1 Executive summary

e-GIF needs a standard for XML namespace declaration

The E-government Unit of the State Service Commission (SSC EGU) has identified a business need for naming conventions for eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) namespaces.

Declaring namespaces is an essential aspect of XML schema and file encoding. Currently, government agencies are developing schema using a variety of conventions. This lack of consistency means agencies cannot fully share (store, retrieve and re-use) schema. To promote successful data exchange across government agencies, the SSC EGU proposes standardising XML namespace declaration, as part of the New Zealand E-government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF).

SSC EGU proposes URN

So that XML namespaces are uniquely identified, the SSC EGU proposes including the Unique Resource Name (URN) type of Unique Resource Identifier (URI) method in the e-GIF.

While not as prevalent as the older Uniform Resource Locator (URL) method for declaring namespaces, URN is:

• a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard
• both computer and machine readable
• adopted by several high-profile international bodies, with significant interest from other jurisdictions beyond New Zealand. [Examples are the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), Liberty and Swift. See http://www.iana.org/assignments/urn-namespaces for the complete list.]

A good example of URNs can be found in the Metalogue application in www.govt.nz, where they are used for uniquely identifying agencies, services and documents.

URN namespaces for New Zealand

This proposal also recommends specific URN conventions for New Zealand, as outlined in Appendix A. In particular, SSC EGU proposes:

• "nzl" for the top level
• "govt" for the second level
• NZGLS terms for government agencies.

At the top level, URNs resemble internet domains, such as ".nz", but with at least three letters. For New Zealand's top-level URN, the SSC EGU proposes to apply to the applicable international governing body for "nzl", New Zealand's Alpha-3 country code from ISO 3166. [For more information, contact e-gif@ssc.govt.nz.] Once the top-level URN has been granted, the SSC EGU will establish and manage the second-level name "govt" and assign NZGLS terms for government-agency namespaces. For other qualifying New Zealand organisations, SSC EGU will delegate assignment of second-level names. InternetNZ has indicated its interest in operating the registry service for names in future.

Steps toward implementation

The SSC EGU proposal includes the following steps:

1. Add URN to the e-GIF in 2005 with a status of Under Development.

2. Undertake a pilot implementation, facilitated by the SSC EGU.

3. Analyse the pilot and make recommendations to the e-GIF Management Committee on proposed changes of status for the URN standard.

4. Outline a proposed syntax structure for URNs.

5. Outline a suggested process for moderating and maintaining URNs.

Feedback and participation needed

The SSC EGU is seeking:

• feedback on the proposal for a URN standard
• participation in the pilot implementation.

For the pilot, a group of agencies will form a Working Group, which will refine the processes and documentation to support the URN convention as an e-GIF standard.

Consultation is sought from government agencies, Crown entities, local bodies and individuals on this proposal. Submissions close on 31 March 2005.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge:

• 3Months.com
• The IETF participants, in particular Leslie Daigle and Ted Hardie
• Frank March, Ministry of Economic Development
• Miles Trent, Commerce Division, Lincoln University

for their contributions to this document.