The DoD and Federal Government have several different projects that are (formally or informally) investigating the use of XML as it applies to the various functional areas with DoD. The functional areas of application vary widely from the application of XML to IETMs, to in-theatre communications for global command, control, and communications activities, DoD logistics business operations, to weapon system acquisition and life-cycle support, etc. The following list identifies some of the XML related activities that have been identified as (direct and indirect) result of our research for this report:
· Federal CIO Council XML Working Group
· XML Registry Project
· XML/EDI Standards Industry Profile and CONOPS (DRID 48)
· DoD's Center for Information Technology Standards
· DoD EDI Standards Management Committee (EDISMC)
· DISA DoD XML Guidelines
· GCCS XML Text Messaging (USMTF)
· Air Force XML User's Group (IETM related)
· NIST/OASIS Conformance Testing
The two project areas receiving a lot of attention recently are the XML Registry Project and the Federal CIO Council XML Working Group. The following two sub-sections briefly describe each of these projects.
5.1 DOD XML Registry Project
The XML Registry Project is operating by Dr. Glenda Hayes of MITRE. This project uses the term "registry" to apply to both registry and repository. The COE Data Emporium (http://diides.ncr.disa.mil/xmlreg/namespace_list.cfr) provides for a common site to publish Namespaces for use within the DoD community. According to the XML registry, a DII COE Namespace must have a sponsor, have a Point of Contact, be willing to make its communal definitions visible, be willing to finance/staff Namespace administration, be chartered by the COE Chief Engineer, and involve specific COE system implementations. Current DoD Namespaces include:
1. Aerospace Operations,
2. COE Enterprise,
3. Combat Support,
4. General Military Intelligence,
5. Ground Operations,
6. Messages,
7. Meteorological and Oceanographic, and
8. Tracks and Reports.
The XML Registry is one piece of the COE Data Emporium (http://diides.ncr.disa.mil/xmlreg) and is provided for under the Semi-Structured Data and Meta-data (SSD-MD) (http://spider.osfl.disa.mil/dii/aog_twg/twg/ssdmd/ssd-md_page.html) sub-panel of the Data Access Technical Working Group. This sub-panel's charter, dated November 1998, provides that "this SubPanel will support the DII Architecture Oversight Group (AOG) in the area of 'semi-structured data and meta-data by providing a forum for identifying related efforts, coordinating development efforts, identifying requirements, resolving issues, and introducing new segments into the COE." The subpanel is co-chaired by Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command.
The XML Registry provides users with sets of XML tags and Document Type Definitions (DTDs)/Document Content Definitions (DCDs) submitted by DoD users and approved by the COE Chief Engineer and appointed Community of Interest (COI) Point of Contacts. According to the Data Emporium website, a COI is "a collection of people, agencies, activities, and system builders who share an interest in a particular problem domain or practical application." The XML Registry "constitutes guidance in the generation and use of XML within the COE v4.x data environment and is the authoritative source for approved XML data and meta-data components." The user interface for the Registry allows users to view, in either a tree/hierarchy structure or tabular format, the components of the available Entities and DTDs/DCDs as well as submits new data for approval. It also provides users with a search capability to browse current tags and their attributes for their potential use. If a user does not find tag-sets applicable to their process they may propose tags to a COI for acceptance. Finally, the Registry allows the user to retrieve tag-sets that are found to be of use in their process.
In summary, the main thrust of the "XML Registry" work is to provide visibility and awareness of XML data elements in use within various functional areas within DoD. The utility of providing this awareness is to ease the job of application integrators and system interfaces. It is very important to note that commercial next generation e-commerce frameworks based on XML are building registry and repository functionality into their frameworks, which have a different application and utility than the current DoD XML Registry. Furthermore, the concept of having a single XML Registry for all of DoD's functional areas is not scalable and would be extremely difficult and complex to manage.
5.2 Federal CIO Council XML Working Group
This is a newly formed group that recently held its initial (formational) meeting June 14th, 2000 at GSA's Central Office 18th&F St. NW DC Room 6009. The group is co-chaired by Marion Royal and Owen Amber of GSA. The Federal CIO Council's XML Working Group has four main thrust areas, which include the following:
1. Develop XML Best practices and Recommended Standards,
2. Develop Partnerships with Key Industry and Public Groups Developing XML Standards and Specifications,
3. Develop with Existing Federal "Vertical" Communities to accelerate the delivery of XML benefits, and
4. Conduct "Results-Oriented" Education and Outreach.
The agenda for the initial meeting was as follows:
1. Introduction of Working Group's Charter
2. Self-Introductions and expressions of interests
3. Glenda Hayes, Mitre, XML registry for DoD's Common Operating Environment
4. Discussion of membership rules (e.g., State, local, and nongovernmental)
5. Virtual logistics: a) intranets.com site, b) listserv, c) xml.gov domain hosting, and d) other
6. Brainstorming on how the group might make the most effective contributions
7. Schedule and logistics for subsequent meetings
This meeting helped stimulated awareness and discovery of what various agencies and departments are doing with respect to XML. Additionally, the meeting helped stimulate communication among various 'arms' within DoD that was not aware of each other. At this meeting, it was suggested that each respective branch CIO should be given the opportunity appoint someone responsible for attending future meetings. Also, there was a good dialog between the Dr. Glenda Hayes (XML Registry) and DoD's XML/EDI (transactional e-business) attendees on why storing EC/EDI/XML data in this single registry is not a good idea. Furthermore, it was decided to make the meetings open for the time being. The group's charter will expire September 30, 2002. It has been decided that the group will be monthly. The agenda at the initial meeting was as follows:
1) Update on Virtual Logistical Support
a) Listserv and Forums
b) xml.gov
2) Strategies and tasks addressing the four activities specified in the Working Group's charter:
a) XML Best Practices and Recommended Standards
b) Partnerships with Key Industry and Public Groups
c) Partnerships with Existing Communities of Interest within the Federal Government
d) Results-Oriented Education and Outreach
In summary, this committee has been created to help shed light on, and stimulate education and awareness of, the various new and existing XML initiatives not only within DoD but across the entire Federal Government. The Website for the Federal CIO Council XML Working Group is as follows: http://xmlwg.intranets.com.
