Re: XML for bi-directional data transfer

Ray, why XML?

I don't want to get off on a rant here,

BUT

I am currently working on a large-scale systems integration project that
uses XML to transport ALL data between an AS/400, a front-end system written
in VB using a SQL Server 2000 database, and a downstream Oracle
manufacturing system.

We are using a well-known EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) vendor's
XML solution (costing over $1M for the SOFTWARE alone, not including the
many W2K servers required to run the scripts).  At the central site, we have
an EAI administrator, a full-time EAI developer, and a number of other
people busy trying to keep this system running.  Each remote site has their
own EAI developer and/or administrator.

It is slow, breaks down easily, and is generally cantakerous.  It has a
tendency to start throwing off errors when service packs are applied.  The
GUI front-end for editing the EAI scripts sometimes takes 5-10 minutes to
load up a script (on a Pentium 4 1.7 Ghz system), and often crashes before
you have a chance to edit and save the script.

In some situations, I see XML as the EDI of the new millenium.

I remember back in 1990 when the client I was working for came to me one day
with a letter from Caterpillar that read "If you aren't EDI-capable by
October (this was in July), we will discontinue using you as a supplier".  I
learned EDI, did a software search, recommended and bought a translator
(Premenos) and got the first document (a PO) ready to use before the
deadline.

When I called their EDI administrator to schedule a test, he said "We're not
ready to do EDI with you yet!"  They had sent us a form letter!

Everybody seems hot to jump on the XML bandwagon, but I would caution you to
determine if it is a prudent thing to do.  Our EAI developer has a printout
of the first XML sales order document that we received into the system.
Printed on 8.5 x 11 paper, taped together, it is probably 15 feet long and
probably contains 256k of data vs probably 40 -50k of space that ordinary
file data would take.

If you have found a way to use XML that doesn't have any of these problems,
then it may work for you.

JMHO

P.S.  The EAI vendor recently announced that they have a new version of
their software that uses Java as the scripting language, but if I understand
correctly we will have to rewrite all of our scripts - they apparently don't
have a tool to convert them.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Nainy" <ray_456@hotmail.com>
To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2002 9:13 PM
Subject: XML for bi-directional data transfer


> Hi Everyone,
>
> I'm looking for some suggestions on using XML for bi-directional data
> transfer between AS/400 and SQL server. Is this better than FTP?
> Any help/information in this regard is greatly appreciated.
>
> :)
>
>
>
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