Morning Tutorials 

Tutorial - Introduction 
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Introduction to XML

This tutorial provides an overview of XML, its history, purpose and companion specifications. Attendees will understand the basics of the XML Recommendation, including what is meant by well-formed, valid and standalone documents, document type definitions, elements, attributes and entities. Finally, attendees will gain an appreciation of what distinguishes XML from its parent standard SGML and what has made XML so attractive within the internet and business communities.

Speaker: Joseph Gollner, President, XIA Information Architects Corporation

Bio: Gollner, a leading authority on how XML technology can be leveraged by modern organizations to change the way they inter-operate, supports an international clientele in the adoption of XML and the development of cost-effective XML solutions. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Queen's University and a Master's of Philosophy from the University of Oxford.

Tutorial - Intermediate 
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Practical ebXML

EbXML is a joint initiative of UN/CEFACT and OASIS with the objective of establishing an XML-based infrastructure that will enable the global use of electronic business information. Attendees will see live demonstrations of XML interchanges using the latest ebXML techniques and hear about the work of the Transport and Routing Working Group. Review of sample XML and related source code and general discussion of the techniques used. Tips on early adoption strategies for your own business systems.

Attendees will also see live demonstrations of using schema and repository definitions to create open information exchanges with a particular focus on business catalogues and the CatXML.org initiative. Review of sample XML schemas and related source code.  Hear about the work of the Registry and Repository Working Group and discussion of techniques. Tips on early adoption strategies for your own business systems.

Speaker: David R.R. Webber

Bio: David RR Webber, Co-founder of the XML/edi Group and acknowledged authority on XML, lecturing in USA, Europe and Asia, Mr. Webber is a US patent holder for advanced EDI software technologies. He received his degree in Physics with Computing from University of Kent.

Tutorial Advanced 
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

X-Link

Among the most anticipated additions to the XML library of recommendations is XLink, an Extensible Linking Language. Built on other W3C recommendations, XLink will introduce a major step forward in how information can be referenced and related. This tutorial will address how to evolve beyond the humble anchor tag through the use of multi-ended links, bi-directional traversal, independent link databases, and link filtering. With XLink, the XML revolution will start to make a more forceful impact on the document universe just as it has in the B2B interchange world. This tutorial will explore this impact and how proven hypertext strategies can be deployed through the new standard.

Speaker: Eliot Kimber

Developers Day
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Using XML from Java

This tutorial gives Java developers a rapid introduction to the use of several technologies from within Java code: the Document Object Model (DOM), XPointers, XQL and XSL. Using widely available parsers and APIs, XML documents will be parsed and manipulated using the DOM, XPointers, XQL, and finally XSL. The fundamental concepts and syntax of each technology are briefly reviewed before demonstrating the techniques in simple, functioning Java programs. Prerequisites: Participants should be comfortable with Java programming and XML syntax and concepts. Prior knowledge of the DOM, XPointers, XSL and XQL is not required.

Speaker: David Booth, Bluestone

Bio: Prior to joining Bluestone, Dr. Booth was a researcher for AT&T Bell labs. Currently, he primarily uses Java, Perl or C++. Dr. Booth holds a PhD in Computer Science from UCLA. 

XML Tech
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Transforming Documents with XSL-T

In this session, you will learn the basics of transforming XML documents with XSL-T, the Extensible Style sheet Language for Transformations.  We'll begin with the basics of XSL-T, then we'll discuss some of the more advanced features, such as sorting, generating cross-references, and automatically numbering parts of a document.  We'll conclude the session by illustrating how to use this technology to convert any XML document into a form that any browser can handle.

Session objectives:  
1) Learn how to transform XML documents so they can be viewed on any platform 
2) Learn advanced transformation techniques, including cross-references, document collections,
    sorting, and document numbering 
3) Learn how to use these technologies to serve any document to any client, regardless of their
    device or connection type.

Attendees should bring their laptops, they should have Java 2 or higher installed, along with the latest levels of Xerces, Xalan, and FOP, all of which are available at http://xml.apache.org.

Speaker: Doug Tidwell, Senior Programmer, IBM

Bio:  Doug Tidwell is a Senior Programmer at IBM. He has over fifteen years of programming experience. He has a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelors Degree in English from the University of Georgia. 

Afternoon Tutorials 

Tutorial - Introduction 
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The State of the Art in XML Technology

This tutorial will provide a guided tour of the commercial and public domain XML Products available on the market. Specific attention will be given to XML Editors, Browsers, and Parsers, as well as to those products that support the management and publication of XML data. The tutorial will conclude with an overview of how XML is being deployed within applications for B2B, B2C, and Knowledge Management.

