ARTS, a sister division of Shop.org within NRF, recently announced a new standard to increase sales and reduce expense in e-commerce. This new standard provides common data formats for:

Sending product information to Comparison Shopping Engines (CSEs)
Confirmation-of-Posting or Descriptive-Error Messages from CSEs
Communication of click-through and sales statistics

This standard was created by representatives from search engines including Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft; from online retailers including Penney’s, CSK Auto and REI; and from online marketing agencies including Mercent, Channel Intelligence, The Rimm-Kaufman Group, and MARS Interactive after extensive analysis of currently-used formats.

Realizing that no standard is 100% right for everyone, this standard was created in XML to allow maximum flexibility to accommodate exceptions. XML far exceeds the capabilities of the popular comma-delineated data structure currently used by most CSEs and agents.

Implementing the new standard using XML will require a bit more initial investment in IT development but will provide substantial return in allowing exceptions for different partners without requiring extra programming, and by giving you the ability to implement future ARTS standards without significant modifications. In addition, you will be able to leverage the experience and investment for other projects.

II. What is XML and Why?

XML is a markup language that uses tags and an indented list structure to organize data. The tags serve as names and descriptions of the data carried in an XML document. Example: <name>Smith<name>. This standard uses a plain text format that allows XML messages to be read and understood by people as well as computers.
XML is a universal standard used worldwide by all software companies, and it works the same in Microsoft Windows, Unix, Linux or Java. So no matter what your IT environment, XML works without modification.
The XML language is extensible. You can add new data to the schema or message and the XML software will identify and interpret it correctly.
XML also serves as the basis for web services and other technology standards like SOAP, WSDL and UDDI that allow sharing of common computer processes (services) among applications or business partners.
XML performs editing and validation functions without programming. XML schemas, like the CSE standard, define all the data elements and their context. From the schema various messages can be created to send between partners. Messages that do not contain the right data will automatically be marked as an error and returned to the sender.

III. Why XML

The above description of the functionality of XML is a strong indication of WHY it was selected by the developers for use in the CSE standard. Clearly it has distinct advantages over comma-delimited text. Comma-delimited interfaces are static (fixed). If you need to modify an existing data feed message to contain new data fields, you must add them to the message format and then modify the create, receive and post programs to include the new fields. As we all know, IT programming changes can significantly delay implementation of new features and services. By using XML with a clearly-defined extension methodology, the changes are immediate, and no programming is required.

IV. Implementing CSE Standards

Ready to implement the CSE standard? What is required?

Developers knowledgeable in XML

Your IT department probably has staff members trained in this technology since it is so widely used.

Software

XML requires some way to "parse" the message, or break it into smaller component parts. Many companies use Xerces, a readily-available shareware parser from the Apache Software Foundation. You will also need some way to review the messages; most browsers, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, will do. If you want to create your own unique extensions, a tool, such as XMLSpy or Oxygen, will make this an easy task, although even a simple text editor such as Notepad will also suffice.

Programming Modifications

Finally, you will need to modify the existing programs that create and receive messages about product information to incorporate the standard CSE schema.

If you are a retailer or an agent, you will need to modify the programs that communicate product information to CSEs. If you are a CSE, you must modify the programs that receive, edit and post the product data to your content files. Everyone, merchants, agents and CSEs alike, must modify the programs that process click-through information. The good news is that once these modifications are made, future changes will be easily accomplished and the time you are spending on preparing and reviewing data will be dramatically reduced.

How long will all this take?

The answer will vary based on your company’s experience working with XML. Please review the CSE Commitment Registry to see what others are doing and make your commitment to implementing CSE. Only through widespread adoption can we all benefit from this standard.

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Introduction to XML

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What is XML?
Why XML?
Implementing XML and CSE

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II. What is XML and Why?

XML is a universal standard used worldwide by all software companies, and it works the same in Microsoft Windows, Unix, Linux or Java. So no matter what your IT environment, XML works without modification.

The XML language is extensible. You can add new data to the schema or message and the XML software will identify and interpret it correctly.

XML also serves as the basis for web services and other technology standards like SOAP, WSDL and UDDI that allow sharing of common computer processes (services) among applications or business partners.