CommerceNet
have announced eCo, a
specification intending to
build bridges between proprietary electronic
commerce solutions.
Supported by major software companies such as
Microsoft, Sun and IBM,
as well as leading banks, the
specification has two parts: eCo Architecture
and eCo Semantic
Recommendations.
The Architecture presents a variety of levels,
from "Data Element" to
"Market", at which an e-commerce business can
describe itself. eCo
provides DTDs and Schemas to support all its
specifications.
The Semantic Recommendations "describe best
practices for developing
XML based e-commerce documents". The
recommendations also define XML
building blocks which will enable the
interoperability of future
e-commerce specifications. "Starter" documents
provided include purchase
orders and invoices.
First impressions of the eCo framework indicate
that it is a significant
development which will speed the adoption of
XML-based technology within
electronic commerce.