e-Government Interoperability Framework

e-Government Interoperability Framework Adrian Stevenson Jane Stevenson Amanda Hill

An Introduction to the e-GIF A Society of Archivists’ event, organised by the EAD/Data Exchange Group Given by MIMAS: M anchester I nfor m ation and A ssociated S ervices

Content Section 1 – Introduction to e-GIF Section 2 – XML - the Core of e-GIF Section 3 – Implementing systems using XML technology

JORUM Project J ISC O nline R epository for Learning and Teaching M aterials Funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) Advise on the interoperability requirements of the JISC Information Environment The JISC Information Environment requires the implementation of standards and specifications: IMS Global Learning Consortium IEEE Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL)

Section 1 Introduction to e-GIF

Content Overview of e-GIF • Components of e-GIF • e-GIF Specification Drivers • e-GIF Key Policies • e-GIF Scope • e-GIF Compliance / non-Compliance

e-Government Interoperability Framework e-GIF version 6.0 (30 th April 2004): “ The e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) sets out the government’s technical policies and specifications for achieving interoperability… across the public sector. ” “ This approach is designed to be pragmatic and aims to reduce the costs and risk of operating information technology systems while keeping the public sector in step with the global internet revolution.” http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/documents/e-gif-v6-0_.pdf

e-GIF importance Adoption of e-GIF is mandatory for the public sector It is the cornerstone policy of the e-Government strategy Details on e-Government strategy at: http://e-government.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/EStrategy/StrategicFramework/fs/en

Components of e-GIF Policy and Scope Technical Policies Implementation Support Management Process Change Management Complying with the e-GIF

e-GIF architecture e-GIF contains: The Framework , which covers high-level policy statements, technical policies and management, implementation and compliance regimes The e-GIF registry , which covers XML schemas, technical standards, the e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS), the Government Category List (GCL), and a number of other elements

e-GIF Key Policies Alignment with the Internet – adoption of common standards used on Internet and WWW Adoption of XML as the primary standard for data integration • The Web browser is the key interface • Addition of metadata to government resources • Development and use of the e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS) Develop and maintain the Government Category List (GCL)

e-GIF specification drivers Interoperability – only specifications relating to interconnectivity, data integration, e-services access and content management metadata specified Market support – specifications have to be widely supported by the market Scalability – to changes in data volumes, number of users Openness – specifications available to the public International Standards – preferred to EU and UK standards

e-GIF Scope Information exchange between UK government and: – Citizens – Businesses both in the UK and overseas – UK government organisations – Other governments UK Government includes: Central and local government departments Devolved administrations The wider public sector e.g. Non-departmental public bodies and the NHS HEFCE: universities as “independent autonomous bodies” classed as being in the public sector You must use e-GIF for all new systems that fall in this scope

Open Source Software The e-GIF informs the Open Source Software (OSS) policy http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/policydocs/consult_subject_document.asp?docnum=780 OSS is software whose source code is openly published, and usually available at no charge E.g. Linux operating system, Apache web server Open Source Software Policy: Consider OSS alongside proprietary – choose best value for money Seek to avoid vendor lock-in Only use products that support open standards and specifications

e-GIF Technical Policies The Core technologies are divided into four technology areas: – Interconnection – Data Integration – Content Management Metadata – e-Services Access and Channels

Interconnection Technologies The interconnection technologies are all standard Internet technologies, such as – HTTP / FTP / IP / NNTP / SSL – SMTP / POP Web Services are part of this set of technologies: – SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI – Web Services are based around XML

Data Integration Technologies XML – XML and XML Schemas for data integration – XSLT for data transformation – UML, RDF and XML for data modelling and description All of the above with the exception of UML are based upon XML

Content Management metadata Adopt e-GMS, based on Dublin Core for information management and retrieval needs e-GMS is a ‘superset’ of metadata elements - unlikely that any single system will require all Organisations encouraged to develop sector specific standards, removing elements not required and adding local constraints Policy covers the development and maintenance of the Government Category List (GCL)

Government Category List The GCL is a structured list of categories Use with the ‘Subject.category’ element of the e-GMS GCL consists of approximately 400 controlled vocabulary categories GCL will be fully integrated into applications

e-Services access technologies Systems designed to be accessible through browser-based technology Provide services via a range of delivery channels and devices Information content should be separate from the delivery channel Systems designed so essential information accessible via delivery channels with limited capability Plug-ins must be easy to download and without a licensing fee

e-Services delivery channels Access technologies vary depending upon the form of access – Digital TV – PC based Web browser – Mobile Phones – Video conferencing systems over IP – PDAs and other devices Personalisation technologies can be employed to support service delivery content filtered to match device display capabilities

e-GIF Implementation Support There are also a number of predefined XML schemas to be used where appropriate Address and personal details Property information Archives and Records Management • Many others are in draft Education Local government services

