RE: Using XML for binary data

You absolutely can move binary data within an XML document; but you must
encode it into text format so that there are no illegal characters
within your data.  There is no recognized standard way to encode/decode
your data, so you decide how to encode and decode your own data.
Suggested way is probably MIME/base 64 encoding.

Here's an article that sums up the issue:

http://www.xml.com/xml/pub/98/07/binary/binary.html

and some other links on MIME:

http://www.xml.com/xml/pub/Guide/Binary_Data



Scott Feier
Director, Fidelity Investments
scott.feier@fmr.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory Alan Bolcer [mailto:gbolcer@gambetta.ics.uci.edu]
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 1998 6:37 PM
To: rblatt@workflowconsulting.com
Cc: ietf-swap@w3.org
Subject: Re: Using XML for binary data 


Unfortunately I am not up on my XML, however, I believe
that the XML/RPC people have some clever solutions to
this sort of thing.  Basically they use XML as the
marshalling format.  I am supposing anything you
can send over email can work with this using uuencode. 

One of the techniques we use sometimes in the Endeavors project
is to just to RMI serialize a Java object that was dyanmically
built up from a set of data values, pass it as a bit bucket using
a POST method, and then catching it on the HTTP server side using
a Java servlet to decode and initiate/load/execute/fetch data
and code as appropriate.  It's one way to do mobile workflows,
although we tend to prefer non-binary dependencies/designs.

Java turns out to be a great mechanism for mixing and 
matching, even graphic and data formats as you seem to be doing. 

Greg


 > 
 > Can we use XML for moving binary data (not text) from one system to
another.
 > 
 > An example of this would be a company merging with another company
and both
 > organizations utilize COLD-ERM technology
 > 
 > If both companies utilize different COLD-ERM vendors, it isn't easy
to
 > migrate data between the systems.  As a result, we are developing a
new TIFF
 > style transport method to move the data between the systems as an
AIIM/ANSI
 > standard.
 > 
 > Several of us on the AIIM/ANSI committee have the following question
we are
 > hoping someone in SWAP can answer:
 > 
 > The question is:
 > 
 > We know that we can use TIFF, but can we use XML instead?   The twist
is
 > that COLD-ERM data usually is based on AFP metacode, etc. and can
include
 > graphics as a template. As we understand XML, it doesn't support
non-ascii
 > formats which would prevent us from using XML.  Is this a correct
statement
 > or can XML support our needs as well?????
 > 
 > 
 > Thanks for anyone's input/feedback on this question.
 > 
 > 
 > R. Blatt
 > Chair, ANSI/AIIM C21.2
 >

Received on Thursday, 3 December 1998 19:49:13 UTC