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August 23, 1999

BizTalk Could Spur XML And E-Business

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All of the work developing a schema would be moot if it were developed for specific applications but not widely available. So a major feature of BizTalk, and ultimately the most important one, is the repository implemented at www.BizTalk.org and scheduled to go live this fall.

The repository will let developers submit schema to an automated validation process, which posts it as either a public or a private schema. Anyone can then go to the site and search for public schemas by author, company, product industry, process, and document type.

Private posting to a secure area will let companies develop schemas for use with their partners. Private posting would seem to go against the grain of the spirit of open XML schemas, but it helps speed the acceptance of XML by providing a central location where applications can have access to them.

In addition, publishers will have generous storage space and various schema design and editing tools, although the specifics of these features have yet to be fully disclosed. In its pre-release 0.81 version, the BizTalk specification is still missing a few complete features, such as message sequencing, security, and privacy protections.

Microsoft has set up a steering committee--not a standards body, it emphasizes--consisting of customers and independent software vendors to provide guidance and insight into BizTalk development.

BizTalk has its share of competition, most recently the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. Oasis is building an information repository for XML schemas, both BizTalk and otherwise, at www.XML.org.

Microsoft and Oasis, as well as other industry stakeholders in XML's success, claim BizTalk and Oasis do not compete, particularly because Microsoft is going after only schemas that comply with the BizTalk specification and Oasis is open to anyone who takes the time to develop a valid DTD. In fact, Microsoft recently became a member of Oasis, but has so far deferred making the recommended $100,000 contribution to the development and operation of XML.org.

Server sales are spurring Microsoft to do all of this work developing specifications and automating a repository for the good of XML. It isn't hijacking the standards process, nor is it trying to define new standards, other than those submitted to the W3C. And Microsoft even promises to publish the XML schema and message formats used by Office and BackOffice. With Microsoft's clout behind it, there's a good chance both XML and BizTalk will benefit.

Don Kiely is director of software technology for Information Insights/Third Sector Technologies in Fairbanks, Alaska, and has written several programming books. He can be reached at donkiely@computer.org.

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