Ipedo announced major enhancements to the XQuery Views capabilities in Ipedo XIP. In conjunction with the W3C’s formal establishment of the XQuery standard, Ipedo now provides organizations with enhanced XML query processing and data virtualization in their EII platform. Ipedo’s XQuery Views – a data virtualization approach that allows data to be combined without the need to copy, stage and transform it – also enables queries across combinations of data from remote XML and relational sources. This feature increases access to data and content across organizations. Ipedo’s XQuery can be used in conjunction with the XML processing and XQuery now available in Oracle 10g, DB2, and Microsoft SQL Server. Ipedo XIP allows XQuery Views results to be cached natively in XML. The new XQuery engine implements query operators that stream data values, so that query evaluation is memory efficient. XQuery Views can now be invoked directly via a Web Services API. Ipedo XIP can automatically generate the WSDL file needed for a particular XQuery View. In addition to standard data sources, Ipedo’s XQuery extension framework now makes it possible for users to make custom data sources, such as in-house applications accessed using custom APIs. In addition to the above features, Ipedo has developed further enhancements to XQuery in Ipedo XIP’s Dual-Core Query Architecture, including access to stored procedures in relational databases with support for parameterization of the XQuery Views that access them, and extended query plan description that will allow deeper drilldown of the steps involved in XQuery execution. These enhancements are available immediately for Ipedo XIP version 4.2 on Windows 2000, Windows NT, Sun Solaris, Red Hat Linux and SuSE Linux. Pricing is on a per-CPU basis. http://www.ipedo.com
Category: Web technologies & information standards (Page 37 of 58)
Here we include topics related to information exchange standards, markup languages, supporting technologies, and industry applications.
Syncro Soft Ltd, the producer of oXygen XML Editor, has announced the immediate availability of Syncro SVN Client, a platform-independent Subversion (SVN) client aimed at giving Subversion repository users a high quality user interface. Syncro SVN Client is released under the 2.0 version because it was initially developed as an embedded component in oXygen XML Editor and starting with version 8.1 of the editor it is available also as a separate product. Syncro SVN Client makes easier the document and code sharing between content authors or developers. It offers full SVN repository support: checkout, export, import, copy, mkdir, rename, branch, tag and delete. The front-end allows you to browse repositories, check for changes, commit changes, update your working copy and examine the revision history. There is no need to install separate applications like a Subversion command line client or a file compare tool. Syncro SVN Client is composed of several views allowing you to browse the Subversion repositories and your local working copies, compare and merge modifications, check the revision history. All the views are dockable, this means you can position them to create the optimal layout for your use case. The Subversion Repository Browsing view allows you to add multiple SVN repositories to the list and browse them in parallel. In this way you can identify the resources you need to checkout, or even create branches or tags directly in the repository. Other features include a SVN Properties view that allows you to change all the standard SVN properties and also to define your own properties, support for multiple communication protocols like SSL and HTTP/HTTPS, a visual diff/merge tool for comparing images. Syncro SVN Client with One Year Maintenance Pack costs $59. Syncro SVN Client Site License with One Year Maintenance Pack costs $2970. Volume discount rates are available starting with 5 licenses. http://www.syncrosvnclient.com
W3C has published eight new standards in the XML Family to support the ability to query, transform, and access XML data and documents. The primary specifications are XQuery 1.0: An XML Query Language, XSL Transformations (XSLT) 2.0, and XML Path Language (XPath) 2.0; see the full list below. These new Web Standards will play a significant role in enterprise computing by connecting databases with the Web. XQuery allows data mining of everything from memos and Web service messages to multi-terabyte relational databases. XSLT 2.0 adds significant new functionality to the already widely deployed XSLT 1.0, which enables the transformation and styled presentation of XML documents. Both specifications rely on XPath 2.0, also significantly enriched from its previous version. W3C’s XSL Working Group and XML Query Working Group, who created these specifications, have addressed thousands of comments from implementers and the interested public to ensure that the specifications meet the needs of diverse communities. The eight Recommendations published today that together increase the power of the XML family are: 1. XML Path Language (XPath) 2.0, 2. XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 2.0, 3. XQuery 1.0: An XML Query Language, 4. XML Syntax for XQuery 1.0 (XQueryX), 5. XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Data Model (XDM), 6. XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Functions and Operators, 7. XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Formal Semantics, and,8. XSLT 2.0 and XQuery 1.0 Serialization. http://www.w3.org/
