Author
   Adler A. Boate A. MacLean J.
Institution
   AIT, Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Title
   An XML messaging architecture for border management systems.
Source
   Markup Languages: Theory & Practice, vol.2, no.3, Summer 2000, pp.255-68.
   Publisher: MIT Press, USA.
Abstract
   XML messaging between software agents provides a powerful and flexible
   infrastructure, which facilitates the design of systems in which
   transactions involve multiple users and data stores. We describe the AiT
   enTReX border management system, which implements this architecture. This
   system integrates varied data types and sources (such as traveler's
   documents, video surveillance images, messages, and multiple national
   databases) in the context of varying national languages, IT resources,
   interface hardware requirements, and workflows. Functional modules of the
   architecture are encapsulated in software agents which handle client
   interface, system policy and database interface and which intercommunicate
   using XML and Internet protocols. XML provides key advantages in this
   architecture: (1) a flexible, presentation-independent message format
   between software components; (2) a database neutral data format; and (3)
   the option of using XSLT, a flexible transformation and formatting
   technology. The separation of functionality imposed by the use of XML
   messages and software agents facilitates efficient customization for
   customer requirements in presentation, database interface, and system
   workflow.