EPPML
Encyclopedia
EPPML is a conceptual model for the interactions between parties of a postal communication system. Examples of such parties are mailers, posts, mail aggregators, providers of postal services
and equipment and recipients. They create, publish, consume and deliver postal products.
The central concept of EPPML is the postal product. EPPML defines the structure and meaning for the information that represents a postal product. The postal product definition may be viewed as an interface between posts, their customers and other parties. The formal representation of postal products allows automated systems to efficiently consume new postal products as they are introduced by postal operators.
The current implementation of EPPML is based on XML technology, but the EPPML concepts may be implemented with other technologies (e.g. relational database
s, semantic web
). Each postal product is fully represented by one (and only one) postal product definition file (PPDF) which is an XML document
. A PPDF must be valid under the EPPML schema.
The interactions defined by the model include actions on physical items, information exchanges and financial transactions. The typical action on a physical item is a change of location (e.g. delivery). The information exchanges may use either electronic channels (e.g. web service
s, email) or physical channels (e.g. bar codes
printed on mail items by mailers and read posts). An example of a financial transaction
is a refund for late delivery of a mail item.
to define the structure of the information that describes each postal product. The use of the XML schema makes EPPML a markup language
for defining postal products. This is the reason why EPPML is sometimes referred to as Extensible Postal Product Markup Language.
contains all necessary and sufficient information for customers to purchase and use the product. The structure
and meaning of the XML elements in a PPDF is defined by an XML schema, known as EPPML schema.
The EPPML schema is an Universal Postal Union standard, UPU S54. The standard contains a complete description of the EPPML schema, its hierarchical structure, information types and semantics of its elements.
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
and equipment and recipients. They create, publish, consume and deliver postal products.
The central concept of EPPML is the postal product. EPPML defines the structure and meaning for the information that represents a postal product. The postal product definition may be viewed as an interface between posts, their customers and other parties. The formal representation of postal products allows automated systems to efficiently consume new postal products as they are introduced by postal operators.
The current implementation of EPPML is based on XML technology, but the EPPML concepts may be implemented with other technologies (e.g. relational database
Relational database
A relational database is a database that conforms to relational model theory. The software used in a relational database is called a relational database management system . Colloquial use of the term "relational database" may refer to the RDBMS software, or the relational database itself...
s, semantic web
Semantic Web
The Semantic Web is a collaborative movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium that promotes common formats for data on the World Wide Web. By encouraging the inclusion of semantic content in web pages, the Semantic Web aims at converting the current web of unstructured documents into a "web of...
). Each postal product is fully represented by one (and only one) postal product definition file (PPDF) which is an XML document
Extensible Markup Language
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
. A PPDF must be valid under the EPPML schema.
EPPML as a model of interaction
The 'M' in EPPML stands for Model. EPPML was defined by its authors as a model for the interaction between parties that create, publish, consume or deliver postal products.The interactions defined by the model include actions on physical items, information exchanges and financial transactions. The typical action on a physical item is a change of location (e.g. delivery). The information exchanges may use either electronic channels (e.g. web service
Web service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
s, email) or physical channels (e.g. bar codes
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
printed on mail items by mailers and read posts). An example of a financial transaction
Financial transaction
A financial transaction is an event or condition under the contract between a buyer and a seller to exchange an asset for payment. It involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals.-History:...
is a refund for late delivery of a mail item.
EPPML as a markup language
The first practical implementation of EPPML relies on an XML schemaXML schema
An XML schema is a description of a type of XML document, typically expressed in terms of constraints on the structure and content of documents of that type, above and beyond the basic syntactical constraints imposed by XML itself...
to define the structure of the information that describes each postal product. The use of the XML schema makes EPPML a markup language
Markup language
A markup language is a modern system for annotating a text in a way that is syntactically distinguishable from that text. The idea and terminology evolved from the "marking up" of manuscripts, i.e. the revision instructions by editors, traditionally written with a blue pencil on authors' manuscripts...
for defining postal products. This is the reason why EPPML is sometimes referred to as Extensible Postal Product Markup Language.
Postal Product Definition File (PPDF)
A postal product definition file (PPDF) is an XML document which fully describes a postal product. The PPDFcontains all necessary and sufficient information for customers to purchase and use the product. The structure
and meaning of the XML elements in a PPDF is defined by an XML schema, known as EPPML schema.
EPPML Schema
The EPPML schema is an XML Schema which provides sufficient information for postal operators to generate postal product definition files to describe all aspects of their postal products, both existing and new. The EPPML schema also provides information necessary and sufficient for mailing equipment providers to create automated mailing systems capable of using postal product definition files for all mailer's activities, including postal product selection, the production of mail units compatible with new postal products and requesting new features of postal products.The EPPML schema is an Universal Postal Union standard, UPU S54. The standard contains a complete description of the EPPML schema, its hierarchical structure, information types and semantics of its elements.