit • The 20% of documents and business objects actually used by 80% of electronic business partners • Defer the rocket science to later phases • Produce useful, concrete outputs ASAP based on a well-defined scope then develop and publish a contextual extension methodology to enable the other 80% • Don’t start with a blank slate • We started working from xCBL 3.0 • But with no expectations of backwards compatibility • Take advantage of domain expertise • Gather XML experts and business experts together and form key liaisons

  9. Phase 1: 2002 The initial UBL Library Covers the ‘UBL Trading Cycle’ Reusable building blocks and standard document types Schema design rules How to represent UBL in XML/XSD How external modules can best work with UBL Simple context methodology How to add context-based extensions to UBL Phase 2: 2003 Full-blown context methodology How to describe your extensions in “reusable” and “predictive” fashion Extended UBL Library Additional context-specific reusable building blocks plusadditional document types Planned deliverables

  10. OASIS UBL Scope & Objectives • International in scope i.e. suitable for domestic or cross-border trading • Applicable across any sector or domain of electronic trade, transport, and administration (purchasing, payments, logistics, transportation, statistical reporting, customs, social administration, healthcare, etc.) • ‘UBL Trading Cycle Scenario’ • Interoperable with existing traditional EDI systems • Developed from an existing core library, xCBL, which is: • Unencumbered by intellectual property claims • Already proven to work in actual electronic marketplaces

  11. Models the requirements of a basic, usable, trading cycle between Buyer and Seller. It includes specifications for: Order Order Response (simple) Order Response (complex) Order Change Despatch Advice Receipt Advice Invoice It provides for:   identification of each item according to a range of ID systems   specification of delivery detail at item line level specification of the packaging of the ordered items limited to:- packaging when it is an inherent part of the Item packaging of the whole shipment in one way, e.g. all items palletised etc. It does not cater for: any sub-line facilities sophisticated packaging within packaging Phase 1 UBL Trading Cycle Scenario · ·

  12. Extended UBL Trading Cycle Scenario Seller Buyer RFQ Quote Product Data Financial Accounts PO PO Resp Trade Statistics Desp Adv Price Catalog Recv Adv Invoice CPP/CPA Directory VAT Reports  Rem Advice   Transaction data Content Metadata Reporting Metadata Phase 1 Dec 2002

  13. More about the UBL Library deliverables • Normative W3C XML Schema (XSD) modules • Documentation including Trading Cycle model etc. • Potentially several non-normative forms: • UML • ASN.1 • Other schema representations • Modified XSD • Potentially stylesheets for: • Viewing UBL documents • Generating traditional EDI-compliant instances • A derived deliverable will be Core Components feedback

  14. Some major design rules developed so far • The choice of normative schema language • Naming and construction of elements, attributes, and types (mostly done) • Modularity, namespaces, and versioning (partial) • Embedded schema documentation (draft) • Handling code lists

  15. A taste of the naming rules • Dictionary entry names are fully qualified with object class names • But using these full names would result in hundreds of extra elements • We get reusability by allowing properties (elements) to “inherit” parent object classes (types), XPath-style • Delivery schedule IDs and order IDs could both be called <ID> • Each would be identifiable by means of //Order/ID and //DeliverySchedule/ID respectively

  16. More about the UBL Naming Rules • The UBL “Garden of Eden” style offers a component library that is truly reusable for assembly and customisable for specialisation. We can now be more explicit about the choice of mapping to XSD from the UBL abstract model e.g. • Object classes (aggregate BIEs) are turned into complex type definitions and element declarations that are directly bound to these types. • Properties (association and basic BIEs) are turned into element references in the content models of the object class complex types. If a suitable element declaration was not already created above, it is created now. (There may be multiple elements with the same type but different names.) • The properties are bound to types indicated by the relevant representation terms. Where a representation term corresponds to one of the prescribed CCTs, its corresponding XSD type is used. Where a representation term corresponds to an object class (aggregate BIE), that complex type is used instead. • A combination of the definition of the generic element-as-object-class (the original declaration, associated with a type) and the specific element-as-property-of-a-higher-object-class (the reference in a content model) provides a complete view of the meaning.

