The solution to this dilemma may be XML (Extensible Markup Language). Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), XML is a version of the ISO's SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) that has been simplified for use on the Web. SGML is an international standard used to mark up large documents and make them easier to store, search and navigate. With XML, application designers can create sets of data element tags and structures that define and describe the information contained in a document, database, object, catalog or generic application, all in the name of facilitating data interchange. For example, in an XML free-form text document, users can easily retrieve and find the "Item_number" of a product they want to buy by looking for an XML construct such as: xxxxx.

XML also has support from many software companies. Netscape Communications Corp. has announced its support of the standard. Microsoft Corp. has produced an XML parser; its Internet Explorer 4.0 supports XML internally for Channel Definition Format, and version 5.0 will support XML for documents in general. Adobe Systems is extending its FrameMaker 5.5 and FrameMaker+SGML 5.5 software to export documents to XML; users will be able to create content that can be automatically published to all major print and electronic formats, including HTML, PDF (page description language), PostScript, SGML and XML.

Impact of XML E-commerce is made up of many separate applications, including CAD (computer-aided design), negotiation software, billing, inventory, catalog, payment, accounts payable and e-mail. XML provides a uniform way to move data between these applications using a data dictionary. A data dictionary defines every data element and helps map data from one application to another. For example, the buyer's purchasing system may refer to a purchase order as "Item#," while the seller's system may refer to it as "Item_Number." The data dictionary facilitates the mapping of "Item#" to "Item_Number" by offering a neutrally defined, nonapplication-specific means to represent item number.

To show how XML can solve this problem, it's helpful to examine the current process for electronically exchanging business data. This is where EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) comes in.

XML and EDI Historically, EDI transactions have been based on the "paper" way of doing business--including issuing purchase orders, invoices and delivery notices. EDI is considered standard operating procedure by many large corporations. Unfortunately, this process hasn't filtered down to and been adopted by small-to-medium-sized businesses; they've shied away from its mapping requirements for multiple business systems and been put off by its expense and difficulty to maintain.

The EDI community has spent 25 years developing specific data dictionaries so that the paper flow of data between business processes can be accomplished electronically. Two of the most widely used standards for the transmission of EDI data are X12 and EDIFACT. Each offers a data dictionary that meets general business requirements. And, the data element mapping between these dictionaries is well-defined.