Universal Business Language (UBL)
1.0-beta

2003 Dec 01


The Universal Business Language Technical Committee (UBL TC) has released the 1.0-beta version for implementation trials and reviews. Incorporating wide range of review comments, inputs from e.Gov, RosettaNet and OAG/UNCEFACT, the TC revised the models and datatypes thoroughly, resulting in a highly polished form of schema set that will be tabled as a committee draft in the upcoming 1.0-beta release.

For the first time in their specification development life-cycle, the UBL TC uses the UBL inter-schema helper (UBLish) as an integration and schema generation tool. The UBL TC was given a boost in terms of cutting down tremendously the turn-around time between a change in the model spreadsheets and the resulting change in the schemas that ought to mirror the spreadsheets' inputs. Developed by SoftML, UBLish relieves UBL standards workers from the myriads of details associated with the verification and assembly of multiple sources of inputs into producing XML schemas.

The task of incorporating Naming and Design Rule requirements, implementation of code list references, and inclusion of Core Component Types that are implemented using UBL-edited schemas has now gone into the UBLish engine, which expeditiously integrates these desparate sources of inputs, verifies them on-the-fly, and churns out readily usable XML schemas that conform to UBL standard requirements.

As a result of using UBLish, the UBL TC had:

  • much more time for modeling instead of manual schema tweaking,
  • near-interactive feel of how the schema would look like,
  • highly reliable generated schemas that would parse and validate with all well-known schema validators,
  • no referential worries about code list or inter-schema cross-references,
  • using UBLish+ Extension, reverse-computed type topology information enabled detection of unused types, quantification of reusability of types, and detection of recursive type structures are well supported to enhance the overall quality of data abstraction, inter-schema references, and re-uses.
And, the 1.0-beta was completed ahead of schedule.

Background

UBL uses XML and related technologies to elevate the level of interoperability and common digital understanding among electronic business entities. This major effort is spearheaded by well-known XML Architect, Jon Bosak from Sun Microsystem, and joined by a number of multi-national corporates and individual members of the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) in the UBL Technical Committee (TC).

The effort has gained international momentum lately, thanks to its harmonisation and synchronization efforts with other major international standards bodies and major industrial verticals that are using XML. The UBL TC establishes liaison work with other organisations through its Liaison Sub-Committee (LSC) , which is also chaired by Jon Bosak. Already, it has built links with organisations such as

just to name some.

8 Document Types

Document types which are being considered in the latest 1.0-beta release:

  • Despatch Advice
  • Invoice
  • Order
  • Order Acknowledgement
  • Order Cancellation
  • Order Response (Complex)
  • Order Response (Simple)
  • Receipt Advice

Other components being included in the schema generation process are:

  • Reusable Types
  • Representation Terms
  • Core Component Types
  • Data Types
  • Code List Catalogue
  • Naming and Design Rules
Important Dates

Past UBL Release

UBL - 0p70 Description Page

UBL 0p70 Release

Software Utilities

The software scripts and utilities below are authored by SoftML or staff of SoftML in support of UBL's efforts. All information entities here are to be used on an AS-IS basis without warranty whatsoever.