Schedule: Data and databases sessions

XML was published as a W3C Recommendation in February, 1998, a little over ten years ago. It was a huge success. What made it do so well, and what can we learn from ithis? What were some of the milestones of XML history? And how are things looking for the future? Read more.

The XQuery Update Facility is an eagerly awaited W3C standard for updating XML data. This important addition to the XPath/XQuery/XSLT suite of XML processing languages, in preparation for almost three years, has almost reached final Recommendation status. An example-driven close examination of the language, this talk also looks into likely further enhancements. Read more.

XML Schema is in an odd position: everyone is using it, but no-one really likes it. It's clearly fit for purpose, or people wouldn't be using it; but it attracts complaints both because of its immense complexity and because there are basic features that it doesn't provide. Version 1.1 in on the way: this talk surveys the new features and tries to assess whether they will solve the problem. Read more.

Web services and XML extensibility and Versioning This talk will go into the details of what can and can't be done to enable extensibility and versioning of XML Schemas, documents and Web services. A detailed analysis of the versioning mechanisms in Schema, and the pros and cons of different versioning techniques is provided. XML Schema 1.1's vast improvements in versioning will be described. Read more.

Applications built on 'skimming' principles are very loosely-coupled, and can run on just about any server-side architecture. Read more.

BBC Programmes is a new project which aims to ensure that every programme brand, series and episode broadcast by the BBC has a permanent, findable web presence. We have developed the Programmes Ontology to expose this data following the Linked Data approach, enabling the interchange of programme information on the Semantic Web. Read more.

This presentation will examine tools that bridge the divide between objects without identifiers, objects with varying amounts of metadata, and precisely identified objects that can be connected to information networks. It will also look at tools that allow web-based information resources to communicate with desktop applications. Read more.

CouchDB is a new kid on the database block and it plays by its own rules. It is a document oriented database with a REST API and it uses JSON to store data. This talk explains CouchDB and does not shy away from the technical details that make CouchDB so interesting. Read more.

We might be standardising around a handful of web development frameworks but we're still re-inventing the wheel when it comes to the things we build. A vibrant ecosystem of commercial grade API providers, such as Amazon with their S3 and EC2 services, could change all that. But what needs to happen to make this web services dream a reality? And where are the potential pitfalls for successful apps? Read more.