IXIASOFT announced an OEM partnership with 3Squared, a provider of web content management solutions and consultancy based in the UK. As part of this agreement, 3Squared has developed Arca, a document management solution based on TEXTML Server, IXIASOFT’s XML database. Aimed at organizations looking for a complete document management solution, Arca enables management for growing enterprise content. Arca features complete document and content management capabilities providing users with a collaborative solution allowing them to better control their content, store and retrieve documents and manage and compare versions. By selecting TEXTML Server as the main repository for their content management offering, 3Squared was able to quickly develop and go to market with its solution. http://wwwixiasoft.com, http://www.3squared.co.uk
JustSystems, Inc. announced plans to launch its “xfy adapter” for IBM Lotus Notes and Domino. The adapter enables organizations to handle data stored in Lotus Notes and Domino databases in xfy, an application development and mashup platform for XML data. The new xfy adapter can access data stored in a Lotus Notes or Domino database, allowing organizations to leverage existing infrastructure investments and information. By combining this data with XML data from an XML database, XML documents within an organization or through Web services, it unlocks the information by presenting it visually with the xfy platform. xfy offers a wizard-like process to allow users to access external systems and applications. The XML data obtained from these sources is analyzed automatically, and displayed in a visual presentation that also enables end-users to switch the view and analyze the data from different angles. The original data is not edited or altered, so it enables organizations to comply with data security requirements. The adapter is scheduled for availability later this year. http://www.justsystems.com, http://www.xfy.com
JustSystems, Inc. announced its new Xelerate Partner Program. The 4-tier program, whose categories include Strategic Partner, Premier Certified, Certified and Associate designations, has been created to reflect its focus on partners that will add value to its XMetaL Content Lifecycle Solutions. Whether partners offer content conversion, management, publishing, or localization software complementary to XMetaL, the program reaffirms JustSystems’ commitment to work in partnership with vendors to provide complete content lifecycle solutions and services to customers. The company also welcomes the first three partners to the program. XyEnterprise Inc., a developer of XML and content management and publishing software solutions, joins as a Premier Certified Solutions Partner; Ovidius GmbH, a provider of XML software for creating, managing, and publishing of technical information, joins as a Premier Certified Services Partner; Commandtext, Inc., a systems integrator specializing in structured content solutions, joins as a Certified Services Partner. XyEnterprise and Ovidius have also been designated as Strategic Partners based on their commitment to standards-based solutions and contribution to the XMetaL business. http://www.xmetal.com
There are two new posts on the CTO Blog to check out: Eric Severson on XML and Office 2.0, and Carl Sutter on What is the future of software as a service.
WIth Carl’s recent post on SaaS, and John Newton’s “Content Management 2.0” discussion, I thought I’d throw this into the mix… recently there has also been a flurry of activity around a concept called “Office 2.0” – another offshoot of the term “Web 2.0” – in which all traditional office applications can be replaced by online services accessible through a generic web browser.
What’s making this possible is a set of new technologies including AJAX, RSS and web services, a set of actual applications such as Google’s gmail and ZOHO’s “online” word processor, and a great deal of unbridled enthusiasm.
Since Office 2.0 is particularly aimed at applications that affect business and larger enterprises, I’d like to take a quick look at how well it fits the needs of such enterprises, and then suggest how it might be extended to better meet these needs.
But first, I’d like to point out that it’s easy to get caught up in the details of technologies like AJAX and RSS, and miss the bigger picture. I would propose that the real excitement is in the vision enabled by the technology, as opposed to the technology itself. To not see this leads to the inevitable “religious wars” around specific tools, which we of course want to avoid…
To put this in perspective, Office 2.0 reminds me of what happened with CD-ROM twenty years ago. I still vividly recall a colleague of mine proudly announcing that he was going to the world’s first international CD-ROM conference, which he described as the “Woodstock” of the computer industry. He simply couldn’t contain his excitement about this pivotal event. But then, I remember him suddenly changing his facial expression, looking at me wryly and saying, “well of course, CD-ROM is actually only a storage medium…can you imagine me being excited about going to a floppy disk conference?”
