Keynote: BizTalk Update

Microsoft's BizTalk efforts have been covered previously by WDVL in our report on XML World. Readers unfamiliar with BizTalk might benefit from a peek at the BizTalk Philosophy.

Microsoft's Chris Kurt described the three parts of BizTalk:

1. Framework - the specifications and the underlying architecture, along with the Jumpstart Kit
2. BizTalk.org - educational resources (such as the XML-Data Schemas Guide) plus a library of schema
3. BizTalk Server - a product separate from the Framework which can be implemented on any platform

An alpha version of the BizTalk Server is under development as a component of Windows DNA 2000 (Distributed interNet Applications Architecture [sic]), Microsoft's platform for building and deploying Web-based applications.

There are presently 75 organizations participating in BizTalk with over 250 schemas online, according to Kurt.

Given that GCA's IDEAlliance, OASIS's XML.org and ebXML.org, and Microsoft's BizTalk.org all have overlapping goals in terms of helping to coordinate cross-industry development of XML DTDs and Schema, the fact that there were no specifics offered by any of the speakers about exactly how and to what extent these organizations will be working together is both puzzling and discomforting, in this writer's view.

Keynote: OASIS/XML.org Update
What Happened at XML'99
Keynote: IDEAlliance