RE: [Project] XML, Byte Encoded XML, How does it talk ?

["James Hoye" <james.hoye@xxxxxxx>]

This email was delivered to you by The Free Internet,
a Business Online Group company. http://www.thefreeinternet.net
---------------------------------------------------------------
> Still not sure about Byte encoded XML any examples ?
>
> Next how do we think the devices will talk to other devices and a
> controller. Are we using a fixed port ? what sort of conversation do
we
> think will take place between devices ?
>
> No one has objected to using XML (perhaps because we don't know any
> different) so should we start with some definitions ? who wants to do
the
> XML work ?

What about SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)?  Although it's been
developed by Micro$oft, it is an open protocol that has interest from a
wide
range of other platform developers (I believe).  It's XML based, so will
work cross-platform.

See http://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/general/soapspec.asp
for more information.

There's probably quite an overhead (as with XML), but the end result could
be akin to using COM under windows - each component or module could present
an interface which could be interrogated by a controller (PC or otherwise)
as to what properties (eg. temperature, status) and methods (reset, turn
on,
turn off, dim to %) it supports.  That would make building a generic
console
much easier as new components/devices were developed it would be able to
control them without having to be rebuilt to accommodate them.

I'm pretty certain there is Linux support for SOAP, although this may be
some way behind M$.

We were looking at it for a cross-platform content/knowledge management
solution early last year, and had a test harness working to remotely invoke
methods etc.  I guess it has matured quite a bit since then.

James H




Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/