FMCSA use of XML and Web ServicesJeff N. HallTraffic Records ForumJuly 14, 2003

Quote XML and Web Services are becoming the language of business and that deciding not to invest and go in that direction would be similar to deciding not to invest in having a telephone number or even a web site for your business.

Neil CharneyDirector, Platform Strategy Group, MicrosoftJune, 2003

AgendaWhat are XML & web services?XML examplesWeb services examplesSAFER/CVISNIssues & lessons learnedSummary

What is XML?W3C specification (International standard)Tagged document (like HTML)Uses dynamic tags (unlike HTML)Is human readable & flexibleIs interoperable between any two systems/environmentsFMCSA standard data exchange format

- - SAFER 04.02 - 01.00 REPLACE 2002-02-11T15:05:00 ED - 6789 90807 1 1 VALID 2002-08-02 567 1 2090407 1

What is a Web Service?Self-contained business functions that operate over a network (e.g. Internet)Emerging technology for exchanging informationStandards based and interoperable between any two systems/platformsEnable application-to-application interaction without human interventionTwo-way communicationFMCSA standard data exchange method

Query Central (QC)Secure information retrieval via the InternetSingle input retrieves data from multiple sources (replaces stovepipe systems)Data from authoritative source in real timeProvides data analysis & summarizationExternal data retrieved in XML formatData specific to inspections & investigations

MXLIFISMXSCTTMLQuery CentralApplicationFMCSAInternalDatabasesStateCDLISQuery CentralData FlowInternetSecurityCVIEW& ITDSXMLWebServiceHTTPXML

This slide contained CDLIS driver text which was removed for security and privacy reasons. The point of the text was to show how cumbersome it was for enforcement personnel to read through the text to find important data.

This slide contained a screen shot from Query Central which displayed driver information. It was removed for security and privacy reasons.

The point of this screenshot was to show how the use of XML allows QC to summarize the data and alert the user to possible problems, in this case a driver without a valid CDL.

Motor Carrier ProfileOriginally an ASCII text reportReplaced in 2002 with two documentsAdobe Acrobat (.pdf) document for reading XML document for analysisXML document provides ability to analyze profile data (ProVu)

FMCSA Web ServicesInspection Selection System database refreshAutomatically detect status & perform refreshCAPRI review upload to MCMISMove data up, integrate into central Oracle DB, and return confirmation or error reportFMCSA (QC) / Customs (ITDS/ACE) interface for southern border pre-clearance and clearanceDriver, vehicle, & carrier data sent to QC, checked against multiple data sources, return pass/fail

SAFER/CVISNSAFER 4.2 supports XML data formatFTP data transfer methodVolpe CVIEW XML Certification availableReference - SAFER 4.2 ICDXML documentationhttp://www.jhuapl.edu/cvisn/downdocs/safer.html

Lessons LearnedXML and web services are relatively new and require training on both sides of any transactionParty generating XML should also use itCoordination is key to successWe need standardized XML vocabulariesImportant to include an XML schema and data dictionaryXML/web services are cheap and flexible relative to EDI

SummaryXML is a valuable data format for exchanging data between disparate systemsWeb Services are the best method for automating the movement of data between applications over the InternetFMCSA has standardized on both

XML Extensible Markup Language is a tagged file or document, similar to HTML. However, unlike HTML, the creator defines an unlimited number of tags. The file is human readable and is interoperable between any two systems, meaning XML is database independent. Data is stored within the document as defined by the tags. XML is a subset of SGML.

Web Services is an emerging technology driven by the will to securely expose business logic beyond the firewall. Through Web services companies can encapsulate existing business processes, publish them as services, search for and subscribe to other services, and exchange information throughout and beyond the enterprise. Web services will enable application-to-application e-marketplace interaction, removing the inefficiencies of human intervention.