XML Schemas Production Schemas developed by specialist groups or by open submission to the GovTalk website The Government Schemas Group will manage the acceptance, publication and change requests Accepted schemas published at: http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/schemasstandards/agreedschema.asp

www.govtalk.gov.uk GovTalk website forms a fundamental part of the e-GIF implementation strategy GovTalk provides implementation support through the production of agreed, freely available XML schemas that can be re-used throughout the public sector

Management Processes Outlines the roles and responsibilities of central government and the public sector The e-Government Unit (EGU) is the lead authority for implementing and maintaining the e-GIF EGU provides the management infrastructure to support the processes Public sector organisations need to ensure that compliance is a fundamental part of their organisational IT strategies

Change Management e-GIF specifications inevitably change – reviewed annually and updated as necessary Change management process must ensure that e-GIF is up to date and aligned to new technology and market developments Inclusive Internet-based consultation process that will encourage participation and innovation: Organisations consulted Comments and suggestions encouraged Drafts published with Request for Comments (RFC)

Change Management: XML Schemas Changes to XML schemas have to be carefully assessed, as can have a high impact Estimated that it can take some organisations a year to implement changes to a core schema Changes to agreed XML schemas need to be managed carefully – schemas undergo test programs

e-GIF Compliance System compliance to the e-GIF specification means that the system will: Provide a browser interface for access Use XML as the primary means for data integration Use Internet and World Wide Web standards Use metadata for content management Ultimate test for interoperability is the coherent exchange of information and services between systems

Compliance Timetable All new systems will provide interfaces that conform to the e-GIF specifications by default Legacy systems need to provide compliant interfaces on demand or through replacement Except for those systems linking to Directgov or the Knowledge Network – these should follow their respective timetables Compliance came into force when e-GIF version 1 was announced in the House of Commons in October 2000

Results of non-compliance Projects will not get funding from – The e-Government Unit (formerly the Office of the e-Envoy) – HM Treasury – Within your own organisation Systems will not be able to connect with – Directgov (formerly UK Online) – The Knowledge Network – The Government Gateway

Compliance Responsibility Responsibility for compliance rests with the system’s senior responsible owner or sponsor Compliance is by self-regulation Final arbiter on all questions relating to e-GIF compliance is the e-Government Unit

Compliance: Public Sector Compliance rules apply to all public sector bodies Public sector includes communities that exchange information with their own members, e.g. Using Z39.50 Any specialised data interchange must be in addition to, and must not conflict with, the e-GIF interoperability requirements

e-GIF assessment service Web-based e-GIF Compliance Assessment Service http://www.e-GIFcompliance.org/ Benchmarks your activities against the Framework There is a charge for the service

Summary Overview of e-GIF • Components of e-GIF • e-GIF Specification Drivers • e-GIF Key Policies • e-GIF Scope • e-GIF Compliance / non-Compliance

EGU Contact Colette Coles Interoperability Policy Advisor e-Government Unit tel: 020 7276 3091 Email: [email_address]

XML e X tensible M arkup L anguage Define XML XML syntax and rules why use XML? XML Schemas XSLT

What is XML? a technology for the management, display and organisation of data a programming language a markup language a markup language used to describe the structure of data not really a language a standard for creating languages that meet the XML criteria Some possible definitions?

So, what is XML? XML is a grammatical system for creating languages… a meta - language Use XML to design your own markup language , consisting of meaningful tags that describe the data they contain Create a language for describing …anything

Something to remember about XML XML does not do anything itself . It is pure information wrapped in XML tags. You must use other means to send, receive or display the data

XML: elements <language> English </language> <tag> </tag> content

XML attributes Attributes are simple name/value pairs associated with an element <tag attribute_name=“attribute_value” >content</tag> <language>English<language> <language langcode=“eng”>English</language> <date normal=“2004” >20 Sept 2004</date>

XML example <archdesc level="fonds"> <did> <repository>John Rylands University Library of Manchester</repository> <unitid countrycode="GB" repositorycode="0133">GB 0133 NCN</unitid> <unittitle>Papers of Norman Nicholson</unittitle> <unitdate normal="1899-1987">1899-1987</unitdate> <physdesc> <extent>0.44 cu.m; 1,201 items</extent> </physdesc> <langmaterial> <language langcode="eng">English</language> </langmaterial> <origination>Nicholson, Norman Cornthwaite, 1914-1987</origination> <note>Created by the John Rylands Library archivist</note> </did> … ..</archdesc>

