[LINK] W3C "Efficient XML Interchange" (EXI) Standard

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

W3C: For Immediate Release

W3C Extends Reach of XML to New Devices and Applications

 <http://www.w3.org/2011/03/exi-pr.html.en>
 <http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/REC-exi-20110310>


The Has a Dramatic Impact on Speed, Performance and Power Consumption


W3C — 10th March 2011 — Today the W3C announces an advance that will 
enable people to use widely deployed open Web standards in brand new 
ways. 

The "Efficient XML Interchange" (EXI) standard dramatically improves the 
performance, network efficiency, and power consumption of applications 
that use XML. 

EXI is a very compact representation of XML information, making it ideal 
for use in smart phones, devices with memory or bandwidth constraints, in 
performance sensitive applications such as sensor networks, in consumer 
electronics such as cameras, in automobiles, in real-time trading 
systems, and in many other scenarios.

"We are amazed with what our customers have accomplished," said John 
Schneider, editor of the EXI specification, "They’ve achieved over 100-
fold performance improvements and expanded their data networks to high 
speed aircraft, automobiles, mobile devices and sensor networks. At the 
same time, they’ve achieved dramatic cost savings by using open Web 
standards and off-the-shelf products in place of the custom protocols, 
gateways and applications previously required by these applications."

W3C Community Resolves Fragmentation; Creates Single Interoperable 
Standard:

The XML standards are omnipresent in enterprise computing, and are part 
of the foundation of the Web. 

Because the standards are highly interoperable and affordable, people 
have wanted to use them in a wide variety of applications. 

However, in some settings — on devices with low memory or low bandwidth, 
or where performance is critical — experience has shown that a more 
efficient form of XML is required. 

Market demand has led to the proliferation of application-specific 
approaches, but most were neither efficient nor general enough, and they 
sacrificed the interoperability that makes XML so valuable.

To address this fragmentation, W3C brought together diverse stakeholders 
and reviewed a broad set of use cases. 

The result is the EXI standard. A single, interoperable XML format that 
performs well consistently, across the full range of use cases. Extensive 
testing shows that EXI performs consistently better than previous XML 
formats, data compression, and even packed binary data formats. As such, 
it brings the full range of XML benefits to even the most demanding 
applications.

EXI is Exciting

EXI is already being adopted in Smart Energy Standards to support rapid 
communication between networks of smart meters, smart appliances and 
electric vehicles. 

EXI accelerates financial trading systems that depend on transaction 
speed. 

EXI speeds up defense applications, where rapid information flow can help 
save lives. 

EXI can make XML a more valuable data format for Web applications on 
mobile devices, where reduced utilization of the network and processor 
improves performance and extends battery life. 

And EXI can be used from JavaScript in desktop Web browsers for a faster 
user experience.

The EXI standard is the culmination of years of research, analysis and 
benchmarking by the W3C EXI Working Group and its predecessor, the W3C 
XML Binary Characterization (XBC) Working Group. 

The following organizations provided leadership, guidance, expertise and 
support for these efforts: Adobe, AgileDelta, BEA, Boeing, Canon, 
Chevron, DataPower, Expway, France Telecom, Fujitsu, High Performance 
Technologies, IBM, Intel, KDDI, MITRE, Objective Systems, Oracle, OSS 
Nokalva, Nokia, Siemens, Stanford University, Tarari, University of 
Helsinki and the Web3D Consortium.

Media Contacts
Contact Americas, Australia —
Ian Jacobs, <ij at w3.org>
Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East —
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf at w3.org>
--

Cheers,
Stephen