The next TEXMUG meeting will be held on Thursday, June 19th, 2008. The afternoon technical sessions run from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and the evening session begins with networking and dinner at 6:10pm, followed by the evening presentation.  The following topics will be discussed:

DBXML

Basics of the U2 XML/DB Mapping Tool
Originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is now playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of data on the Web and elsewhere.
Very simply stated, XML is a flexible text format that allows application developers to create their own customized tags thus enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.
XML Documents use document type definition (DTD) or XML schema (XSD) files that describe the data contained within the primary document. Applications use DTDs and XML schemas to "map" relevant data within XML documents to their local database.
XML/DB is a tool provided by IBM for the U2 product and is used to build “map” files from the dictionaries of U2 files. You could create XML formatted data from Universe or Unidata by writing a program of your own but U2 has several tools to easily facilitate the exchange of data from/to XML and the U2 database utilizing these mapping files.  Once you have the mapping file, you can use these features.
This presentation will show you how to quickly set up and operate the XML/DB program and introduce the basics of XML parsing using TCL-level commands (DB.TOXML, XML.TODB) to exchange data in XML format to and from U2 format files.
Also, you will be given the source code for a sample Basic program that makes use of Basic-level XML commands to open, read, and parse data from an XML format file obtained from an Internet website using SOAP protocols and an XML mapping file.

MultiValue Imaging

We could never seem to get a document management system to the top of the budget, so we (Infosys) decided to experiment with the interaction of Universe and other software.  Goals were no cost, secure and simple for the user.  We created the system, named SOS for Secure Online Storage, and currently have almost 750,000 documents stored.  Universe controls it all, from setting NTFS security, generating barcodes on everything, to allowing productive document set displays based on cross reference from the main Universe database.

OpenQM

In this session we will see and discuss one of the newest multivalue offerings, OpenQM from Ladybridge Software in the UK.  This multivalue database product runs on Linux and Windows, supports running from a USB Memory Stick, has a Open Source Version and comes bundled with Accuterm and Coyote Web Server.  We will also discuss some other features that sets this product apart from the other database products in the marketplace.

We had a great get together on March 27th and had a great presentation from IBM on their U2 product line.  If you weren't there you missed a great opportunity to learn more about what IBM is doing in the Multivalue market.  Below is the pre-meeting summary:

Join other Multi-value and IT professionals March 27th at the Sheraton Grand Hotel – DFW for enlightening technical discussions and professional networking over a delicious dinner. Texmug is re-casting the user group paradigm, merging a growing virtual community with live presentations.

Our host for our Quarterly meeting in March is Strategy7. S7 President Joe Rodriguez and Bill Winter of IBM will lead 2 technical discussions in the afternoon, and provide the dinner presentation that evening. How to integrate your multi-value environment with .Net, or web-services, or a data warehouse are the topics we will discuss.

The technical discussions on Datastage, and Redback web-services will each provide executive summaries of the technology discussed for the CIO's and IS Directors among us, but with enough meat and potatoes, "How-it-works" detail, to satisfy the MV Developer. You will understand how this technology could benefit your operation and what your action items are going forward.

The evening presentation over dessert, .Net and Multi-Value, will discuss the importance of the .Net framework, an overview of the U2 .Net Provider, the IBM add-ins for Visual Studio, and how your Multi-Value application can be accelerated to further greatness through .Net.

No expense has been spared to make this the most effective, informative, and first class user meeting you have ever attended. The presenters, the technical content, and the facilities will rival anything you will encounter at a paid national conference you might attend, only this is available on a regional level, without the travel and lodging expenses. Your participation is vital to insure Texmug is able to attract other notable presenters and hosts for
future events and meetings.

Please RSVP by March 17th to attend the Dinner session. All sessions and dinner are free, provided this meeting as a courtesy of Strategy7 our host. You may attend only the evening session if you cannot make either of the late afternoon technical sessions.

Come on out and extend your personal network, re-meet old friends, sharpen your skills.

Meeting Sponsors:
Strategy 7 - www.s7.com
IBM U2 Products Division - www-306.ibm.com/software/data/u2/