XML Servers support development of enterprise information portals

Heterogeneous data interchange coupled with "n-tier" navigation enhancements facilitate personalized access to content

To understand how XML can enable a content-based infrastructure for your business, GartnerGroup's Rita Knox said last October, think about what content may be reusable by different applications, and how that content can be represented so that all relevant applications can share in its use. Knox suggested businesses ask themslves two questions: "Where is data re-entered or translated to be used by multiple applications? Where can common information structures in a common notation eliminate nonvalue-added work and increase process automation?"

Extended Markup Language (XML), a de facto standard for the "common notation" Knox refers to, is at the heart of a new generation of XML-aware application servers that enable enterprise data exchange. These so-called "XML servers" address issues of performance and platform inter-operability.

For example, Binary Evolution, a maker of tools for building high performance web sites based on the open scripting languages Perl and Tcl, offers VelociGen for XMLTM, which can map data formats between applications. Businesses use VelociGen to integrate legacy data from mainframes and databases and convert that data to and from XML documents, which can then be shared across the enterprise and with trading partners.

VelociGen is a web server plug-in that supports the major web servers, including Netscape, IIS, Apache, Zeus, and any FastCGI capable server. The plug-in processes XML documents at native server speeds and returns results through the web server. User-defined mappings allow tags in the XML documents to interact with databases and legacy systems, or exchange data with other XML based servers.

VelociGen for XML is available for public beta now from the Binary Evolution web site, and is scheduled for general availability in June 1999.

X files

Another solution comes from XML pioneer DataChannel, Inc., which has developed an Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) application server based entirely on extended markup. The server includes XPagesTM, a transformation engine that converts data from heterogeneous sources into XML-ready schema.

XPages can work with diverse data types, including unstructured data sources like documents, spreadsheets, and web content, as well as structured data sources like databases, legacy systems, and customized applications. Once the data is transformed using XPages, it is ready for web delivery to any audience anywhere.

"We are committed to building the most robust, scalable, and extensive two-way EIP in the marketplace," said Lucie Fjeldstad, President of DataChannel. "This announcement underscores our commitment to provide world-class solution software, that when coupled with world-class professional services, will create an incomparable competitive advantage for our customers."

DataChannel recently merged with service provider ISOGEN.

The new portal offering has several unique features, including:

• advanced administration capability providing N-tier support for access, configuration, and entitlements,
• the introduction of XConn, an XML connector to read from and write to JDBC and ODBC compliant databases
• hierarchical meta-data management for faster indexing and search capacity,
• the introduction of XPages which transforms data from any legacy source and publishes it through the two-way Enterprise Information Portal, and
• support for the emerging XML document, authoring, and versioning standard (WebDAV) to allow file and record locking on the web.

DataChannel has selected 10 beta participants in several vertical industry segments including manufacturing, telecommunications, oil and gas, financial services, and education. The beta test period will begin in June and continue to the end of summer when general availability of the solution is expected. Companies interested in learning more about EIP should visit www.datachannel.com.

VelociGen for XML is a trademark of Binary Evolution. XPages, XConn and XMLFramework are trademarks of DataChannel, Inc.

Date: May 11, 1999

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