[ebxml-cppa-negot] NDD schema

[Martin W Sachs <mwsachs@us.ibm.com>]

If we want to meet the goal of having our automated negotiation specification apply to any kind of XML agreement, it would be highly desirable to define the NDD in a sufficiently abstract fashion to be able to apply it to any kind of XML agreement. Doing so would mean that it would not be necessary to design a new NDD schema for each kind of document to be negotiated. I don't know how easy it would be but here are some initial thoughts.

The NDD could consist of a variable length (cardinality 1 or more) set of XPATH statements, each of which refers to a negotiable element or attribute.

Under each such XPATH statement, the negotiability of the element or attribute would be defined by child elements. These child elements have to represent the negotiability characteristics we are currently discussing, using the element and attribute spreadsheet. Examples are:

- Cardinality (range of permitted cardinalities)

- For a numeric value, minimum, maximum, and negotiation step size

- For choices, XPATH statements, ID attribute values, qnames, element values, etc. which identify the specific choices within the document being negotiated. Examples in the CPA are certificates, delivery channels, transport protocols, and signature algorithms.

It is likely that an NDD expressed in this abstract manner would not be very readable. This is an opportunity for tool vendors to produce NDD composition tools. Such a tool would have a GUI that would tailor the view of the NDD to the specific kind of document to be negotiated. Such a tool would reference the schema of the document being negotiated along with the NDD being constructed, which should supply it with sufficient information to make the views understandable by someone who is composing an NDD. This would enable that person to communicate with the tool in terms of the specifics of the document to be negotiated. The tool could then construct the NDD instance document in accord with the NDD schema.

Thoughts?

Regards,
Marty

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Martin W. Sachs
IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
P. O. B. 704
Yorktown Hts, NY 10598
914-784-7287; IBM tie line 863-7287
Notes address: Martin W Sachs/Watson/IBM
Internet address: mwsachs @ us.ibm.com
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