Page 27 - GAO-02-327 Electronic Government: Challenges to Effective Adoption of the Extensible Markup Language

Chapter 1: Background: Features and Current
Federal Use of XML

data into the correct formats of the transmission standard, an often
complex and time-consuming process. In contrast, XML has the potential
to be more widely adopted, since it was designed to use the Internet’s data
communications infrastructure, which is already in place.

The EDI set of standards consists of electronic message formats for many
business-related documents used in electronic transactions. Figure 4 is an
example of an EDI-formatted “Request for Quotation” that adheres to the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards
Committee (ASC) X12 EDI standard. As the figure shows, data in an EDI-
formatted document are cryptic. This is a major difference between EDI
and XML, which uses simple text files and tags that are intended to convey
readily understandable meaning (see figure 2). The cryptic format of EDI
standards serves as an impediment to their broad adoption, because
extensive, specialized knowledge is required to interpret EDI messages,
troubleshoot problems, and adapt existing systems to conform to the
standards.

Figure 4: A “Request for Quotation” Formatted as an EDI Message

ISA*00* *00* *ZZ*GATEC *ZZ*PUBLIC *960508*...
GS*RQ*GATEC*PUBLIC*960508*1237*000721330*X*003010
ST*840*000721331
BQT*00*F3360196T7174001*960508*106*960509
REF*IL*FM230061280242
PER*IC**EM*F33601@EC099.LLNL.GOV
DTM*002*960517
PO1*1*54*BX***FT*8940*SI*5499*FS*8940011728888*MF*SANDOZ ...
1*MF*SANDOZ NUTRITION*MG*NDE 00212-4580-01
PID*F****SUPPLEMENT, TOLEREX, DIETARY,
CTT*1
SE*16*000721331
GE*1*000721330
IEA*1*000721332

Source: Department of Defense.
EDI has been the primary data format used by large organizations to
transfer business data among themselves, and it continues in widespread
use. After an extensive effort to participate in and encourage the
development of EDI standards, key federal government agencies such as
the Department of Defense (DOD) and General Services Administration
(GSA) adopted EDI as the standard format for data interchange for a

Page 23 GAO-02-327 Electronic Government