Euro-Asian EDI Adaptation (EA2)

• Presentation of EA2 Project
• Partners
• Point 1 - Expert knowledge and skill transfer
• Point 2 - Legislation & Institutional framework
• Point 3 - Harmonisation and Interoperability
• Point 4 - Security

• Point 5 - Standard & Quality

• Point 6 - Administrations
• Point 7 - Company and Customer
• Point 8 - Financial Institutions

 

The main focus of EA2 project is on highly-advanced standards: common reference systems for the description of information and processes, related methodological supports. The use of XML syntax, which is becoming increasingly widespread, will also be considered a prerequisite. XML syntax and the various standards related to it permit the integration of a variety of EDI functions and the automisation of exchange processes. Application of UML methodology is also required upstream. The user guides recommended by EA2 project will be based on the simplification of UMM schema methodological recommendations. The UMM schema is specifically adapted to exchange projects and standard format creation projects for interoperable exchanges.

In order to achieve optimal exchange system complexity, the choice of standards - a crucial factor in interoperability - must be the same for exchanges between the various sectors of activity. Failure to comply with this rule would result in substantial losses in efficiency and productivity.

The main standards pre-selected at the start of EA2 project are as follows:

• network : Internet standards : TCP IP
• e-mail : SMTP, MIME,
• security : X509, XMLDSIG, IPSEC, S/MIME, SAML, Liberty Alliance
• directories : LDAP, UDDI
• web-services : SOAP , WSDL (a Soap and Nassl derivative), WSFL, BPEL
• Information and Processing interoperability : XML, XSLT, XPath , Xforms, Xquery, RDF
• Procedure interoperability : BPMI, BPEL, BPSS
• Lists of semantic components (CCTS) and transaction procedures
• Methodological Standards : UML (schema conception), UMM, BCF.

The best way of catering for the needs of commerce and administrations is to comply with recognised standards set by representative standards authorities.

Of the numerous XML-related standards, ebXML initiative standards, supported by CEFACT and OASIS, and W3C Web services standards are highly-effective vehicles for achieving interoperability and solid guarantees in terms of the implementation and promulgation of multiple solutions.

EbXML is devised to process all business-related procedures and information exchanged. W3C is more of an operating profile enabling web application interactions.

The needs of commerce and administrations

The following chart (eg : OASIS) provides an indication of expected trends in professional electronic exchanges. Only time will tell whether they are founded. Reference to standards often means standards in the plural : power struggles on a worldwide scale between lobbies led by competing vendor companies put the heavy-weights in the limelight (most widely-recognised standard, specification-compliant standard etc)

Professional Electronic Exchanges using XML have many advantages for e-business, e-Commerce etc. XML is made up of syntax rules according to which the use of common programming language and semantic principles (vocabulary and grammar), as defined by standards organisations, is required. Due to the number of different standards organisations in existence, we shall be concentrating on the key players:

	World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) http://www.w3.org
	Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) http://www.ietf.org
	Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) http://www.oasis-open.org
	Web Services Interoperability Organization (WSIO) http://www.ws-i.org
	United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) http://www.unece.org/cefact
	Java Community Process (JCP) http://www.jcp.org

The advantages, skills and technology of XML standard-based systems all have to be taken into account in order to achieve:

• A guarantee of independence (software/hardware)
• A guarantee of interoperability (internal/external)
• A guarantee of universal nature
• A guarantee of the capacity to evolve and survive

 

EDIFRANCE - © 2008 - Mentions légales