Contextualizing%20UBL

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Contextualizing UBL
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UBL and the standards community

• The UBL Library is intended to be an XML-based
  core similar to UN/EDIFACT or X12
• Customization is expected by national and
  industry groups and by smaller user communities
• These changes are driven by real-world
  requirements
• A central ebXML registry/repository would serve
  as a resource for user communities to view and
  share customizations

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UBLs goal is true business-to-business
interoperability

• Common data would mean the same and be handled
  the same way
• Customizations would be easily identified and
  handled without software modification
• Trading partner integration would be made
  unnecessary

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The EDI precedent

• EDI uses a prose-based subsetting approach
• UN/EDIFACT ? industry implementation guide
  ?trading partner IG ? departmental IG
• Some XML vocabularies now use schema-based
  extension
• Core vocabulary extensions at each level

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UBL leverages both approaches

• UBL picks an 80/20 point in supplying fields
  likely to be needed
• Then it allows both subsetting and extension to
  the limit of XSDs abilities
• This leverages existing XML software and
  standards
• UBL is defining a scheme for formal description
  of business context and allowing these to be
  associated with sets of data variations (actual
  fields to subtract or add)

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Successive sharing and customization

• The core standard is subsetted and extended
  further each time
• Each circle would have its own set of
  schemas/namespaces and a linked set of business
  context metadata

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Context drivers

• ebXML identified eight top context drivers
• Business process
• Industry
• Product/service classification
• Geopolitical region
• Primary and supporting business roles
• System capabilities
• Legal constraints
• Supplying values for these eight parameters gives
  you a business context (a place in the
  eight-space)
• UBL starts out as generic as possible typically
  the business process must be identified

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In Phase 1, UBL requires just context disclosure

• Customizers would
• Handcraft an XSD derivation, adhering to XSD
  rules
• Provide business context metadata, adhering to
  UBL context derivation rules
• One rule context drivers can be specialized, but
  not reset (US?Maine, not US?Japan)

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Phase 2 will involve machine application of
context

• Customizers will be able to describe the desired
  schema changes in an abstract, recombinant way
• These context rules will be applied by an engine
  to input schemas to get contextualized schemas
• Ultimately these would be created dynamically
• A registry would form the hub for these actions
• A subtle and difficult problem!

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When the 80/20 point isnt sufficient

• Lets say a core UBL Address component requires a
  street, city, country, etc.
• Useful for software to know and act on
• But for parts delivery to a mobile oil-drilling
  platform in international waters, the ship-to
  information must be only GPS coordinates
• Should be an extension of a UBL-based oil
  industry standard

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When business requirements and technical
abilities diverge

• Several actions are needed here
• Characterize this situation as a formally
  described business context
• Add GPS coordinate data as required fields
• Remove fields (city etc.) that are normally
  required
• Neither EDI subsetting nor XSD derivation allows
  this last one even if combined

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UBL proposes to increase interoperability even
here

• One alternative is to build a whole new core
• But this compromises the investment in software
  developed for the UBL core
• Another alternative is to build a prior core
  an Ur-Library on which to layer the UBL
  Library itself
• Its base types would allow missing fields where
  UBL doesnt (cardinality set to 0..1 or 0..n)
• The types would be abstract
• UBL would become a restriction of these types

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Customizing from the Ur-Library

• Customizers could derive from the Ur-Library if
  necessary
• And get the benefits of using well-defined types
  underlying UBL
• However, they wouldnt be able to claim UBL
  conformance