Re: [ubl-dev] CCTS in B2B Standards

["Stephen Green" <stephen_green@seventhproject.co.uk>]

Benoit

Greetings.


The CCTS is a specification which has been
standardised as ISO 15000-5, the 'Core
Components Technical Specification', having
been developed by UN/CEFACT as part of and
in support of ebXML. Several countries
are close to adopting it or have adopted it
for public sector systems (such as UK Gov
with their 'e-GIF' Technical Catalogue
see http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/egif/specifications.asp#table17 )

The specification itself has been very difficult
to find on the Internet.
An easy way to find it is from the UBL spec
at http://docs.oasis-open.org/ubl/cd-UBL-1.0/
This points to a copy of it at
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/download.php/6232/CEFACT-CCTS-Version-2pt01.zip
Other links to it seem to be broken, usually, sorry.

UBL seeks to implement it as closely as possible.
This was the original intention for UBL and remains
a top priority.

OAGIS follows it too.

This is all part of an overall plan to converge major
standards for ecommerce as much as possible. It
involves a what is called harmonisation with a CEFACT
group called TBG17 who seek to create a single set
of 'Core Components' (abstract types, if you like) for
all the subscribing standards to use who submit their
proposed 'Core Components' to TBG17. See
http://xml.coverpages.org/coreComponents.html
for some of the history.

The CCTS provides datatypes for schemas to use
based on business needs (Amount, Quantity, etc).
UBL uses these, as does OAGIS. These datatypes
were not, originally, defined in XML or XSD but
the UN/CEFACT group ATG2 have since produced
schemas for them. UBL is considering using the
ATG2 schemas for UBL 2.0 to help alignment with
other standards such as OAGIS and any other
schemas based on ATG2's naming and design rules
(though UBL has its own naming and design rules).
see http://www.disa.org/cefact-groups/atg/downloads/index.cfm

Abstract datatypes, called Core Component Types, have
to be used to produce further datatypes, both without
and with further specialization, according to the CCTS.
These datatypes (called either unqualified and qualified
or unspecialized and specialized datatypes) are together
used to define the leaf elements in schemas (though
CCTS doesn't limit itself to XML implementations). The
CCTS defines naming rules too so that nameclashes
are avoided in any registering of the 'entities' (the name
given to elements with complex or simple content if XML
is used, though, again, it doesn't have to be). The naming
is an implementation of the ISO data dictionary standard
ISO 11179.

Finally the CCTS defines how the leaf elements (called
Basic Information Entities, BBIEs) are built into complex
type aggregates (called Aggregate Business Information
Entities, ABIEs) together with associations to other
ABIEs (assocations which are called Associated
Business Information Entities, ASBIEs). In XML and
XSD implementations of CCTS such as UBL this equates
to complex types which, in UBL's case, reference other
elements (that is when the UBL naming and design rules
are used to implement CCTS). These should be built
together with either existing (where possible) or new,
proposed versions (if necessary) of the types in an abstract
form, which are called the Core Components (as mentioned
above) and which should optimise and allow reuse and
harmonisation.

Much more can be said. This is a starter, perhaps.
The specs have a * lot * more detail :-)

All the best and happy reading :-)

Stephen Green


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <benoit.archinard@tudor.lu>
To: <ubl-dev@lists.oasis-open.org>
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 2:16 PM
Subject: [ubl-dev] CCTS in B2B Standards


> Hello,
>
> I research information about CCTS. How are created CCTS? How are used CCTS
>
> in each XML standard? Do you reuse existing CCTS? If yes, how and why? If
> no, why?
>
> Do you know if exists a state of the art (or a document) about CCTS in
> different B2B standardisation? To see incoherence or difference?
>
> If there isn't document, can you explain me how do you work to create
> CCTS? Do you do a research before creating it? etc...
>
> Thank you
>
> Best regards
>
> Benoit Archinard