Speaker: Joseph Gollner, President, XIA Information Architects Corporation

Bio: Gollner, a leading authority on how XML technology can be leveraged by modern organizations to change the way they inter-operate, supports an international clientele in the adoption of XML and the development of cost-effective XML solutions. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Queen's University and a Master's of Philosophy from the University of Oxford.

Tutorial - Intermediate 
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

XML-based Standards for B2B Process Integration

In Business-to-Business (B2B) interactions enterprises provide access to their services to external service requesters. To make this work on a large scale, it is essential to have standard definitions of information content exchanged and standard protocols that enable the interactions between business partners in B2B interactions. These standards should support specification of inter-enterprise workflow processes, integration of other service into such processes and interaction of process components distributed amongst a number of inter-operating companies. 
   

Speakers:

Mike Marin, Michael zur Muehlen,David Hollingsworth, Marc-Thomas Schmidt.   
Mike Marin is the architect for the FileNET workflow technology. He is a vice-chair of the WfMC Technical Committee and chair of the WfMC Interoperability working group, has contributed to the definition several workflow standards, and has received the WfMC Excellence Award, for his technical contributions to the WfMC standardisation efforts.
   

Mr. Zur Muehlen is working as a lecturer and research assistant at the Department of Information Systems of the University of Muenster, Germany, in the fields of information modeling and workflow management. Mr. zur Muehlen has participated in numerous industrial BPR and workflow projects and has published several articles on the topics of meta-modeling, process and workflow management. 
    

David Hollingsworth has spent in excess of 25 years in the IT industry. His career with ICL as a systems architect has spanned roles in product development, strategic planning and consultancy, and major implementation projects. His interest in workflow systems dates from 1992, when as the ICL architect working on future office systems he was involved in the establishment of the Workflow Management Coalition as the industry standards body for workflow. He is currently chairman of its Technical Committee and has authored several of its reference documents. He holds a first class honours degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and is an ICL Distinguished Engineer. .
   

Marc-Thomas Schmidt is an IBM senior technical staff member in IBM's UK software development laboratory where he works on applications of messaging, message brokering and workflow technology for business integration. He is a vice-chair of the WfMC Technical Committee, has contributed to several workflow standards (e.g., OMG Workflow Management Facility, Wf-XML) and received an AIIM International Standards Excellence Award.

Tutorial Advanced 
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

XML and Microsoft

The rapid growth of microprocessor power in the 1970's and 1980's led to the PC revolution that many now see simply as an historical fact. The same rapid growth in the power and capacity of communications is creating another, similar revolution. 

This revolution is being driven by a combination of improved infrastructure along with unprecedented co-operation in the development of interoperable protocols. 

The next generation of computing and Web applications will be built on open, XML-based protocols riding on very low-cost communications channels.

  Speaker: David Turner

Developers Day - Hands-On
1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

XML Programming with Java

In this session, you will learn the basics of XML programming in Java. We'll start with a brief introduction to XML, then we'll cover the basics of XML parsers. 

Session Objectives: 
 1) Learn how to create, parse, and process XML documents using Java code
2) Learn the pros and cons of the two main APIs for XML documents, and learn when to use each
3) Learn all you need to know to start building your own XML application.

Attendees should bring their laptops, they should have Java 2 or higher installed, along with the latest levels of Xerces, Xalan, and FOP, all of which are available at http://xml.apache.org.

Speaker: Doug Tidwell, Senior Programmer, IBM

Bio: Doug Tidwell is a Senior Programmer at IBM.  He has more than a sixth of a century of programming experience, and has been working with markup technologies for more than a decade.  His job as a Cyber Evangelist is basically to look busy, and to help customers evaluate and implement new technology.  Due to a special arrangement with his employer, he is paid entirely in chocolate truffles.  He holds, with chocolate-stained fingers, a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelors Degree in English from the University of Georgia. 

XML Tech
1:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m.

 An Overview of XML and Related Technologies

If you've heard of XML, and now know how to spell it, but not much else about it, this talk is for you!  We'll take a look at the XML language - what it looks like, how it is used, some examples, and the reasons it is so useful.  We'll do a survey on related technologies - DTDs (Document Type Definitions), XML Schema, XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language), XPath, and others - to understand how these are used with XML and why.  When you leave this talk, you'll understand the terms, the basic concepts, why XML is so important today, and where it's headed tomorrow.

Speaker: Mark Colan, XML Technologist, IBM Corporation

Bio: Mark Colan is an XML Technologist for IBM Corporation. He is also well known as the Lead Architect for the InfoBus Technology (a Java Standard Extension). Mark currently gives presentations on IBM's XML technologies and strategy.