Tuesday, 13 June

0900 - 12 30
Opening keynote plenary

Chair: Pamela Gennusa, Conference Chair, UK

Pamela Gennusa opens the conference with an overview of the activities and content throughout the week to come. Norman Scharpf provides a welcome to the delegates and an overview of the GCA and IDEAlliance activities. Charles Goldfarb welcomes the delegates and provides his prospective on the state of the industry. This year's theme is "The many faces of XML". To give the delegates an immediate introduction to those many faces, Jeanne El Andaloussi presents a roadmap of the standards and technologies. Following the break, Christian Lienert of SAP and Ken Brooks of Barnes & Noble give their perspective on how XML does and will affect their businesses.

Welcome to delegates
Norman W Scharpf, President, GCA, USA
Mr. Scharpf welcomes the delegates and provides an overview of the activities of GCA and the IDEAlliance.

Welcoming address
Dr. Charles F Goldfarb, Principal, Information Management Consulting, USA
Charles Goldfarb welcomes the delegates.

The hitch-hiker's guide to the XRS* galaxy: a roadmap from a non-specialist
Jeanne El Andaloussi, Director of Operations, AIS - BL Engineering, France
Have you ever felt lost in the XML Related Standards maze? This presentation aims at helping the audience find their way through that galaxy. Jeanne El Andaloussi introduces an array of foundation, horizontal, and vertical application standards, offering a model to help understand their uses and relationships. This model will be referred to throughout the conference as a point of orientation to the XRS galaxy - or, in other words, to the many faces of XML.

XML technology for mySAP.com
Christian Lienert, Director Internet Middleware Technology, SAP AG, Germany
Business process integration is a major issue within mySAP.com. SAP offers workplace and marketplace technology that uses XML because of its high importance for the communication in the internet. The presentation will cover SAP's current use of XML in their technology and its vision for the future of XML in the eCommerce area.

XML and PDF in digital printing: irreconcilable differences?
Kenneth M Brooks, Jr, Vice President, Digital Content, Barnes & Noble, Inc, USA
In the world of trade book publishing where PDF workflows are just beginning to be accepted, XML workflows are still largely unknown. This discussion will highlight one approach to merging the two types of workflow to create a highly successful digital printing operation.

1430 - 1540
Considering schemas
(For: technical implementers)

Chair: Lauren Wood, Director of Product Technology, SoftQuad Software Inc, Canada

The W3C's XML Schema work is one of the most eagerly awaited recommendations. This session looks in detail at particulars of this work and discusses aspects of its use within systems.

XML schema types and equivalence classes: reconstructing DTD best practice
Henry S Thompson, Principal Scientist, HCRC Language Technology Group, Division of Informatics; University of Edinburgh, UK
XML Schema contains no approved text-macro facility comparable to XML and SGML's parameter entity. Its type derivation and element equivalence class facilities combine to enable a much cleaner and more powerful methodology for modular, extendable and maintainable document structure definition.

Derivation, tolerance, and validity: a formal model of type definition in XML schemas
Allen Brown, Jr, PhD, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation, USA
The integration of XML with databases and programming languages will require powerful type defining facilities. The delegate will learn how more powerful type defining mechanisms could be incorporated into XML schemas while preserving the robustness of applications in the face of type evolution.

1430 - 1540
Standards update
(For: business implementers)

Chair: Joan Smith, Director, SGML Technologies, Ltd, UK

Representatives of the W3C, ISO, OASIS, and IDEAlliance provide the latest information on the status of their respective technical work items.

W3C update - XML-related activities at the World Wide Web Consortium
Speaker to be announced
This work at the W3C involves five Working Groups directly within the XML Activity (Fragments, Infoset, Linking, Schema, and Syntax) as well as the XSL and DOM Working Groups. This report will cover the progress in all these areas.

ISO update - international standards for document description and processing
Dr. Charles F Goldfarb, Principal, Information Management Consulting, USA
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has a full-fledged sub-committee (SC34) dedicated to the SGML family of standards. This session reports on the status of SC34 standards, including SGML (basis for XML), DSSSL (basis for XSL), HyTime (important basis for XPath, XLink, and XPointer), Topic Maps ISMID, and other related standards. As SC34 is meeting prior to the conference, the most current information will be presented at this session.