XML must be well-formed a root element is required <ead> … ..all your tags and content… </ead> closing tags are required

XML must be well-formed (2) elements must be properly nested <physdesc> <extent>10 boxes</extent> </physdesc> <physdesc> <extent>10 boxes</physdesc> </extent>

XML must be well-formed (3) case matters attribute values must be enclosed in quotation marks, e.g. langcode=“fre” element names must obey some basic rules, e.g. cannot start with numbers or punctuation characters, cannot contain spaces

Valid XML (1) Valid XML: rules specify elements and attributes used and how used Valid XML provides consistency and facilitates the exchange of data Valid XML is important for displaying, processing and exchanging XML in a wider environment

Valid XML (2) Must conform to a Document Type Definition (DTD) or Schema Archives: Encoded Archival Description - EAD version 1; EAD 2002 e-learning: IEEE Learning Object Metadata Schema (LOM)

HTML vs. XML (1) HTML is ONLY for display in a browser HTML tags do not describe the content HTML cannot easily be extracted HTML: <h1> Papers of Peter Rowe </h1> XML: <title> Papers of Peter Rowe </title> HTML: <b> 21 May 2004 </b> XML: <date> 21 May 2004 </date>

HTML vs. XML (2) XML is for display…anywhere XML tags are self-describing XML tags can be specified by anyone XML is user and machine readable HTML: <table> [data table] </table> XML: <table> ??? </table>

Why use XML? Because everyone else is! International standard, supported by the W3C XML is open, licence free and platform neutral XML is human and machine readable XML documents are text documents

More reasons to use XML Separation of content and presentation - With proprietary systems content is inextricably bound up with format XML does not determine the presentation of the data - You can use CSS (stylesheets) or XSLT (Extensible Style Sheet Language for Transformations) to present XML data

..and even more reasons Hierarchical structure - XML documents are hierarchical in nature – with one top-level root element, and hence XML is an excellent choice for setting out hierarchical data in an easy-to-read fashion The ability to manipulate and customise - data can be shaped and additions made as the author wishes

and for data exchange XML is the main basis for defining data exchange languages - e-GIF Meaningful tags facilitate extraction – data can be manipulated as required Text based - highly portable

e-GIF mandates XML XML and schemas for data integration XSL for data transformations

Document Type Definitions A Document Type Definition define s the building blocks of an XML document It specifies elements and attributes and defines how they can be used P eople can agree to use a common DTD for interchanging data You can include a DTD in your XML source file, or point to an external DTD

e-GIF specifies Schemas Schemas perform the same task as DTDs Schemas use XML syntax Schemas support complex data types Schemas are extensible One XML document can point to more than one schema

XML Schemas W3C Schema is the standard grammar which is mandated by e-GIF Schemas will be developed by specialist groups or by open submission Eventually there will be schemas for all services

A simple XML document <?xml version="1.0"?> <note> <to>Rachel</to> <from>John</from> <heading>Reminder</heading> <body>Don't forget the concert!</body> </note>

Example of a simple Schema <?xml version="1.0"?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" targetNamespace="http://www.w3schools.com" xmlns="http://www.w3schools.com" elementFormDefault="qualified"> <xs:element name="note"> <xs:complexType> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name="to" type="xs:string"/> <xs:element name="from" type="xs:string"/> <xs:element name="heading" type="xs:string"/> <xs:element name="body" type="xs:string"/> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:schema>

e-GIF Schemas You are mandated to use the e-GIF schemas where available You can also get involved in the development of new schemas for e-GIF e-GIF Schemas are listed at http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/schemasstandards/xmlschema.asp

Displaying XML XML technologies – for displaying, retrieving, transforming, manipulating DOM, SAX, XForms, XLink, XPointer XSL FO – Extensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Objects XSLT – Extensible Stylesheet Language for Transformations

Transformation of XML Transformation involves the reading in of an XML file and an XSLT file to a processor,which can then generate some output – typically HTML XSLT XML processor HTML output

XML in the Archives Hub Records displayed in HTML but the data is held as XML Plan to use XSLT stylesheet for display A stylesheet has been developed as part of a project to evaluate the use of XMLSPY, an XML editor

Summary XML is simple, flexible and great for data exchange XML must be well-formed and valid e-GIF specifies and lists schemas XML is used with other XML technologies XSLT can transform XML

