Introduction

The Universal Business Language (UBL) Library is:

• An XML-based business language
• Built upon existing EDI and XML business-to-business vocabularies
• Applicable across all industry sectors and domains of electronic trade
• Designed to be modular, reusable, and extensible
• Non-proprietary and royalty-free
• Intended to become an international standard for electronic commerce

The Library has been designed as a collection of object classes and associations expressed as a conceptual model. Specific document types are then assembled from these business information entities (BIES) by organizing them into a specific hierarchy. These hierarchical models are then transformed using the UBL Naming and Design rules [NDR] into XML Schema syntax [XSD1][XSD2]. The analysis and design processes developed by the UBL Library Content team are described in Annex A.

The UBL library is intended for use in business data contexts beyond the specific set of document types provided in this specification. For the purposes of this release, Section 5 below describes the scenario and choreography used in developing this set of documents. For example, the document Order Response may have a limited application, but the re-usable components Party and Item will have relevance to many applications.

Notes about this Release

• For more information about this release, please check the Release Notes.
• The downloadable version of this release is available here: 0p70 Downloadable Release. This is a zip file that will unpack to give you a replica of the online release directories.
• If there are any problems with the links in this document, you can find the full online version at http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/lcsc/0p70/.

Public Comment

The work of the OASIS UBL Technical Committee is open to public view through the mail archives linked from the UBL home page:

http://oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/

Formal input to UBL from industry data exchange organizations is provided through the UBL Liaison Subcommittee:

http://oasis-open.org/committees/ubl/lsc/

Input from the general public is accepted through the ubl-comment mail list:

http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/ubl-comment/

Interested parties are invited to comment on the work of the UBL TC by subscribing to the ubl-comment list using the OASIS list manager:

http://lists.oasis-open.org/ob/adm.pl

Disclaimer

This document and its associated components are Copyright © 2003 OASIS and are protected by applicable law as works in progress within the OASIS Universal Business Language Technical Committee. As works in progress, they do not yet have the status of an OASIS Standard or an OASIS Committee Specification. This draft and its associated components are provided on a royalty-free basis and may be freely circulated for purposes of experimentation and review. While the construction of experimental prototypes based on these materials is encouraged for the purpose of generating input back to the committee process, implementers are strongly advised against basing commercial or mission-critical applications on the draft specifications contained in this package. THESE MATERIALS ARE FURNISHED WITH NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THEIR SUITABILITY FOR ANY APPLICATION.