OASIS - interoperability, conformance and standards for structured information
Norbert Mikula, Chief Technology Officer, DataChannel, USA
OASIS is the international consortium dedicated to accelerating the adoption of product-independent formats based on public standards. OASIS hosts XML.ORG, the vendor-neutral community for advancing XML industry standardization. In the spirit of this goal, OASIS serves as an advocate for XML interoperability and promotes the development of an infrastructure to foster market penetration for XML. In its update sessions, the OASIS Chief Technical Officer reports on the progress of the consortium's technical work, including the XML Registry and Repository, XML Conformance, ebXML (the Electronic Business XML Initiative a joint effort with the UN/CEFACT) and tpaML, the XML standard for e-contracts.

IDEAlliance standards update
Paul F Conn, Vice President, Electronic Business Initiatives, GCA and Chief Technology Officer, IDEAlliance, USA
IDEAlliance is the non-profit, vendor-neutral affiliate established by GCA to promote the development of open interoperability standards for eBusiness. IDEAlliance specializes in providing technical, promotional, educational and administrative support to both vertical and cross-industry organizations engaged in the development of such standards. This session provides an update of IDEAlliance standards development activities, including CPExchange (Customer Profile Exchange Network), ICE (Information and Content Exchange), PRISM (Publishing Requirements for Industry Standard Metadata) and XTM (XML Topic Maps for the Web).

1430 - 1720
XML: What is it & why use it?
(For: executives)

Chair: Marion Elledge , Vice President, Information Technologies, GCA, USA

This session sets the scene for a set of managerial level sessions. This first session begins with an overall introduction to XML and its related standards. Delegates hear how XML can be used within the business and the impact it will have. Speakers will discuss implementation issues, referring to case studies. To close the session, there will be an overview of the latest hot topics and how they can be exploited to improve how a company conducts business.

XML- application management issues
Adrian Rivers, Rivcon
Presentation available here.

XML - crossing the chasm
Sam Thompson, Senior Software Engineer, Emerging Technologies, IBM, USA
In 1999, the use of XML went mainstream. IBM has helped many companies throughout the Europe and other regions of the world become early adopters of XML by providing XML tools and partnering with them to help them build business solutions that leverage their existing core business systems and skills. This presentation will discuss success stories from European companies such as Amadeus, Seals, Svenska Handelsbanken, RWE Utilities, and other companies we've been involved in as well as provide some hints and tips for how you can get started using XML in your company's business applications.

A manager's guide to the latest hot topics
Ken Holman, Chief Technology Officer, Crane Softwrights Ltd, Canada
Ken Holman presents a survey of the latest 'hot' standardization topics, such as schemas, topic maps, XSL and XSLT, query, and linking from a manager's perspective - that is 'how can these affect the way the company does business'. An overview of how these technologies can be used within solutions, gives managers an insight into what questions to ask while visiting the exhibition.

1430 - 1720
Using structured information standards for publishing
(For: business implementers)

Chair: Manfred Krüger, Managing Director, MID/Information Logistics Group GmbH, Germany

Publishing applications were the first use of SGML. As expertise grows, the ways that SGML, and now XML, are being used is also evolving. This session provides an update on the use of structured information markup languages for both corporate and commercial publishing applications, featuring a diverse set of case studies.

Quality management considerations for implementing SGML
Paul Tyson, Section Supervisor, Technical Publications Processes, Cessna Aircraft Company, USA; Dan McPartland, Supervisor, Engineering Technical Publications, Cessna Aircraft Company, USA
There is still a wide gap between the theoretical promise of SGML and the practical benefits provided by SGML applications and systems. This gap must be filled with some combination of: 1) hard work; 2) money; and 3) fortuitous breakthroughs. A quality management approach can assure a successful implementation in spite of the difficulties.

SGML-oriented integral editorial system
Beatriz del Aguila, Responsible for SGML Production, Editorial CISS-PRAXIS, Spain
To keep giving a quick response to the growing demand of the market as well as to face the new customer requirements (information on-demand), and of course, to reduce production time and costs, it's necessary to have all the information stored in a neutral database. There is also the need for a system that enables and makes easier the management of that information in a useful way. This presentation describes the global project CISS-PRAXIS has developed (and still keeps improving) that covers all the processes involved in the editorial work, from retrieving documents, from any of their sources, to generating a publication in the desired medium/media.

Experiences of an implementation of a database and SGML-driven authoring and viewing system at Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars Ltd
Alan Sockett, Principal Engineering Manager - Customer Information Group (After-sales technical information), Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars Ltd, UK; Leszek Wawrzyniak, SGML & Database Consultant, Developer, ISC, Germany
The decision to use SGML/XML is often made more complex due to a number of unknowns, potential risk of failure, and high costs. This presentation describes a history and some details of a practical and successful implementation to help other managers and potential users comprehensively plan for and implement a new SGML/XML system, including the quantification of risk.

