The new section of the Dot-Com Builder web site features technical overview articles, including an overview of ebXML by Madhu Siddalingaiah, summarizing this XML-based initiative that aims to enable a single, global market, examining both its architecture and the way it models business processes and information exchange.

ebXML is a joint initiative of the United Nations (UN/CEFACT) and OASIS, developed with global participation for global use. This partnership brings a great deal of credibility to ebXML. Membership in ebXML is open to anyone, and the initiative enjoys broad industry support with hundreds of member companies, and more than 1,400 participants drawn from over thirty countries.

ebXML was designed primarily for business-to-business interaction. The web services protocols Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) provide services that perform many similar functions, but ebXML is much broader than these standards in scope and functionality. In the real world, companies will likely use both UDDI/SOAP and ebXML. Both solutions are built on open standards and rely heavily on XML.

The ebXML business process specification provides a standard framework for defining business transactions. These transactions use signals to acknowledge the exchange of documents (like purchase orders) and notifications of success or failure. The current version of ebXML supports binary collaboration (business between two parties). Future versions will support business collaboration among multiple parties and multiparty contracts.

ebXML messaging allows for a reliable means of electronic document exchange, crucial to global business transactions. In conventional document exchange, there are numerous details taken for granted. For example, physical mail is considered reliable and legally binding. Only one copy of a document is sent, and only one is received. This basic requirement must carry over to the electronic world without adding too much complexity. In addition, existing messaging software can be leveraged and reused.

ebXML allows businesses of all sizes to make their products and services available to a global marketplace. This is accomplished through a set of comprehensive and open standards based on XML. The use of open standards built on Internet technologies lowers the barriers to entry to achieve ubiquitous support. Businesses can discover and negotiate agreements with trading partners automatically and then exchange documents in a secure, reliable manner.

Diagrams illustrating an implementation of ebXML, a typical usage scenario, code, and additional technical details are available on the web site.

http://dcb.sun.com/practices/webservices/overviews/overview_ebxml.jsp [...read more...]

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