03424 - Ladd, E., Donnell J. - Platinum Edition Using HTML 4, XML, And Java 1.2 (1998)
XML and Complex Systems (1998)
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Transcript of XML and Complex Systems (1998)
XML or
“I’ve got a
piece of Data
lodged in my
Web”
Joe Gollner, M.Phil. Delivered 1998 to the
Microsoft Users Group
www.gollner.ca
Topics
• XML Concepts
• XML and the Internet
• Back to the Future
• Killer Apps
• Power Web Publishing
• Software Design and Maintenance
• The Future
What is XML?
The Extensible Markup Language is the
universal format for data on the web
- Microsoft
A subset of SGML
optimized for use
on the web - Microsoft
What about HTML?? HTML
is for
viewing
data
XML
is for
working
with
data
Microsoft
Why is XML Hot Now? (SGML has been around forever)
• The Internet has changed everything
• There are no closed systems now
• Systems must work on diverse
and changing platforms
• Data and behaviour must
cross boundaries intact
• Microsoft is among
the first to really see this
The Evolution of the Web It’s not just for documents anymore
• Web Technology was designed for Pages
• Simple, pre-determined formatting
• Static views of information
• But the Web can be more...
• A shared application domain
• A data interchange medium
• A window onto continuously
integrated information
What has been missing?
• A platform-independent format for data
• An intelligent data format that
• offers more than simple formatting
• supports advanced processing
• A format that can describe:
• Data constraints
• Complex relationships
• Application behaviour
We’ve been
down this
road before
Data for
Complex
Systems
The Challenge:
Integrating vast amounts of complex data
...from different sources
Groups of
Complex
Systems
...must be able to inter-operate
And there’s more...
new technologies
are constantly
introduced
X-33
and...
The new
and the old
must work
together
and...
…in new
environments
...and there is always
Configuration
Management
No two instances
of a system will be
the same
The Role of SGML
• Under the Defense CALS initiative (1985):
• SGML became the key tool
for integrating complex data sources
• SGML offered:
• Platform-independence
• Intelligent processibility
• The Vision (Holy Grail):
• Massively integrated
shared data environments
SGML in Defense Technical Documentation
Reducing the
Lifecycle Cost
of Complex Systems
Sub-
Contractor
Prime
Contractor
Equipment
Management
Team
Squadrons
The Integrated
Data Environment
On Demand Printing
Effective data
integration makes
complex systems possible
So what does this
have to do with the
Internet?
The Evolution of the Web A Platform for Complex Systems
• It is time to go beyond Pages
• It is time to build complex,
Inter-enterprise systems
• A few new applications
• Power Web Publishing
• Software Design
and Maintenance
Power Web Publishing A Three Tier Architecture
Microsoft Web Site
Everyday Complex Systems Software Design and Maintenance
• Current Software Systems are
• error-prone
• susceptible to decay
• Entropy
• Corrosion
• “Barniclization”
• XML enables a new model
XML and Software Design
• XML enables:
• Object Orientation at the system level
• platform-independent
message interfaces
• behaviour modulization
• critical for maintenance
• critical for multi-platform installation
• behaviour abstraction
• critical for language
independence
XML is the missing ingredient
in the Fractal Enterprise
[www.gollner.ca]