RE: Our semantics.

[Ram Kumar <rkumar@msi.com.au>]

John

>
> But I guess the most glaring difference is that by adopting an RDF
> orientation in our standards, we are able to assign multiple types to
> any object; I haven't seen any examples whatsoever how the
> following can
> be encoded as simply, as regularly, and as elegantly, as is done under
> the Resource Description Framework:
>
> <Person>
>    <rdf:type rdf:resource='Man'/>
>    <rdf:type rdf:resource='DivorcedIndividual'/>
>    <rdf:type rdf:resource='BrazilianCitizen'/>
>    <rdf:type rdf:resource='DisabledPerson'/>
>    <rdf:type rdf:resource='AverageWeight'/>
>    ... other characterizations of the "Person" ...
> </Person>

We have defined 4 languages in CIQ for maintainability and ease of use.

1. xNAL  - for defining customer name and address data that is not specific
to postal
   business only. It can be applied for any business that uses name and
address. Therefore,
   we do not stick to any postal rules set out by any postal authorities.
Given that our
   objective is to define a global standard, and given that many of the
countries do not
   have any postal rules in place, we believe that our approach is sound and
flexible.

2. xAL - specific for customer addresses and is referenced by xNAL
3. xNL - specific for customer names and is referenced by xNAL

4. xCIL: eXtensible Customer Information Language - this helps to define all
the unique
   characteristics of a customer (person/company) that helps to uniquely
identify a
   customer.

All the above data items about a person that you have listed can be encoded
in xCIL. xCIL uses xNL and xAL as references.

Regards

Ram