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Advice
At this point, I hope you're convinced that XML is the best way to move and manipulate structured data. If you're not using XML already, how do you get started? Here are some suggestions:
- Decide what data you want to convert to XML. Typically this is data that needs to be moved from one system to another, or data that has to be transformed into a variety of formats.
- See if there are any existing XML standards. If you're looking at very common data, such as purchase orders, medical records, or stock quotes, chances are good that someone out there has already defined XML standards for that data.
- See if your existing tools support XML. If you're using a recent version of a database package, a spreadsheet, or some other data management tool, it's likely that your existing tools (or upgrades to them) can use XML as an input or output format.
- Learn how to build XML-based applications. You need to understand how your data is stored now, how it needs to be transformed, and how to integrate your XML development efforts with your existing applications. Benoît Marchal's Working XML column is a great place to start; you can find a current listing of all his columns at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/views/xml/libraryview.jsp?search_by=working+xml:.
- Join the appropriate standards groups. Consider joining groups like the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C), as well as industry-specific groups like HR-XML.org. Being a member of these groups will help you keep track of what's happening in the industry, and it gives you the chance to shape the future of XML standards.
- Avoid proprietary shenanigans. It's important that you use only standards-based technology in your development efforts; resist the lures of vendors who offer so-called improvements to you. One of XML's advantages is that you have complete control of your data. Once it's held hostage by a proprietary data format, you've given up a tremendous amount of control.
- Contact the jStart team. If you think your enterprise could work with the jStart engagement model, contact the team to see what your possibilities are.
- Stay tuned to developerWorks. Our XML zone has thousands of pages of content that deal with various XML topics, including DTD and schema development, XML programming, and creating XSLT style sheets.
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