  17. How the design rules fit into schema creation

  18. Embedded documentation • Datatypes are annotated with UBL-related metadata • XHTML Basic is used in a conventional way to indicate the fields • <xsd:documentation> <xhtml:div class=“Object_Class"> <xhtml:p>Delivery</xhtml:p> </xhtml:div> <xhtml:div class=“Property_Term"> <xhtml:p>Schedule</xhtml:p> </xhtml:div> . . .<xsd:documentation>

  19. Encoding code lists • UBL will seek to import external datatype definitions in conventional XSD form • Helping external organizations to create rigorous schemas • Defining a unique UBL element for each kind of code • It will identify minimal code lists that must be supported • But allow extension in several machine-readable ways • Benefits: • Semantic clarity, interoperability, external maintenance, validatability, friendliness to our context methodology, upgradability, readability • This design rule is special because it’s not only for a UBL-internal audience • We hope to promote a global code list marketplace with it!

  20. Context drivers • The ebXML CCTS has identified the following context drivers: • Business process • Industry • Product classification • Geopolitical region • Primary and supporting business roles • System capabilities • Official constraints • For example, selling hazardous chemicals from one country to another would have a set of specific values along these axes • This set probably needs to be extensible

  21. UBL defines BIEs, not CCs – they have business context Typically just the business process in which case the other context parameters should be “zeroed out” A set of eight values identifies a unique business context A trading community can associate their schema customizations with it The “eight-space”

  22. UBL Phase 1 – extensibility • In Phase 1 of UBL’s context methodology,extension will require: • Handcrafting of an XSD derivation on top of UBL, adhering to XSD extension/restriction rules • Indication of the applicable context driver values through embedded documentation, adhering to UBL context derivation rules • A context hierarchy will mirror the XSD type hierarchy • There are ebXML reg/rep implications • A set of UBL ur-schemas will be created that allow for more flexible derivation • With cardinalities that all start at 0 • But deriving from the ur-schemas won’t count as UBL Library conformance

  23. The plan for Phase 2 – automation of the application of context • Customisation will be delivered through the definition of the desired context-specific schema changes using a context constraint language • These context rules will be able to be applied by a suitably developed engine to automatically generate contextualised schemas from the ur-schemas • Represents a subtle and difficult set of technical challenges! • There will again be ebXML reg/rep implications

  24. Completed work to date • The Phase 1 UBL Naming and Design Rules Manual compiled. Still undergoing development and testing bujt on track for publication by end of 2002 • The Phase 1 UBL Trading Cycle model, reusable type library and document structures are also on track for publication before end 2002 • Preparations are underway for production of documentation, examples and other ancilliary deliverables to accompany Phase 1 Library deliverables • Set of derived candidate BIE definitions covering the UBL Trading Cycle concurrently being compiled for submission to CC Harmonisation Process within UN/CEFACT Forum

  25. Meeting schedule • The UBL TC physically meets only F2F; it has met five times since October/November 2001 • We often try to co-locate with groups with which we have liaisons • Next F2F is 18-22November 2002 in Menlo Park, CA, USA • The larger SCs meet frequently by phone and do some most work by email • i.e. Library Content (LC) SC and the Naming and Design Rules (NDR) SC • If you’re interested in joining UBL, let me know • You must become an OASIS member • Individual membership is US$250/year

  26. Where to find more information • OASIS UBL TC • www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/ • www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/lcsc/ • www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/ndrsc/ • www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/cmsc/ • White papers, presentations, and specifications are available • All mailing list archives are open to public view • ebXML • www.ebxml.org • Core Components • www.unece.org/cefact/ • xCBL • www.xCBL.org

  27. How to comment • The UBL comment list is open to all • Archive:lists.oasis-open.org/archives/ubl-comment • Signup:lists.oasis-open.org/ob/adm.pl • The Library Content and NDR SCs have spreadsheet forms for providing feedback

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