From a technology standpoint, successful deployment of legacy applications to the Web demand data integrity. After all, in order for legacy applications to use XML, first the application needs to know what data items the XML tags refer to. L2X SmartTag is an easy to use, graphical interface tool specifically designed to map XML elements with their corresponding legacy data items.

L2X SmartTag: Forcing Data Integrity
Your first question may be, "What is data integrity and why is it so important?" Data integrity involves the complicated process of exchanging correct data. For example, receiving an order date when you need a settlement date would be a case of data integrity breaking down. According to the Gartner Group, data integrity is "the biggest barrier to application integration." The reason it's such a big obstacle is because in today's computer world, different companies use different names to describe the same piece of data.

The way that XML forces data integrity is by issuing one standard element name that participating companies can agree to use. However, that is only one piece of the solution. What remains to be done individually by each company is the difficult task of mapping their existing legacy data items to the new XML tags. Each participating company's computer application may have thousands of unique data items. The importance of correctly mapping legacy data items to XML tags is a data integrity concern that touches every company who's goal is XML and e-commerce.

L2X SmartTag is a graphical interface tool specifically designed to map XML elements with corresponding legacy data items. The tool begins with each XML tag and uses it as a "search argument" to drill down into the legacy application and then present to the user all of the potential data items related to the XML tag. To ensure that precise associations are made between legacy data items and XML elements, the L2X Semantic Analyzer uses some of the most complex abbreviation matching algorithms from around the world.

Future-Proof Your Data with Active Metadata
Now let's take a different scenario. Let's say that you have successfully mapped your legacy data items with XML tags and modified your application to handle data processing over the Internet. Things are running smoothly - until the application changes.

With L2X (Without L2X)

L2X SmartTag helps you 'future proof your data'. The power of XML lies in the fact that it is extensible. As applications develop and mature over time, so will XML elements and legacy data items. The key to an 'extensible' legacy system is active, precise metadata for each data item. L2X SmartTag gives you the power to assign semantic, informational rules directly to the legacy data item itself. So when change happens, as you know it will, all you have to do is search the L2X Active Metabase to reference previous rule assignments and the tool can easily apply the same, consistent rules all over again.