Comment on UCLP Submission

The Universal Commerce Language and Protocol (UCLP) is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) application for metadata related to commercial products and companies and that can be used in identifying and retrieving product data residing across the Internet. The tags provide a base level of data typing and define a set of industry-specific names.

The UCLP submission is related to the following activities of W3C:

• XML Activity developing XML Schemas:
  1. Extensible Markup Language (XML) provides a syntax to design applications with particular functions.
     UCLP is an application of XML, focussing on the design of a language for identifying data on the Web. UCLP indicates a strong need for strong and extensible data typing within XML.
  2. The XML Schema provides means for defining the structure (structural schemas are a mechanism somewhat analogous to DTDs for constraining document structure), content and semantics of XML documents (primitive data typing , integers, dates, etc).
     XML Schema requirements need to address whether or not this user-level datatyping and data validation falls within their scope for version 1
  UCLP demonstrates experience in this area and suggests requirements for future work.
• Metadata Activity developing RDF:
  1. Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a foundation for exchanging metadata. The  RDF Model and Syntax specification , now in Proposed Recommandation state, provides an interoperable foundation using XML permitting user-domain definition of metadata vocabularies like the vocabularies proposed in UCLP.
  2. Resource Description Framework (RDF) Schema Specification provides a basic type system for use in RDF models. It provides a machine-understandable system for defining 'schemas' for descriptive vocabularies, allowing the introduction of semantics.
     Unlike an XML DTD, which gives specific constraints on the structure of a document, an RDF Schema provides information about the interpretation of the statements given in an RDF data model.
     DTDs are not a critical element for interoperable metadata exchange, where dynamically extensible metadata vocabularies are important. It allows user communities to choose their own domain-specific vocabularies without requiring agreement from a central coordinating authority and to add their own user-specific metadata elements to a document without destroying the interoperability of the remainder of the document . This principle is reflected in both UCLP and RDF.
  We observe that as specified in this Submission, there appears to be no mechanism that permits independent user communities to evolve separate vocabularies with protection from name collision (see the Namespaces in XML Recommendation).
  This has been addressed in the design of RDF and retargetting UCLP to be an RDF Schema would cause UCLP to inherit this solution.
• Electronic Commerce Activity :
  The E.Commerce Interest Group is a forum designed to allow the members to share information with the Consortium staff and other members about work underway in related areas.
  UCLP relates to the Electronic Commerce and EDI arena, providing a framework for information on domains, such as products and organizations to be  managed, searched and exchanged over the web.

Next Steps :

UCLP, also proposes interface definition; "method signatures" as mentioned in the submission. W3C has had other Submissions Web Interface Definition Language (WIDL) that discuss this technology as well. Perhaps there is now sufficient critical mass for a working group to look into a common vocabulary for exchanging (programming) interface definitions.

If a Working Group does pick up this Submission for discussion we expect that the group will want to clarify the IPR terms, particularly the degree to which the Submission discusses proprietary technology that might impose limitations on the openness any resulting recommendation.

Disclaimer: Placing a Submission on a Working Group agenda does not imply endorsement by either the W3C Staff or the participants of the Working Group, nor does it guarantee that the Working Group will agree to take any specific action on a Submission.