Using XML transactions to perform closed-loop diagnostics in network centric support environments

Extensible markup language (XML) transactions offer a methodology for defining standard communication interfaces as a means of promoting interoperability between network centric support (NCS) environments with the purpose of performing closed-loop diagnostics. Interoperability is established through the use of standardized XML schemas that define common XML constructs and then give these constructs context sensitive meaning via the use of an XML transaction. The core ideology behind an XML transaction is the creation of a standardized dialect to be used by two or more parties during instances of information exchange within which the XML transaction type contains the information related to the context of the exchange. The XML transaction methodology not only provides for the creation of a common dialect to be used by two or more parties during instances of information exchanges, it also reduces the complexity of maintaining individual schemas for each type of data exchange; it readily supports required field data validation via the direct application of the XML schema against an XML instance document instead of performing this function programmatically; it reduces the complexity on system integrators by allowing them to only gain familiarity of the required transactions; it readily supports both synchronous and asynchronous communication; and it provides a placeholder for standardized header information which is needed within every transaction. XML transactions are currently being investigated by the automatic test markup language (ATML) working group as a standardized way to establish connectivity between maintenance systems in NCS environments. While the ATML XML transaction specifications are still in draft format, they have been utilized on the Smart TPS project to perform closed-loop diagnostics in a network centric environment. Initial results from the Smart TPS project have proven that the use of XML transactions is a viable method for performing closed-loop diagnostics in network centric environments. Given the aforementioned benefits of XML transactions, one can see that they readily yield themselves as an emerging technology for enabling closed-loop diagnostics in a NCS environment. The XML transaction concept gives every node within the closed- loop diagnostic environment a language specification that defines the grammar with which that node can communicate with any other node. Furthermore, the XML transaction methodology takes the concept a step further through the definition of the types of transactions that exist for nodes interested in performing closed-loop diagnostics