Applied XML in Vertical Industry

Chapter 22

Applied XML in Vertical Industry

IN THIS CHAPTER

•        The Vertical Industries

•        Professional Services Standards

•        Manufacturing  977      

•        Scientific and Engineering  984        

•        Print, Media, and Entertainment       989

          A Final Note: XML Standards Adoption 992

The majority of this book has dealt with what XML is, the various technologies that enrich the language, and how to implement XML in a variety of application scenarios. However, we have not yet talked about the myriad of ways that XML is actually being used and applied in different business scenarios. The actual, real-world implementation of XML is where the “rubber meets the road.” Without widespread usage and adoption of XML, it is merely an abstract technology with lots of promise but little delivery. The “proof is in the pudding” when many businesses in different industries make use of XML in their day-to-day operations or in other business-critical capacities.

You may even be reading this book to gain a better understanding of how XML can ben-efit and improve the operations of your particular business or industry. As such, the vast majority of this book has addressed the technologies necessary for these implementa-tions, but what remains are specific examples and advice for industry-specific implemen-tations of XML technologies. This chapter will get you well on your way towards under-standing how XML has benefited and impacted a variety of industries, ranging from manufacturing and health care to government and entertainment industries. In addition, for those readers who are now becoming familiar with XML from a technical viewpoint, this chapter provides real-world implementations of XML so that you can apply your technical skills to “nontechnical” industries and provide a quick return-on-investment (ROI) for your skills. In general, this chapter turns XML “promise” into XML “reality.”

In this chapter, you will learn about

   The widespread use and adoption of XML by multiple industries

   How vertical industries approach the use of XML and create industry vocabularies

   The use of XML for document storage, manufacturing, process control, modeling, and messaging and communication

   Professional services’ use of XML as applied to financial services, health care, insurance, legal, travel, and human resources industries

   Scientific and engineering use of XML and XML-based standards in the biotech, chemical, mathematical, and artificial intelligence industries

   The use of XML and relevant standards in the print, media, and entertainment industries

   The use of XML in manufacturing and supply chains in different industries

   Government, academic, and public-sector industry use of XML