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Chapter 3: The Federal Government Faces
Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential
Figure 7: Using a Registry of XML Data Elements and Structures
Source: GAO.
Although no registry of “inherently governmental” XML components has
yet been established, work is under way to create a pilot version of a
registry. According to XML Working Group officials, NIST has developed a
specification of the functional requirements for the pilot registry, and the
working group’s leaders have determined that they can use a version of
the system developed by the Defense Logistics Information Service to
satisfy these requirements. No date has yet been set for putting the pilot
registry into initial operation.
According to the co-chair of the XML Working Group, a governmentwide
registry can provide users with the ability to (1) discover and use pertinent
XML components and (2) register additional components that are
“inherently governmental” in nature if those already specified in
Page 54 GAO-02-327 Electronic Government
