UDEF (Universal Data Element Framework)
An effort to develop a standard rules-based nomenclature for business-to-business communications.
The problem UDEF is trying to solve is the lack of consistency among different electronic business document formats. Today there is no common way to identify the "semantic equivalency" of data elements contained in the various XML standards and back-office systems that communicate with each other, says John Hardin, chief architect for ebXML at GM.
For example, documents that adhere to standards such as Open Applications Group, CIDX for the chemical industry, Electronic Data Interchange and RosettaNet - as well as document formats supported by vendors such as Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP - might all contain the same data elements, but those elements are named differently, Hardin says.
"The same data element concept, such as 'purchase order document date,' has a different name in every single one of these formats," Hardin says. "So users have to create mapping code to bridge the gap and to match up these differently named but exactly alike data element concepts."
Relying on a person to match the data element concepts in each format and create translations for every systems connection is unsustainable. "When you think about Web services, you think about messages and transactions flying across the Web in an automated way," Hardin says. "We can't have a human in the middle of that process and get anything done with any speed."
UDEF is aimed at addressing this translation gap with a rules-based metadata naming convention.
Like the Dewey library-classification system, UDEF assigns alphanumeric tags. The intent is to provide a mechanism for creating alphanumeric UDEF IDs for each data element in an electronic document. In a business-to-business transaction, if UDEF IDs are embedded in the documents from both parties, then the task of transforming a message into another format can be handled automatically.
For large organizations that deal with hundreds or thousands of suppliers, UDEF is intended to allow all involved parties to use systems that best fit their specific needs and at the same time enable communication with business partners, says Mark Gibbs, consultant and Network World columnist. Whereas most XML translations are simply one-to-one solutions that lack robustness, UDEF could enable one-to-any translations.
From B2B standard targets integration, Network World, 03/29/04.
Additional resources
UDEF.org
UDEF news, specs and documents.
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