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发信人: rover (Eggplant), 信区: Java
标  题: 这里是上一篇所述的原文<<co XML & Java...>>
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Mon Mar 15 14:17:16 1999)

     CO-STARS IN NETWORKING XML and JavaTM Technologies
=============================================================

     XML and JavaTM technologies are perfect complements,
   creating a whole new world of possibilities for developers.

＞>     Sun Unveils XML Technology Support in the Java Platform
＞>    March 9, 1999 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. has announced
＞>    its intent to create a JavaTM platform standard
＞>    extension for Extensible Markup Language (XML) through
＞>    the Java Community Process. more...

by Jon Byous
==============

XML -- the Extensible Markup Language -- is being
touted as the biggest news in Internet applications
since JavaTM technology itself first sprang on the
scene.

It's hard to imagine two more complementary
technologies: While the Java platform offers the
foundation for shuttling code securely and portably
around networks, XML technology can do the same for
data, offering a clean, platform-neutral way to
represent content.

The XML 1.0 standard was approved and published by the
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) on February 10, 1998.
Since then, XML technology has quickly gained favor as
a universal data interchange format for networked
systems. Among the practical benefits are:

     Structure -- to model data to any level of
     complexity
     Extensibility -- to define new tags as needed
     Validation -- to check data for structural
     correctness
     Media independence -- to publish content in
     multiple formats
     Vendor and platform independence -- to process any
     conforming document using standard commercial
     software or even simple text tools.

XML lets developers define their own tags to describe
data. In this example, we've defined tags that describe
information about a book and its cost.

A JavaTM Technology Standard Extension for
XML Technology

Sun is supporting XML technology through the Java
platform and is leading the effort to define a Java
technology standard extension for XML. It will be
developed through industry participation in the Java
Community Process, ensuring stability and
compatibility. Enterprises can rely on the XML standard
extension to for high-quality integration with the Java
platform.

The first step is to provide
an XML standard extension that
delivers basic functionality
to read, manipulate, and
generate XML text. These core
features will form the
building blocks for developing
fully functional, XML
technology-based applications.

The XML standard extension
will consist of a specification, reference
implementation, and a compatibility test suite.
Following Sun's commitment to the open process and
industry standards, the XML standard extension will
conform to the XML 1.0 specification and will leverage
existing efforts around Java platform APIs for XML
technology, including the W3C DOM Level 1 Core
Recommendation and the SAX 1.0 API.

According to Anne Thomas, senior consultant at Patricia
Seybold Group in Boston, MA, the standard extension is
quite a step forward: "The Java platform standard
extension for XML will provide standard classes to
generate and manipulate XML, and as a standard
extension, these classes will be available on just
about every Java platform. Developers won't need to
build these classes themselves, and XML documents won't
be as bulky as they might be because we won't need to
include these classes in the application code. The
classes will already be resident on the target system."

Enterprise Platform Support

XML technology will also be used in several key areas
in Sun's enterprise Java platform evolution. "XML is
fundamental to our plans for the next generation
enterprise-computing platform, Java 2 Platform
Enterprise Edition," said Bill Roth, product line
manager for Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition. "We are
using it to make Enterprise JavaBeansTM components even
more portable. We also intend to make it a standard for
the transmission of mission-critical enterprise data."

Sun has announced that it is adding a standard
extension based on XML technology to the next release
of the Enterprise JavaBeans architecture in response to
customer requests to increase the portability of
enterprise beans components. The specifications for
this release will be available for public review some
time in the second quarter of next year.

Perfect Couple: XML and Java Technologies

XML technology is expected to
revolutionize network-oriented
applications, especially in
the area of data interchange.
Together, Java and XML
technologies are enabling a
new generation of Web
applications in areas such as
e-commerce and enterprise
applications integration.

By now, virtually all of the major players in Internet
technologies have made commitments to XML technology.
In addition to Sun, companies like IBM, Oracle,
Fujitsu, Novell, Webmethods, Ariba, Bluestone,
CommerceOne, Vervet, NetPost, and many others are
building technologies and products that use XML and
Java technologies together.

At Sun, perhaps the biggest champion of this new
technology is Jon Bosak, who is also chair of the W3C
XML Coordination Group, and generally regarded as the
father of XML. "XML and Java technologies are the yin
and yang of vendor-neutral programming," says Bosak.
"Put them together and you have a complete,
platform-independent, Web-based computing environment."