Twenty years later, we might well ask the same thing. CD-ROM has become about as mundane as floppy disks were then. But at the time, CD-ROM represented much more than a new storage medium. Instead, it symbolized the sudden freedom to access and search information – right from your own desktop – that would otherwise be virtually inaccessible. It was in fact, the first glimpse of the kind of mass interconnectivity that the World Wide Web would later provide.
Office 2.0 is much like that – it represents freedom from the tyranny of desktop applications and proprietary data locked up on individual computers. It heralds a new age of unfettered collaboration and information sharing within enterprises.
So what are the key things that are exciting about Office 2.0, and do its maxims and rules actually fit larger enterprises? I think the answer is a tentative “yes” – at least at a conceptual level. And at least so long as the Office 2.0 folks are willing to make a few compromises and entertain some crucial extensions.
To explore this further, let’s go through the official Office 2.0 rules one by one…
#1 – No client application other than a web browser. Actually, this the holy grail of nearly all corporate IT departments, because one of the biggest headaches in IT is trying to keep all the client applications up to-date on individual computers. In practice, we’d have to accommodate situations where a high-speed Internet connection is not available, but I would grant that this is increasingly the exception.
#2 – No files on your personal computer. In principle, this is the entire thrust of enterprise content management initiatives, taking information that’s buried on people’s “C:” drives and getting into a managed and accessible central repository. So far, so good.
#3 – No dependence on any particular vendor.This is another mantra of corporate IT, expressing itself in the current fervor over Software as a Service and Service-Oriented Architectures, ideally with plug-and-play vendor apps encapsulated in generic web services interfaces.
#4 – Collaboration through document sharing and publishing. Again, this a winner with big enterprises. In fact, this is most of what my company, Flatirons Solutions, does for a living. And from the overall perspective of Web 2.0, I might add that wikis and blogs are an increasingly popular way to share ideas and knowledge within larger organizations, supplementing the sharing and publishing of documents.
#5 – Syndication in addition to peer-to-peer collaboration. This is another focus of enterprise content management, allowing people to subscribe to documents or content that has changed or is newly-published. And RSS syndication is increasingly one of the key channels to which we find ourselves publishing content.
#6 – Seamless data import/export across services. This is a fundamental objective of all enterprise content management initiatives, but now comes the rub. The current Office 2.0 vision thinks of sharing in terms of “interchangeable” formats like .DOC, HTML and PDF. But .DOC is a common but still proprietary vendor format, and HTML and PDF are really only sharable at the visible level. In other words, HTML and PDF let you display and print each other’s information, but not actually interchange the underlying source data and information in a way a computer can process and transform.
Proprietary word processing seems less proprietary when it’s on the Web, but if you really want interchangeability between services, you need to be using a vendor, format and media-neutral standard like XML. XML does not assume a particular vendor, nor does it assume web or print as the output medium. Instead, it encodes the information itself in a completely neutral form, from which media-specific formats like HTML and PDF can be derived.
In the work we do with large enterprises, XML also provides the key to sharing information at a much deeper level than “documents.” When we look at the set of documents that people need to share and publish, we see that there is often a tremendous amount of redundancy. If this overlapping information is authored and maintained independently, there are huge problems with inconsistency, and a lot of unnecessary time and cost maintaining and reconciling the multiple versions.
XML allows source information to be “chunked up” into the underlying building blocks, and from there flexibly mixed-and-matched to create the full array of print and Web-based documents. Individuals can collaborate on the source building blocks – without needing to assume a particular assembled document or output medium – and then combine the building blocks of interest into the documents they produce. Furthermore, if these reusable building blocks are structured as standalone “topics”, they can be directly published and syndicated outside the context of a higher-level document or web page. We call this “single source” publishing – because underlying content is maintained once, and then reused many times.
So, is Office 2.0 the right idea for larger enterprises? Perhaps, in principle…but to make it really work we need to merge its vision with the significant work already going on in single-source XML-based publishing. Then we’d have the potential for a real winner.