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The only
thing left to do is to retrieve our actual data. To do this, we simply
call the getContent method and supply a list of identifiers for the
objects we wish to retrieve. If there are no errors in retrieving the
data, a success response is returned along with the requested data.
Each requested object is returned as a separate, additional payload.
Keep in mind that you can store any type of data in the registry - not
only XML, but other document types, object models, and even software
components. Security
While the Registry Information Model is capable of supporting quite a
sophisticated security model, the current ebXML Registry specification
calls for a minimalist approach to security. The basic philosophy is
that "Any known entity can publish content and anyone can view
published content."
To meet the above requirement, the specification defines three
different types of users: RegistryGuest, ContentOwner, and
RegistryAdministrator.
The RegistryGuest role describes any unauthenticated use of the
registry. According to the basic security philosophy, anyone can view
published content. Therefore there's no need to authenticate a large
portion of the user community. A RegistryGuest should be able to call
any read-only, getXXX(), methods on any registry objects.
The other two roles, however, require authentication to the registry.
Since the registry doesn't support the concept of a session containing
multiple messages, each message is treated as an independent request
that potentially needs to be attributable to a particular principal.
The specification requires that a registry use "a credential-based
authentication mechanism based on digital certificates and signatures."
Given an authentication mechanism, we can now determine who is making a
particular request, if necessary, and which role that user has in the
registry.
The ContentOwner role is implicitly granted to someone who is the
submitter or owner of registry content. ContentOwners can access all of
the methods available on the objects that they own. This includes the
life-cycle methods of the ObjectManager interface. The
RegistryAdministrator role is a super-user role assigned to the
administrator of the registry. A RegistryAdministrator is able to call
any method on any Registry object.
While the current registry specification describes a minimalist
security model, the actual RIM can support a much richer security
model. In the future, the Registry specification will most likely
support more complex ACL and role-based security for individual
objects.
What About UDDI?
While some people believe that the ebXML Registry and UDDI are in
competition, they are actually complementary. A key distinction between
the two that must be understood is that while UDDI contains a directory
of references to Web services information, the ebXML Registry contains
the objects themselves. Actually, the two technologies are best used in
conjunction. A company interested in finding a new ebXML business
partner would first use UDDI to locate a particular ebXML
Registry/Repository. This search would return a reference to an ebXML
Registry. The company could then access the ebXML Registry to discover
the CPP for their new potential partner and then initiate a new CPA.
Implementations
If you're interested in gaining some hands-on experience with an ebXML
Registry, there are two basic paths you can take. The first is to
download and install an implementation of an ebXML Registry. Sun has a
free J2EE implementation of the ebXML Registry specification available
for download (see Resources section). Although it includes
instructions for deploying on the iPlanet Application Server, it can be
deployed on any J2EE application server.
The second path is to access an external ebXML Registry hosted by
another company. Two companies currently working on public ebXML
servers are the Korea Trade Network and the DISA Registry Initiative
(DRIve). The Korea Trade Network provides an openly accessible registry
service. However, most of the site is in Korean, so if you can't read
it I suggest using something like AltaVista's Babel Fish to translate
the pages in real time. The DISA Registry is currently under
implementation. However, as ebXML gains momentum, more public ebXML
Registries will begin to appear.
The Future
Several companies are working to provide commercial implementations of
the ebXML Registry and other core technology components of ebXML. Over
the next six to 18 months the UBL group will be producing business
schemas that will be freely available to the public. While the ebXML
and UBL technologies are still in their early stages, they have a huge
amount of support in the industry. Given this amount of support and the
clear opportunities in B2B transactions between companies of any size,
this technology is one to watch this year.
Resources
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About the Author: Kristian Cibulskis is a freelance consultant focusing on Enterprise Java and XML solutions.
Other Recent Articles by Kristian Cibulskis
Reader Feedback | 2 Replies | Post Message
ebXML Registry English Version is now available by KTNET.
Posted by Chaemee Kim on Feb. 4 @ 12:14 AM
Dear Kristian,
This is ebXML Lead in KTNET.
I appreciate you quote KTNET's ebXML Registry in your article.
Now we're providing English Version of ebXML Registry 1.0 at http://www.gxmlhub.com/english/index.htm
Plz, revise it correctly.
The
Korea Trade Network provides an openly accessible registry service.
However, most of the site is in Korean, so if you can't read it I
suggest using something like AltaVista's Babel Fish to translate the
pages in real time.
Good article
Posted by Bobby on Mar. 7 @ 03:33 PM
v good article
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