An approach for e-doc using XML technology
Caroline Estève, Project manager, Aerospatiale Matra Lanceurs, France; Laurent Vinesse, Project leader, Eurodoc-Sofilog, France
Yesterday, an electronic structured technical manual was related to sophisticated and rather expensive structured documentation applications. Now, as shown in this presentation, the development of cheaper, efficient and ergonomic technical e-doc based on XML technology and legacy structured data, and providing the right level of customization, can be easily accomplished.

1430 - 1720
XML & query languages
(For: technical implementers)

Chair: Martin Bryan, Technical Manager, The Diffuse Project, EU, UK

This session provides delegates with an exploration across the breadth of query standards and mechanisms, including both theory and case studies.

Quilt: an XML Query Language
Jonathan Robie, R&D Fellow, Software AG, USA
During the last year, two different approaches to querying XML data have become prominent. XQL and XPath take a document-oriented approach that allows projections of a document, preserving hierarchy and sequence, and allowing these to be used in conditions. XML-QL and semi-structured query languages use an approach based on transformation, and more closely related to relational databases. This talk discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each, shows how the two can be combined, and relates this to the work of the W3C Query Working Group.

A canonical query language and its efficient implementation
Gert van der Steen, Director, Palstar bv, NL
It is not necessary to wait with the implementation of an XML query language until the W3C has finished. For core elements, it is already possible to generate efficient programs. They include Boolean operators and regular expressions for structure elements in combination with free text.

Spatial/temporal datatypes: an approach to specifying and querying multimedia objects and scheduled structures in XML documents
Peiya Liu, Senior Member of Technical Staff, Siemens Corporate Research, Inc, USA; Liang H Hsu, Manager and Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Siemens Corporate Research, Inc, USA
Many useful XML applications require a smooth integration of time- and space-dependent media objects and structures in XML. XML Schema:Datatypes framework opens an opportunity to explore this dimension in a new way, and this presentation shows this new perspective in specifying and querying multimedia objects and structures in such a framework. This abstract datatypes approach provides potential advantages in querying processing of multimedia objects and structures in XML.

Indexsheets: the "Extensible Indexing Language" (XIL)
Bennett Cookson, Senior Architect, NextPage, USA
We can format XML elements differently with XSL, but how do we index elements differently? This session shows why indexing should be determined per element type rather than the same for all elements. A system based on XSLT called "Indexsheets", which is like a stylesheet for indexing, is also presented.

1610 - 1720
XML & eBusiness: ebXML & XML/EDI
(For: business implementers)

Chair: Nick Arnold, Director of Strategic Business Consulting, iMediation, USA

Delegates find out the latest update on the joint United Nations/OASIS initiative, ebXML, and hear about the results of the European XML/EDI Prototype Project.

ebXML: Building an open XML-based e-business infrastructure
Dr. Robert S. Sutor, Senior Program Director, XML Technology, IBM, USA
The United Nations body for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) have joined forces to initiate the worldwide project "ebXML" to develop an open XML-based infrastructure for e-business. This effort is bringing together experts from the EDI and XML communities to create a framework that will lower the barrier of entry to electronic business in order to facilitate trade, particularly with respect to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and developing nations. This talk will discuss the work in progress and the roadmap for developing these specifications over the next few months.

An XML/EDI transport messaging prototype
Antony Scott, Senior Analyst, RivCom, UK
This presentation will show a prototype multi-language, forms-based messaging system that brings together HTML and WAP-enabled devices. The application was developed as part of the European XML/EDI Pilot Project, which studied how the XML family of standards can be used to develop the next generation of EDI applications. The application uses generic and extensible data structures that are entirely independent of the application domain, and makes extensive use of XSLT stylesheets in ways that reduce maintenance and facilitate re-use by separating domain-specific data from application code.

1610 - 1720
XML as scripting language
(For: technical implementers)

Moderator: Robert Thibadeau, Principal Research Scientist, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Panel members:
John Nestor, President, XML For All, USA
Philip Wadler, Member of the Technical Staff, Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, USA
There is an ongoing controversy as to whether XML should be scriptable. XML allows the creation of scripting languages that import the full power of a programming language into a particular XML interpreter. With this power, documents can be created that are truly dynamic. However, there are good arguments against providing XML with this extended functionality. This panel will argue the full diversity of opinion on the subject so that we can see openly what the experts are thinking.

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