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Optimizing XML on Your Campus and XML Lessons Learned

Learn about XML implementation at Penn State University including projects in use and development, identifying XML technology, training, and implementing applications. Find out the challenges faced and lessons learned.

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Optimizing XML on Your Campus and XML Lessons Learned

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  1. Technical Track Session Optimizing XML on Your Campus and XML Lessons Learned Melissa Kunes, Penn State University

  2. XML Implementation: A University Initiative • Projects In Use: • Work Flow • Act 48 Course Information Exchange with PA Department of Education • COD for Pell • SEVIS Reporting

  3. XML Implementation: A University Initiative • Projects in Development: • CRC: Commonline • ISIR • Federal Express Shipping Information Exchange • Academic Transcript Information Exchange • Various Web applications

  4. Step One: Identifying XML Technology to meet the institution’s programming needs • Tamino: XML database • Mediator: Manages and controls the flow of XML documents • Entire X: Mediator Wrapper/Bridge to Mainframe database (ADAbase/Natural)

  5. Step Two: Training • Software AG: • Consulting Services • Training Services • Overall training • Specific projects

  6. Step Three: Implementing Applications • COD Pell: • Before the decision making process • Brute force/Manually created XML Parser • Complex and time consuming changes

  7. Step Three: Implementing Applications • CRC: Commonline: • Complex file • Currently not using Commonline • Establishing testing partners • Other implementation issues

  8. Lessons Learned

  9. Contact Information We appreciate your feedback and comments. We can be reached at: • Phone: (814) 863-2869 • Fax: (814) 863-0322 • Email: mjk5@psu.edu

  10. Technical Track Session Optimizing XML on Your Campus and XML Lessons Learned Tim Bornholtz Federal Student Aid

  11. First Impressions • XML was an ugly duckling • Excessively large and verbose. • Many tags larger than the data. • Unpredictable - variable lengths • CPU and space hungry Directly opposite of what was taught in the earlier years of Data Processing – save space and CPU cycles

  12. Why switch to XML? • This is an investment in the future • As automation grows throughout the campus, more non-techies are involved • Easier to read if you need to • Data storage and CPU costs are getting much cheaper than human costs for time • Multiple platforms

  13. Positioning for the future • Web services • Real-time processing • XML is the common glue to hold everything together

  14. Current XML Usage on Campuses • Hard to find large production usage of XML • Many campuses only move to XML when mandated • FSA - Common Record for COD • Homeland Security – Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) • Moving to XML based course catalogs

  15. XML Parsers • Big lesson learned, don’t write your own XML parser! • Are these equivalent? • <FirstName></FirstName> and <FirstName/> • <Name xmlns:tns=“….”><tns:xxx>…<Name><tns:xxx xmlns:tns=“….”>… • Must handle different character encodings • UTF-8, UTF-16, en-us, others?

  16. Many campuses are looking at XML databases • Most every major database product has the ability to return result sets as XML • Native XML databases • Allow storage of entire XML documents. • Has XML document as the unit of storage like relational db has rows and tables • Allow query and manipulation across XML documents

  17. What’s needed? • Easier way to create XML documents programmatically • Consistent standards across the whole campus • Being addressed by PESC • Third party vendors are very supportive of XML and the XML based standards

  18. Where to go from here… • XML is just like learning a different language • You have to just keep at it. • Keep plugging away. • As more people do more things in XML there will be an industry network to help

  19. Contact Information We appreciate your feedback and comments. We can be reached at: • Tim Bornholtz • Phone: (202) 377-3465 • Email: tim.bornholtz@ed.gov

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