EbXML
Encyclopedia
Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language, commonly known as e-business XML, or ebXML as it is typically referred to, is a family of XML
based standards sponsored by OASIS
and UN/CEFACT
whose mission is to provide an open, XML-based infrastructure that enables the global use of electronic business
information in an interoperable, secure, and consistent manner by all trading partners.
The ebXML architecture is a unique set of concepts; part theoretical and part implemented in the existing ebXML standards work.
The ebXML work stemmed from earlier work on ooEDI (object oriented EDI
), UML
/ UMM
, XML markup technologies and the X12
EDI "Future Vision" work sponsored by ANSI X12 EDI.
The melding of these components began in the original ebXML work and the theoretical discussion continues today. Other work relates, such as the Object Management Group
work and the OASIS BCM (Business-Centric Methodology) standard (2006).
A particular instance is the Core Components Technical Specification (CCTS) work that continues within UN/CEFACT, whereas its cousin - UBL - Universal Business Language
- specification is used within OASIS that implements specific XML transactions by applying the principles of CCTS to typical supply chain
transactions such as invoice, purchase order, ship notice and so on.
(UN/CEFACT) and Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
(OASIS). A joint coordinating committee composed of representatives from each of the two organizations led the effort. Quarterly meetings of the working groups were held between November 1999 and May 2001. At the final plenary a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two organizations, splitting up responsibility for the various specifications but continuing oversight by the joint coordinating committee.
The original project envisioned five layers of data specification, including XML standards for:
All work was completed based on a normative requirements document and the ebXML Technical Architecture Specification.
After completion of the 6 specifications by the two organizations, 5 parts of the work were submitted to ISO TC 154 for approval. The International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) has approved the following five ebXML specifications as the ISO 15000 standard, under the general title, Electronic business eXtensible markup language:
OASIS technical committees and UN/CEFACT retain the responsibility for maintaining and advancing the above specifications.
The freebXML.org initiative was established to promote development and adoption of ebXML-based open-source software.
based documents specifying a trading agreement between trading partners.
Each trading partner will have their own Collaboration Protocol Profile (CPP) document that describes their abilities in an XML format. For instance, this can include the messaging protocols they support, or the security capabilities they support.
A CPA document is the intersection of two CPP documents, and describes the formal relationship between two parties. The following information will typically be contained in a CPA document:
ebMS 2.0 is built as an extension on top of the SOAP with Attachments
specification. The SOAP
message contains the meta-data required to exchange the business document in a secure and reliable manner, while the business payload is attached to the SOAP
message. Multiple business payloads may be attached to a single message, and the format of the payloads is beyond the scope of the ebXML specifications.
The information trading partners place in ebMS messages is largely dictated by the CPA agreement that defines the relationship between them. The following information is typically contained within ebMS messages:
ebMS is communication protocol neutral, although the most common underlying protocols are HTTP and SMTP.
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
based standards sponsored by OASIS
OASIS (organization)
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business and web service standards...
and UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT is an organisation that makes international EDI Electronic Data Interchange standards for electronic trade documents in XML format.- UN/CEFACT History, A UN mission to support trade:...
whose mission is to provide an open, XML-based infrastructure that enables the global use of electronic business
Electronic business
Electronic business, commonly referred to as "eBusiness" or "e-business", or an internet business, may be defined as the application of information and communication technologies in support of all the activities of business...
information in an interoperable, secure, and consistent manner by all trading partners.
The ebXML architecture is a unique set of concepts; part theoretical and part implemented in the existing ebXML standards work.
The ebXML work stemmed from earlier work on ooEDI (object oriented EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
Electronic data interchange is the structured transmission of data between organizations by electronic means. It is used to transfer electronic documents or business data from one computer system to another computer system, i.e...
), UML
Unified Modeling Language
Unified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
/ UMM
UN/CEFACT's Modeling Methodology (UMM)
UN/CEFACT's Modeling Methodology, commonly known as UMM is a modeling methodology which is developed by UN/CEFACT - United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business.-Goal of UMM:...
, XML markup technologies and the X12
ANSI ASC X12
The Accredited Standards Committee X12 , chartered by the American National Standards Institute more than 30 years ago, develops and maintains EDI and CICA standards along with XML schemas which drive business processes globally...
EDI "Future Vision" work sponsored by ANSI X12 EDI.
The melding of these components began in the original ebXML work and the theoretical discussion continues today. Other work relates, such as the Object Management Group
Object Management Group
Object Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
work and the OASIS BCM (Business-Centric Methodology) standard (2006).
Conceptual overview of ebXML architecture
While the ebXML standards adopted by ISO and OASIS seek to provide formal XML-enabled mechanisms that can be implemented directly, the ebXML architecture is focused on concepts and methodologies that can be more broadly applied to allow practitioners to better implement e-business solutions.A particular instance is the Core Components Technical Specification (CCTS) work that continues within UN/CEFACT, whereas its cousin - UBL - Universal Business Language
Universal Business Language
Universal Business Language is a library of standard electronic XML business documents such as purchase orders and invoices. UBL was developed by an OASIS Technical Committee with participation from a variety of industry data standards organizations. UBL is designed to plug directly into existing...
- specification is used within OASIS that implements specific XML transactions by applying the principles of CCTS to typical supply chain
Supply chain
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...
transactions such as invoice, purchase order, ship notice and so on.
