The Proposed Patterns

Code strings are available now to begin sending information

The Web Services Patterns Task Force will approve 10 patterns that might be embedded in an XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) coding pattern to deliver product information from a single supplier source.

Each pattern is a command that would send a message to a supplier’s computer asking for specified information, such as catalog information, project information, in-stock status, etc. A stock query to a supplier's computer, for example, would return a short data string indicating whether a title is in stock by returning 0-1,000 or 1,000-plus if the on-hand quantity exceeds 1,000 units. (Publishers have asked for minimum quantity limits to protect themselves from possible competitive vulnerabilities.)

The catalog command would return a data string containing the fields required for a catalog description by UPC, and a request for project information would return additional project information and resources, such as cover art, project description, author or artist biography, photograph, etc.

To view code strings and protcol patterns, click:

http://services.providentcentral.com/retail/