Standardized XML EDI Integrations Extensible Markup Language for Enterprise eCommerce Part of a series on XML, cXML, Punchout Catalogs, and their role in eCommerce integration. Adopting a New Standard XML, the Protocol of eCommerce In today's fast-paced eCommerce world, companies that adopt the new languages like XML are surviving, and the ones that cling to outdated systems are stagnating. XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language, but that is a bit of a misnomer. XML is more of a meta-language, a language that defines how to create other languages. Its strength lies in the (mostly) plain text nature of it and its child languages. Instead of other languages, which can sometimes be cryptic at best, you can understand most XML files just by opening them in a browser and reading them. This has brought XML to the reach of more than just programmers, facilitated it's use in open source and modifiable projects, and originated cXML for eCommerce. How it All Started History of XML XML started as a project for the W3C to bring another SMGL, a standard generalized Markup Language, into use on the web(they had also created the first, and more well-known, HTML). XML is a direct profile of SMGL, and in fact, much of it was implemented unchanged. The XML development team was comprised of eleven people, with James Clark acting as technical lead, who all worked mostly via email and teleconference; those eleven were supported by a 150-member interest group. This interest group marked one of the very rare times that Netscape team members worked alongside Microsoft employees. V1 was released and recommended by the W3C in 1998. From its roots as a World Wide Web tool, its practical application grew considerably, reaching most application fields, including: eCommerce, metadata applications, pervasive computing, personal finance, gaming, and entertainment production. Integrating the Supply Chain XML vs EDI for eCommerce Platforms XMLs strengths are starkly in contrast to EDI's. Customization and readability are the main drives of XML. This can be a central point when an eCommerce platform is worked on by so many people. EDI, Electronic Data Interchange, has been around since the 1960s. This also informs many of its design features. EDI in eCommerce was created in part to shift the reliance on large amounts of paper information and keep data size to a minimum(in the 1960s a 7MB HDD ran approximately $25k USD). By these metrics, EDI commerce was very successful, and are both huge reasons that EDI has been in use from the 1960s until today. However there were downsides, the data is very specifically formatted and impossible to read for someone not well versed in the language. With modern storage no longer placing such a premium on space, developers are able to switch applications that previously relied on EDI over to XML. This opened the door for cXML to make eCommerce integration more accessible. The Variations to the Standard XML Variants; cXML, adML, ebXML As mentioned further up, XML is closer to a meta-language than a true language. What this means in practicality is that as XML is adopted in an industry, a specific set of schemas, or frameworks, is created and shared as a standard. cXML format: commerceXML: Designed to facilitate communication between many different companies and a B2B procurement platform. adsML: A business-to-business eCommerce advertising standard to communicate between newspapers, advertising agencies, and broadcasters BeerXML: A standard for exchanging data amongst breweries ePUB: A common open e-book standard to work across a multitude of e-readers RailML: A standard for the railway industry to communicate specifications. Many others... XML can take many forms, but the one most commonly seen in the eCommerce space is appropriately, cXML. Why XML for your eCommerce website? Supply Chain Management What is cXML? cXML integration for an eCommerce website is a very sound choice. cXML is one of the most popular choices to enable the use of punchout catalog eProcurement systems. EProcurement software systems enable the buyer to connect directly with their suppliers directly inside of their own systems. More integrated systems benefit greatly streamline supply chain management; buyers can automate their orders or increase them with a few clicks of a button, and suppliers can have real-time data on their buyer's needs. Over 3,000 Integrations Strong What's Next? If you're considering XML, would like to know more about the finer points of XML vs CXML, or would like more of an understanding of how to make eCommerce integration more accessible using XML, Clarity can help. Talk To Us