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Industry Leaders Unveil XML Metadata Interchange Format (XMI) Standard for Collaborative Development

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Major software vendors, including IBM, Unisys, and Oracle, have submitted a proposal to establish an industry standard for storing and sharing object programming and design information, called the XML Metadata Interchange Format (XMI) standard. This standard aims to enable development teams using various tools from multiple vendors to collaborate on applications by exchanging data between tools, applications, and repositories over the Web.

The proposed XMI standard is built on top of eXtensible Markup Language (XML), which is integrated with the Object Management Group's (OMG) Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Meta Object Facility (MOF). This allows developers to create distributed applications in a vendor-neutral environment and reuses existing technology investments. The standard has gained significant support from the industry, with over 20 companies lining up behind it, including Rational Software and SELECT Software Tools.

Key Takeaways:

  • The XMI standard is proposed by IBM, Unisys, and Oracle, and aims to enable development teams using various tools from multiple vendors to collaborate on applications.
  • The standard is built on top of eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and integrates with OMG's Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Meta Object Facility (MOF).
  • The standard has gained significant support from the industry, with over 20 companies lining up behind it, including Rational Software and SELECT Software Tools.
  • The proposal was submitted to the Object Management Group (OMG) at its annual member meeting, and demonstrations were shown at the meeting.
  • The demonstrations showcased the exchange of UML models between various modeling and development tools and repositories, including IBM's VisualAge for Java development environment and Oracle's Repository.
  • The XMI standard aims to provide a vendor-neutral environment for distributed application development, enabling development teams to collaborate on applications using disparate development tools and environments.
  • The standard has the potential to reduce the time and cost of development of distributed heterogeneous software environments.
  • The XMI standard can enable development teams to leverage the Web to exchange data between tools, applications, and repositories.
  • The standard can provide significant benefits to organizations in terms of productivity gains and reduced development time.

Statistics:

  • Over 20 companies have lined up behind the XMI proposal, including Rational Software and SELECT Software Tools.
  • The XMI standard aims to enable development teams to collaborate on applications using various tools from multiple vendors.
  • The demonstration showed the exchange of UML models between 10 different modeling and development tools and repositories.
  • The XMI standard integrates with OMG's Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Meta Object Facility (MOF).
  • The standard is built on top of eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

Sources:

  • Business Wire, "Companies Advance Final Proposal to Formalize Standard; Demonstrate Product Prototypes," November 11, 1998.
  • IBM Press Release, "IBM, Unisys and Oracle Submit Proposal for Industry Standard for Collaborative Development," November 11, 1998.
  • Oracle Press Release, "Oracle, IBM and Unisys Submit Proposal for Industry Standard for Collaborative Development," November 11, 1998.
  • Unisys Press Release, "Unisys, IBM and Oracle Submit Proposal for Industry Standard for Collaborative Development," November 11, 1998.

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