Section 3 Web Services and other e-GIF protocols

Aims of this section To explain… what Web Services are the standards that are used To illustrate the technology with some examples To briefly mention other e-GIF protocols

Web Services A web service is an online application that can be accessed by other applications Web services use XML to achieve this interoperability – SOAP – WSDL UDDI

Creating a web service Web services can be created for existing applications e.g. zetoc service at MIMAS Key element is an XML file with details of how to interact with the service – the WSDL (Web Services Description Language) file

Locating the Service Information about the location of the WSDL file is placed with a registry service Potential users of the web service can then discover its location and how to interact with it (from the information in the WSDL file)

Web services architecture Registry Web Service User 3. Accesses 1. Publishes details of service 2. Discovers available services

Web services architecture Registry Web Service User 3. Accesses 1. Publishes details of service 2. Discovers available services Described in WSDL file

zetoc WSDL extract … <complexType name="JournalRequest"> <sequence> <element ref="srw:startRecord" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1"/> <element ref="bath:any" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="dc:title" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="dc:creator" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="oujnl:jtitle" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="oujnl:issn" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="oujnl:volume" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="oujnl:issue" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="oujnl:spage" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> <element ref="dcterms:issued" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" nillable="true"/> </sequence> </complexType> …

Interacting with a service Once the client application knows how to interact with the service, client and service communicate using messages encoded in XML These messages use the SOAP schema and are often passed over HTTP

SOAP A way of packaging XML information and passing it from one system to another Allows one system to make requests of another and to process the reply Systems can be completely different, running on different software

Sample zetoc search values Property Value dc:creator apps oujnl:jtitle materialia oujnl:issn 1359-6462 oujnl:volume 48 oujnl:issue 5 oujnl:spage 475 dcterms:issued 2003

SOAP request <soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"> <soap:Body> <zetoc:JournalRequest> <dc:creator>apps</dc:creator> <oujnl:title>materialia</oujnl:title> <oujnl:issn>1359-6462</oujnl:issn> <oujnl:volume>48</oujnl:volume> … </zetoc:JournalRequest> </soap:Body> </soap:Envelope>

Sample full record response Property Value srw:numberOfRecords 1 dc:identifier RN125218404 zetoc:type J (ie. journal) dc:title Phase compositions in magnesium-rare earth alloys containing yttrium, gadolinium or dysprosium dc:creator Apps, P. J.; Karimzadeh, H; King, J. F.; Lorimer, G. W. zetoc:dewey 669 zetoc:lccn TT273 oujnl:jtitle SCRIPTA MATERIALIA oujnl:issn 1359-6462 zetoc:volissue VOL 48; NUMBER 5 oujnl:pages 475-481 dcterms:issued 2003 dc:publisher Great Britain : Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. zetoc:frequency Fortnightly: 15-30 issues per year dc:language English zetoc:shelfmark 8212.970000

SOAP Response HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Type: text/xml <soap:Envelope > <soap:Body> < zetoc:IdentifierSearchResponse > <srw:numberOfRecords>1</srw:numberOfRecords> <dc:identifier>RN125218404</dc:identifier> <zetoc:type>J</zetoc:type> <dc:title>Phase compositions in magnesium-rare earth alloys containing yttrium, gadolinium or dysprosium</dc:title> … </ zetoc:IdentifierSearchResponse > </soap:Body> </soap:Envelope>

Registries Registry Web Service User 3. Accesses 1. Publishes details of service 2. Discovers available services

Publishing to a registry UDDI – Universal Description, Discovery and Integration A way of describing a service provider and its services (in XML) With a mechanism for publishing the descriptions (maintained by IBM and Microsoft)

Issues with registries How do you judge the quality of the services described? Private registries could be the answer: e.g. JISC’s Information Environment Service Registry – quality-assured services for JISC’s target audience (www.iesr.ac.uk)

Other protocols e-GIF approves other protocols for information transfer, including: Metadata harvesting: OAI-PMH version 2.0 Content syndication: RSS version 1.0 Context-sensitive linking: OpenURL 0.1(migrating to 1.0) Distributed searching: Search/Retrieve Web Service (SRW) All these services can be described in a registry such as the IESR

Conclusion This seminar has introduced you to – What eGIF is all about a set of complementary technologies that you must use What XML is all about the core technology of eGIF How XML can be used to implement systems How different XML technologies can be used together To access this presentation online visit: www.archiveshub.ac.uk/arch/egif

e-Government Interoperability Framework

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e-Government Interoperability Framework