"Smart Data"

"Combining Java and XML
technologies produces portable
`smart' data," explains Anne
Thomas of the Patricia Seybold
Group. "XML supplies a
universally portable
structured data format, and
Java technology supplies
universally portable code.
Since code written in the Java programming language can
be embedded into a document written in the XML
language, we can create a data structure that includes
its own data manipulation applications. It's a great
combination."

The Java platform indeed seems the technology of choice
for developers who are doing XML language work. For
example, many of the available parsers, and popular
tools are written to the Java platform. Developers not
only find the portability and object-orientation
attractive; they're also drawn to the sheer efficiency
of the Java programming language, according to JP
Morgenthal, president of NC.Focus, an enterprise
application integration analyst and advisory firm:
"Writing their tools in the Java programming language
allows companies and developers to get things
accomplished very quickly. Also, the language offers
string manipulation, hashtable support, URL support,
and other features that make it a natural tool to
develop in for something like XML language. And
finally, it's really easy to share code -- an important
attribute in this very fast-moving area."

It's a two-way street. With its metadata flexibility
and data portability, XML gives Java technology a big
leg up in making data even more portable over a
network. Java technology offers a substantial
productivity boost for software developers compared to
programming languages such as C or C++. Together, XML
and Java technologies lead directly to
platform-independent, standards-based applications,
which are ready to be developed right now.

Where there is a need for information exchange on
network systems -- such as electronic data interchange
(EDI) and e-commerce, enterprise resource planning, and
workflow applications -- XML and Java technologies
together now seem the optimum choice.

Portable Purchase Orders

Many observers believe that XML and Java technologies
together will revolutionize the way we exchange and act
on information, automatically processing it for our
personalized needs the instant it arrives through
applications built on Java technology. "XML technology
makes the information exchange possible, and Java
technology makes automation feasible," explains Sun's
Bill Smith, who serves as architect for the XML Linking
Working Group at the World Wide Web Consortium.

For example, company purchase orders described in XML
language could contain live elements, such as part and
customer numbers, that can be coupled to databases to
automatically update data warehouse inventory and
shipments in separate applications without re-entering
the data.

In this example, a purchase order could have different
behaviors within different applications. Someone in
purchasing might have the authorization to assign a
purchase order number, specify a customer code, and
change dollar amounts while the originator would only
be able to approve it and change the dollar amount, and
the recipient would only be able to view, store, or
print the document. Yet, in each case, it is
essentially the same document, based on the same input
data, but with different behavior specifications
depending on the recipient.

Alternatively, the same data's behavior could also
change in response to the application that is
processing it or even the device on which it is
running. That means, for example, that a single stream
of stock market data could run in separate applications
as a scrolling text-only window, customized graphs, or
mixed text and graphically rich Web pages.

XML data can be shuttled between many different types of
servers and clients.

In documentation management and publishing
applications, XML and Java technologies can offer
breakthroughs such as media-independent publishing,
device-independent presentation, and client-side
manipulation for customized data and views.

That's because, whereas HTML documents tend to rely on
CGI scripts residing at the Web server for
functionality, XML and Java technologies can deliver
more application functionality directly to the client
device for processing. This increases the user's
command of the data at the client end while reducing
network processing and traffic at the same time.

Sun Is Committed to XML Technology for the
JavaTM platform

Java and XML technologies have a natural affinity for
each other. They're not just complementary -- they
actually power each other to their greatest current
potential. Sun has committed to XML language and has
the technology to support XML development today.

See Also

XML Technology Pages on java.sun.com
(http://java.sun.com/xml/)

Java Community Process pages on the Java Developer
Connection
(http://java.sun.com/jdc/jcp/index.html)

XML and Java Technologies in the News - Search results
from our Java Industry ConnectionSM site.
(http://java.sun.com/industry/)

The SGML/XML Web Page by Robin Cover
(http://www.oasis-open.org/cover/sgml-xml.html)

Java Project X Technology Release 1 - code for XML
technology services.
(http://java.sun.com/features/1999/03/xml-side1.html)

Managing Names and Ontologies: An XML Registry and
Repository by Robin Cover
(http://www.sun.com/981201/xml/))

WDVL.com: The Web Developer's Virtual Library - XML
Subsite
(http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Languages/XML/)

Tutorials for using the Java 2(R) platform and XML
technology
(http://developerlife.com)

General XML info: Published by Seybold
(http://www.xml.com)

XML FAQ
(http://www.ucc.ie/xml/)

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               This page was updated: 12-Mar-99
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