Data Interchange Standards Association Develops New Software Tool to Ease XML Schema Documentation.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2002

The Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA) released a report on the Componetizer, a new software tool built by DISA that automatically identifies and documents data items in the electronic rules for XML documents, called XML Schemas.

The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a high-powered standard format, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium or W3C, for exchanging business messages and other structured data over the Internet.

The Componetizer dramatically reduces the time and effort needed to document XML Schemas, an often-laborious process in the development of standard business messages written in XML. While XML Schemas can be powerful, they are written in XML syntax, which is machine-readable but sometimes difficult to understand by humans.

The Componetizer scans XML Schemas, identifies the individual data items in those schemas, and then arrays the Schema components in easy-to-read tables viewable with any Web browser.

"Some of our vertical industry affiliates use the Componetizer to speed their work and thus increase the utility of their specifications," said Jerry Connors, DISA's president. "It provides still one more indicator of the high quality and attention to service that industry groups have come to expect from DISA."

The Componetizer works with XML Schemas meeting the requirements of the W3C's XML Schema 1.0 Recommendation of May 2, 2001 (http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-0/). DISA has used the Componetizer to generate documentation for some of its current industry affiliates, and plans to expand the outputs to other visual display and database formats.

"Before the Componetizer, industry groups would often need weeks to write the documentation that accompanies XML Schemas," said Marcel Jemio, DISA's technical operations director and developer of the Componetizer. "With this tool, DISA can generate the documentation for XML Schemas in a few seconds, making it faster and easier for our vertical industry affiliates to agree on their contents."

DISA's report, Componetizer: A Tool for Extracting and Documenting XML Schema Components, is available free of charge on its Web site for download at http://www.disa.org/whitepaper.cfm.

About the Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA)

DISA is home for the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 and industry groups developing e-business standards that provide the foundation enabling individuals and organizations to participate in global e-business. Driving an array of e-business initiatives, DISA provides technical and administrative support to its affiliated organizations:

-- ASC X12

-- Chemical Industry Data eXchange (CIDX)

-- Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA)

-- Interactive Financial eXchange (IFX) Forum

-- Meat and Poultry XML (mpXML)

-- Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO)

-- OpenTravel Alliance (OTA)

To learn more about DISA, visit http://www.disa.org or call [phone].