 |
|
|
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
 |
|
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
 |
Your independent resource on business integration and network computing through middleware and message brokering
XML, middleware and message brokers
Jason Longo
Technical Director
PRL Scotland Ltd.
Management introduction
XML: one cannot walk down the corridor of an IT department without hearing it being bandied about. Version 1 of the specification has barely been released - and already XML is the talk of the town. We are told it is going to revolutionize the World Wide Web in ways we can hardly imagine.
With its potential to be the single standard for all Web-based data interchange, everyone is scrambling to understand just what it is and how it fits in with current IT strategies and infrastructures. The anticipation of XML's potential is so high that some believe it to be the ultimate solution in interface definition and there are even musings about designing an operating system based upon it. If XML is simply another option on the shelf, then what is the best way to take advantage of its potential and at the same time preserve current IT investments? Furthermore, how does one prepare for the inevitable, when XML itself becomes 'legacy' and the next revolutionary technology is introduced?
Fortunately, one answer is already available in the form of message brokers. A true message broker acts as a bridge between standards, between islands of technology. A well designed message broker makes it possible to share information quickly and easily between business applications regardless of hardware, middleware, software or interfacing standard. Since XML is just another format for representing data, state of the art message brokers already allow it to be implemented alongside more established technologies.
Figure 6.1: HTML example
Figure 6.2: XML example
Figure 6.3: XML and message brokers
Figure 5.4: XML data streams
Figure 5.5: XML for legacy application interactions
Management conclusion
XML is coming, make no mistake about it. It is an extremely powerful standard that will have a significant impact on the way information is represented and exchanged on the Web. This is not to say, however, that it can or will exist in a vacuum. Those who promote XML as the single, all-encompassing solution to every interfacing requirement are over-stating their case.
Even if XML is adopted as the standard for the Web, as it most likely will be, there is still a lot of work to be done. In many ways the hardest work lies ahead. Defining specific standard XML documents to meet even the most common interfacing requirements is going to be a formidable task. And there is no indication that companies are going to wait for those standards to be defined before implementing XML.
Without a doubt XML will need to be integrated into most computing environments. In order to do this, while preserving existing IT investments and still planning for the future, message brokers will continue to provide the glue, the bridge between the various technologies that make up today's heterogeneous computing environments.
If one looks at real enterprise-wide computing and data interchange, an XML document is not the format of choice. Rather, one can think of XML as being one of many ways in which data might be represented at either end of an interface.
Adopting self-describing data and utilizing a message broker designed for self-describing data is the solution of choice. It provides all of the advantages associated with XML with the capability, efficiency and robust functionality of the message broker. XML is going to be an excellent addition to the integration toolkit - but do not have a garage sale to dispose of the rest just yet.