UN/CEFACT Core Components

UN/CEFACT Core Components • Duane Nickull, CEFACT Plenary Bureau Vice-Chair

Acknowledgements • Without the help of the following people, this presentation would not be possible: • Fred Van Blommestein, Mary Kay Blantz, Mark Crawford, Markus Pikart, Monica Martin, Sue Probert, Ed Buchinski, Jack Lindsey, Ivan Bedini and the entire UN/CEFACT Core Components team and Advanced Technologies Group (ATG).

Agenda • What are Core Components • What problems do they solve • Who is working on Core Components • Core Components explained • What is the status • How can you use them today (scenario) Also… • Technical Slides (optional)

What are Core Components • Core Components are building blocks of metadata. • Each Core Component captures and declares details about a real world business concept (example – “date”) • Designed to be re-used globally. • Design time artefacts. Could aid in building XML schemas, UNeDocs code lists etc. • May be specialized for use within a certain context (example – “date” becomes “OrderDate”) NOTE: “Core Component” is used herein to cover all CC terms including ACC, BCC, ABIE, BBIE

Core Component concepts BIE

Data Elements build Business Messages at Design Time Business Information Entities (BIE’s) Order.Date Name Name Date Company Company Line Item Phone # Phone # Address Address Party ID email email PO # Cost Party Invoice CONTEXT

What items do we use to describe a CC Base Data • Unique definition • UUID (DCE 128 bit algorithm format) • Data Dictionary Name • Object Class Term • Property Term • Representation Term • Data Type Meta Data (from Registry) • Owner • Version • Status • Home Registry URI • Name • Associations • Classifications • Syntax Information

Too many data standards SMDG Bolero Togaf HR-XML EHD xCat UBL Rosettanet OTA IATA cXML E-construct CATXML PIDX GCI UNeDoc XAML Opentrans xCBL HL7 Acord CIDX xBRL BSML agXML VICS SWIFT GML All have different data elements!

Problem: Inconsistent use of Data Elements • Nickull, Duane A. • Mr. Nickull • Duane Nickull • D. A. Nickull • Duane A. Nickull • Duane Allan Nickull • Nickull, Duane Allan • Mr. D. Nickull • Monsieur D.A. Nickull NAME OFPERSON

Solution: Data Dictionary “Incompatibility becomes incremental rather than wholesale, i.e. the detailed points of difference are noted, rather than a whole model being dismissed as incompatible.” Data Element: Date Type: integer Mask: DDMMYY Data Element: Telephone Type: string Data Element: Name Type: string Data Element: Address Type: Aggregate

UN/CEFACT Core Components UN/CEFACT Core Component Library Reconciliation Of Data Elements 2007 2004 2002 1999 Existing Standards verticals XML X12 EDIFACT eGov SGML XML Etc.

Who is working on Core Components • Work started in ebXML – joint initiative between UN/CEFACT and OASIS in 1999. • After May 2001, work continued within UN/CEFACT. • UN/CEFACT TMG applied to ISO for ebXML Core Components TS v 2.01 to become fast tracked as ISO 15000 standard. • UN/CEFACT ATG working on supplemental specs such as Naming and Design Rules.

CCTS Status (continued) "the OASIS Universal Business Language (UBL), OAG, EAN-UCC, SWIFT, UN/CEFACT, ANSI ASC X12, and a host of other standards organizations are already using this new [Core Components] approach as the basis for building interoperable XML business standards; the Department of the Navy has included aspects of this specification in its XML Developers Guide, and it is referenced in the Federal XML Developers Guide as well." - Mark Crawford, LMI

Core Components concepts

Core Component Discovery Business Process are part of Country.Identifier Person.Family Name Context Core Component discovery process. Core Component Library Business Documents UNeDocs

Steps to identify Core Components

Using Core Components at Design Time 2. Aggregate CC’s for each new Business Message. 3. Use context to guide refinement of CC’s into BIE’s. Express as final metadata for Business Messages. <xml> <xs:schema> New Business Process • Identify Core components to use for each Business Message Core Component Library has Business messages

CCTS Status • CCTS v 2.01 done and submitted to ISO for fast tracking. • UN/CEFACT ATG has CC naming and Design Rules out for review. • CCTS getting a few reference implementations and PoC’s (US, Canadian Government, Adobe, others… see next page) • First 21 Core Components expected to be ratified by CEFACT in MacLean Virginia September 2004

Using Core Components Today • UNeDocs instances use several pieces of information. • These are specialized Core Components, also called Business Information Entities or BIE’s. • It is possible to place UN/CEFACT Core Components into a Registry and use them for building UNeDocs today. • Pilot Infrastructure would need to be built

UNeDocs use of Core Components? Update/change Requests Could be reflected real time in UN eDocs instances UN eDocs Example CC: Country.Identifier is associated with a list of values (UN LoCode) Core Component Library (Registry)

Q & A • Thank you dnickull@adobe.com

UN/CEFACT SIMPLE, TRANSPARENT AND EFFECTIVE PROCESSES FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS.

Supplemental Technical Slides Illustrative - for Q & A

Core Component Model

Data Element Methodology (*CCTS)

Context Declaration Mechanism

Core component to BIE • Core Components are without context • After context – become Business Information Entities. • Most data elements in existing languages are ipso facto BIE’s • UMM Business Entities are BIE’s

UN/CEFACT Core Components