History
ebXML was started in 1999 as a joint initiative between the United Nations Centre for Trade facilitation and Electronic BusinessUN/CEFACT
UN/CEFACT is an organisation that makes international EDI Electronic Data Interchange standards for electronic trade documents in XML format.- UN/CEFACT History, A UN mission to support trade:...
(UN/CEFACT) and Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
OASIS (organization)
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business and web service standards...
(OASIS). A joint coordinating committee composed of representatives from each of the two organizations led the effort. Quarterly meetings of the working groups were held between November 1999 and May 2001. At the final plenary a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two organizations, splitting up responsibility for the various specifications but continuing oversight by the joint coordinating committee.
The original project envisioned five layers of data specification, including XML standards for:
- Business processes,
- Collaboration protocol agreements,
- Core data components,
- Messaging,
- Registries and repositories
All work was completed based on a normative requirements document and the ebXML Technical Architecture Specification.
After completion of the 6 specifications by the two organizations, 5 parts of the work were submitted to ISO TC 154 for approval. The International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(ISO) has approved the following five ebXML specifications as the ISO 15000 standard, under the general title, Electronic business eXtensible markup language:
- ISO 15000-1: ebXML Collaborative Partner Profile Agreement
- ISO 15000-2: ebXML Messaging Service Specification
- ISO 15000-3: ebXML Registry Information Model
- ISO 15000-4: ebXML Registry Services Specification
- ISO 15000-5: ebXML Core Components Technical Specification, Version 2.01.
OASIS technical committees and UN/CEFACT retain the responsibility for maintaining and advancing the above specifications.
The freebXML.org initiative was established to promote development and adoption of ebXML-based open-source software.
Collaborative Partner Profile Agreement
Collaborative Partner Profile Agreements are XMLXML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
based documents specifying a trading agreement between trading partners.
Each trading partner will have their own Collaboration Protocol Profile (CPP) document that describes their abilities in an XML format. For instance, this can include the messaging protocols they support, or the security capabilities they support.
A CPA document is the intersection of two CPP documents, and describes the formal relationship between two parties. The following information will typically be contained in a CPA document:
- Identification information: the unique identifiers for each party and their roles within the trading relationship
- Security information: for instance, are digital signatures required, and what algorithms do they use
- Communication information: the protocols that will be used when exchanging documents
- Endpoint locations: the URL, service and action messages should be sent to
- Rules to follow when acknowledgments are not received for messages, including how long to wait before resending, and how many times to resend
- Whether duplicate messages should be ignored
- Whether acknowledgments are required for all messages
Messaging Service Specification
The Message Service Specification (ebMS) describes a communication-neutral mechanism Message Service Handlers (MSH) must implement in order to exchange business documents. ebMS2.0 is the current version of the specification.ebMS 2.0 is built as an extension on top of the SOAP with Attachments
SOAP with Attachments
SOAP with Attachments or MIME for Web Services refers to the method of using Web Services to send and receive files using a combination of SOAP and MIME, primarily over HTTP....
specification. The SOAP
SOAP
SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
message contains the meta-data required to exchange the business document in a secure and reliable manner, while the business payload is attached to the SOAP
SOAP
SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
message. Multiple business payloads may be attached to a single message, and the format of the payloads is beyond the scope of the ebXML specifications.
The information trading partners place in ebMS messages is largely dictated by the CPA agreement that defines the relationship between them. The following information is typically contained within ebMS messages:
- Unique message id
- Who the message is for
- Who sent the message
- A conversation id for linking related messages
- A digital signature based on the XML SignatureXML SignatureXML Signature defines an XML syntax for digital signatures and is defined in the W3C recommendation . Functionally, it has much in common with PKCS#7 but is more extensible and geared towards signing XML documents...
specification - An indication for whether duplicate messages should be ignored
- An indication for whether acknowledgments are required
ebMS is communication protocol neutral, although the most common underlying protocols are HTTP and SMTP.
See also
- List of web service markup languages
- ISO/IEC 11179ISO/IEC 11179ISO/IEC 11179 is an international standard for representing metadata for an organization in a metadata registry.- Intended purpose :...
- metadataMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
- RosettaNetRosettaNetRosettaNet is a non-profit consortium aimed at establishing standard processes for the sharing of business information . RosettaNet is a consortium of major Computer and Consumer Electronics, Electronic Components, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Telecommunications and Logistics companies working to...
- UDDI
External links
- Jentrata Message Gateway - Open Source gateway leveraging new technology frameworks and standards
- MOREBIZ B2B ebXML gateway based on open source frameworks
- ebXML community at XML.org
- ebXML information at ebXML.org
- OASIS homepage
- UN/CEFACT homepage
- ebXML BPSS/ebBP business process specification
- ebXML CORE steering committee
- OASIS News: ISO Approves ebXML OASIS Standards
- freebXML.org homepage
- freebXML Registry open source project
- ebxmlForum.org homepage
- Simple introduction to ebXML
- Webswell Connect - Ebxml open source integration tool
- eLife Coupler ebXML Messaging Tool
- Cisdal Message Gateway
- ebMS 2.0 Specification
- ebXML Messaging Services 3.0: Part 1, Core Features Specification