Detail The XML Files   Oleh:  Koreto, Richard J. ; Hoffman, Charles ; Kurt, Christopher Jenis: Article from Bulletin/Magazine Dalam koleksi: Journal of Accountancy vol. 187 no. 5 (1999), page 71. Topik: xml; XML files Ketersediaan Perpustakaan Pusat (Semanggi) Nomor Panggil: JJ85.8 Non-tandon: 1 (dapat dipinjam: 0) Tandon: tidak ada     Lihat Detail Induk Isi artikel Imagine you could give another dimension to your tax records, audit work - papers, payroll system, financial statements - anything CPA s work with. Imagine you could give each electronic record, each unit of information in your office, a label, or tag, that would explain what the data mean to whoever wanted to use that information - a person or a computer program. "Jane Doe" would not be just a name but a person identified as a corporate client in Wichita ; "$322.28" would be labeled as an accounts payable item to Acme Office Supplies. Even if the tags were in plain English your computer system would understand them. Imagine your accounting software - all accounting software - could add tags automatically and use a standard method and standard tags, rather than proprietary methods and tags. No one could own the codes because they would be open — not a product of Microsoft or any other company. And as long as you're dreaming, make believe the software is free. Now stop imagining, because it's here. Extensible markup language (XML) may still be an unfamiliar computer language to many, but it's not science fiction and it's readily understandable by anyone who understands the Web. XML is in use today and is completely changing the way business information moves around the world. XML is about having one universal way to exchange data, rather than hundreds of different ways. XML is both easy to understand and capable of the most sophisticated data -management tasks. Perhaps it's easiest to describe it by looking at the name itself. First, what is a markup language ? Markup refers to its tags, or codes, which identify pieces of information (see "Markup Languages : A Genealogy," sidebar). Think of XML as a superintelligent version of hyper - text markup language - HTML - the language of the Internet. As an experiment, use your browser to reveal the HTML codes on a Web page. A word in boldface looks like this : boldface. A heading centered on a page looks like this : Heading. But HTML describes just presentation style. It can tell you that Jane Doe is a boldface, italic second - level head ; it can't tell you if it names a person or a company. XML can tell you all of this. What is meant by calling this particular markup language "extensible" ? HTML codes are fixed ; you can't add new ones to suit your needs. But XML codes can be "extended." The number of different codes is limited only by your imagination. If the accounting profession was to agree on a set of codes for financial statements, every accounting software manufacturer could incorporate it. The result would be uniformly coded financial statements that users could share across all platforms. For example, consider two merging corporations, using different programs for accounts payable. Today, this is a problem. But if each company used XML - based software, the underlying tags would be the same - the information translates with little effort. That's the power of standards. (Think about e - mail today - virtually any computer can send a readable e - mail to anyone in the world. Why ? Because there is a widespread agreement on the standards for Internet mail different software manufacturers and ISP s adhere to.) In addition, XML can take care of display in printed reports, Web sites and CD - ROM s. That is, the tags incorporate the information the computer needs to know for properly formatting the data for use in any digital or traditional print medium. But XML is not about memorizing a series of tags, a purely clerical function. In fact, software manufacturers will likely make these tags a built - in part of their programs, so you don't have to remember what the tag for an accounts payable client is. (You may know how your car's transmission works, but you don't have to think about it as you drive to work every day). Rather, CPA s should think of XML as a new tool that will help them more than ever be the information experts their companies and clients need. Today, financial information flows to the IRS in tax returns, and paper invoices flow through an accounting system. XML will help automate these processes in one standard way. That is, the first time a piece of information is entered - such as when a new customer buys a product - is the last time any person in your company has to manipulate it. The codes will identify that customer and her purchase in your accounts receivable system ; your inventory system (which is connected via extranet to your supplier, who also has an XML - based system) ; and your tax database, so you know whether or not tax is to be added and how much. Ultimately that information makes its way into financial statements, in a format suitable for the outside auditors. This means organizations will no longer need to squander enormous economic and human resources to simply translate information from one form to another. Accounting professionals will be free to focus on the value - added work that business managers truly want - analysis of business information. CPA s who start now to learn the basics of how XML works and what it can achieve will cement their positions as corporate knowledge managers. Opini Anda Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini! Kembali

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