DTI Generates E-Business XML Applications using 4GL Meta-Code XPATH and XMLSchema Jason Brown dti

Overview DTI BackgroundDTI Background IT HistoryIT History Solutions InvestigatedSolutions Investigated FOX Radical Solution (Demo 1)FOX Radical Solution (Demo 1) FOX ArchitectureFOX Architecture Building Fox Modules (Demo 2 )Building Fox Modules (Demo 2 ) dti

DTI Business Processes Receive ApplicationsReceive Applications Issue Notices, Permits, ContractsIssue Notices, Permits, Contracts Request Information / DataRequest Information / Data MonitoringMonitoring dti

Our Data Offshore well operationsOffshore well operations Production ReportingProduction Reporting Environmental Consents & MonitoringEnvironmental Consents & Monitoring Decommissioning Liability NoticesDecommissioning Liability Notices Etc.Etc. dti

Mission UK government mandatory requirements: Paperless by 2005Paperless by 2005 Alignment with the internet (Browser)Alignment with the internet (Browser) XML data exchangeXML data exchange Data about our data (Metadata)Data about our data (Metadata) dti

Mission Review Submission Produce Documents Digitally Sign & File Deliver Contract Acknowledge Contract Submit Application Obtain Copy internet Master Legal documents Electronic Communications Act 2000 Obtain Copy dti

Challenges Central Government – limited resourcesCentral Government – limited resources Sizable Complex DataSizable Complex Data Complex WorkflowComplex Workflow Technology Choices for E-businessTechnology Choices for E-business Skills & TimescalesSkills & Timescales Future SupportFuture Support dti

IT History 3GL, T.P. Forms, Cobol, Codasyl Database. Everything hard work ! md 1980’s Technology Build Period 3GL, Hand crafted Pl/Sql HTML, Oracle md>2000 4GL, Case*Generators, Forms3, Oracle7/ md1990’s dti

Problems post Y2K 3GL (been here before)3GL (been here before) Focus divertedFocus diverted Restricted XML toolsRestricted XML tools GUI less robustGUI less robust Individual coding stylesIndividual coding styles Lost productivity, reliability, and consistencyLost productivity, reliability, and consistency dti

Solutions Considered Oracle pl/sql - stateless Mod OSE Webview/Webdb/HTML DB UIX (bc4j) EJB Jdev/jsps/servlets.NET JSF/webforms/ADF XSLT dti

Radical Solution FOX UK OIL PORTAL dti

E-Business The UK Oil Portal dti Complex XML Processing Engine Oil Companies Browser DTI Staff Other Government Departments Oracle Application Server 9i J2EE Java Servlet XML_DATAID XML DATA TABLE Oracle Server 9i R 2 XHTLM & JavaScript JDBC XML Meta-Code FOX

The Solution in Action Live Demonstration 1 html html dti

Fox Approach Radical Solution Modules written in XML 4GL Meta-codeModules written in XML 4GL Meta-code 1 Line of Code = Much Work1 Line of Code = Much Work XPath used in 4GL meta-codeXPath used in 4GL meta-code XMLSchema design generates 4GL logic and screens (e.g. LOV)XMLSchema design generates 4GL logic and screens (e.g. LOV) Stateful/Transactional – uses module call stack dti

Fox Approach (continued) Fewer tables and columns: ID NUMBER(12), XML_DATA ( SYS.XMLTYPE) No XMLSchema on tables - data builds over time Incremental validation (Levels 1 and 2) Level 3 validation using SQL & PL/SQL XML cached in memory using DOM DOM node - a wonderful object (pass it around) dti

FOX Development Technology Fox Engine (upfront one-off investment): Java J2EE Servlet, IDE Oracle JDEV, 9iAS Fox Meta-code: XMLSchema, XMLSpy Stored in Oracle Tables Developer Tools and Features: Oracle XMLType, Blob, Clob, Collections Toad Beta for XMLType Developer Testing dti

Fox is Sophisticated Module Manager Module Cache Activity Thread Manager Action Logic Engine Presentation Generator - XHTML - Java Script DOM Lock Manager Fox ModulesThread XMLApplication XMLApplication Tables DML Generator API Engine SQL Engine DOMCACHEDOMCACHE Browser FORM Translator values merged into XML Hierarchy 2-LOAD MODULE 4-MODULE JAVA OBJECT 6 Selects, PLSQL, Inserts, Updates Deletes 6 dti Document Generator

Application Component Build Live Demonstration 2 html html dti

Conclusion Handles large complex submissions and complex workflow – performantHandles large complex submissions and complex workflow – performant Manages document preparation & signingManages document preparation & signing Achieves 100% paperless and electronic legal complianceAchieves 100% paperless and electronic legal compliance XML complianceXML compliance Fox engine improvements benefit all apps at a strokeFox engine improvements benefit all apps at a stroke Road not always smooth but Good PositionRoad not always smooth but Good Position dti

More Info and Contacts References / Acknowledgements: Altova XMLSpy: XML Editing, XMLSchema Design/Validation; XSL-FO The Apache XML Project: XPATH Engine (Xerces), PDF Document Generation (FOP) interactivetools.com: WYSIWYG Text Editor (htmlArea) m/ m/ Oracle: Oracle 9i/10G, 9ias Application Server, JDeveloper Quest Software Toad: Developer Database Tools World Wide Web Consortium: DOM, XML, XHTML, XPATH, XMLSchema, XSLT, XSL-FO dti