[emergency] ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation) and XML

[Eliot Christian <echristi@usgs.gov>]

For the sake of interoperability, applications exchanging data must
agree on a common data syntax. Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) is a
mature and comprehensive standard for expressing data syntax. ASN.1
has long been seen as a very robust way to achieve interoperability.

ASN.1 interoperability with XML is defined in ITU-T standard X.693
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/studygroups/com17/languages/X.693_0901.pdf
In essence, applications using ASN.1 can be automatically converted
to XML, and those using XML can be automatically converted to ASN.1.

There is a free online "XML Schema to ASN.1 translator" tool
available at http://asn1.elibel.tm.fr/xsd2asn1/  A presentation
about the relationship between ASN.1 and XML is also available at
http://asn1.elibel.tm.fr/xml/ASN1-and-XML.zip (thanks to Olivier
Dubuisson, France Telecom R&D <Olivier.Dubuisson@francetelecom.com>

BTW, interoperability between ASN.1 and XML using X.693 is a key
aspect of the OASIS XML Common Biometric Format (XCBF), described
at http://xml.coverpages.org/ni2003-02-06-a.html

Eliot


Eliot Christian echristian@usgs.gov 703-648-7245 FAX 703-648-7112
US Geological Survey, 802 National Center, Reston VA 20192