Re: [ubl-hisc] Input specification documentation for UBL

[jon.bosak@sun.com]

Hello Mark,

Welcome!  I'm really excited about the plan you've suggested.

As the ubl-hisc mailing list is quite small, however, I think you
should re-send your message to the entire UBL list.  People may
not have much to say in response simply because the plan you've
laid out is so sensible (though they might -- you never know), but
I'd like the whole TC to be aware of what you're doing.

Jon

   Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:52:40 +0000
   From: Mark Seaborne <mark@picoforms.com>

   Hi All,

   I have just joined the group at Ken's suggestion with a view to seeing 
   if I can help devise a way to create useful documentation to record the 
   requirements for creating input mechanisms for UBL XML.

   I have been working with electronic forms for some years now - 
   initially working with EDI, and latterly with XML. I have been a member 
   of the W3C XForms WG for some years now, and my current employer, 
   PicoForms has XForms implementations that run in desktop browsers and 
   mobile devices.

   Until recently I worked for a UK standards body, (Origo), that works on 
   XML standards for the UK Life and Pensions Industry. We had the same 
   requirement to specify generic rules for creating input applications to 
   populate documents conformant to our Schemas. 

   Historically this was achieved by producing prose documents that 
   described:

    - The logical grouping of fields and groups of fields in an electronic 
   form.
    - The order in which fields should be presented to the user (if 
   significant).
    - Where data cross-population was valid (e.g. if the same address 
   could perform more than one role).
    - Where and how values could be calculated internally (e.g. 
   subtotals). 

   The documentation was somewhat flawed as it assumed a visual 
   presentation on a computer desktop, and all rules were expressed, often 
   poorly, as prose. It was nevertheless a useful starting point.

   More recently we started to look at using XForms + XHTML + CSS to 
   produce better documentation. XForms lends itself well to use as a 
   "meta" forms description language. It is a largely declarative language 
   designed to capture the intent of a form author without imposing any 
   particular presentation mechanism. It consumes XML Schema and 
   instances, and allows for the creation of XPath based constraints 
   (similar to Schematron) and calculated values.

   I am now keen to explore a similar approach in he context of UBL. I 
   recently built a simple, generic form that allows a user to walk an XML 
   instance and view associated annotations from the UBL schema (see: 
   http://www.picoforms.com/wiki/index.php/Universal_Business_Language_%28UBL%29) 
   and am now looking to see how this can be adapted.

   Ken pointed me at the specification for calculating totals ( 
   http://www.oioubl.info/documents/en/en/Guidelines/OIOUBL_GUIDE_TOTALS.pdf) 
   from which I can derive XPath expressions that I can use with an XForm 
   to test that they work. So this looks like a nice, simple next step.

   It has been suggested that it would be best for me to create 
   implementation-technology-neutral documentation to describe rules for 
   building input applications, and then to test by generating XForms that 
   implement the rules from the documentation. The resulting XForms could 
   also serve as interactive appendices to the main documentation. This 
   seems a reasonable approach to me.

   Anyway, I would really appreciate thoughts and ideas from others with 
   experience in this field. Does the general approach sound reasonable?

   My employer is happy to allow people to use our XForms implementation 
   freely to access the forms I produce - so I will let you know when 
   there is something to play with.  

   All the best

   Mark

   Mark Seaborne
   Senior Standards Architect
   PicoForms
   web:    http://www.picoforms.com
   e-mail: mark.seaborne@picoforms.com
   tel: +44 131 2080031
   mobile:  +44 787 2180215


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