An empirical study of XML/EDI

Electronic data interchange (EDI) plays an important role in contemporary electronic commerce. It is believed that Extensible Markup Language (XML)/EDI will be the next generation of EDI. In this paper, we thoroughly study and analyze the XML/EDI framework proposed by the XML/EDI Group, and design as well as implement an XML/EDI prototype for Taiwan's flower distribution channels. In accordance with the experiences obtained from the prototype development, we provide in depth analysis of the technology for XML developers and our observations of possible research opportunities in the applications of XML in electronic commerce. Also this paper proposes a general implementation procedure for the industries that are interested in the application of XML/EDI.