XML and the Enterprise
By Michael Floyd
A Conversation with DataChannel's Norbert Mikula
As one of the early XML pioneers, Norbert Mikula is credited with developing the first "validating" XML parser in Java. He has worked in the SGML community, having written both an SGML parser and a Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL) style-sheet engine. As a member of the technical staff at DataChannel, Norbert has had a significant role in the development of XML technologies. As you may know, DataChannel was founded in 1996 by Dave Pool and Tim Gelinas (the team behind Internet In A Box and Mosaic In A Box), and helped define enterprise information portals (EIP) as a new class of Web application.
Recently, Norbert was promoted to the chief technology officer post at DataChannel. I also learned that he is the chief technical officer of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). I recently sat down with Norbert to discuss DataChannel's XML Framework, including its new XPages technology, and the latest version of RIO. What follows in an excerpt from that conversation. The complete interview can be found at www.beyondHTML.com.
Tell me a little about your background in the XML community.
I come from the SGML community. I was working on SGML-related products and projects while I was employed by Philips Semiconductors in the Netherlands. I was at a conference in Brussels in the fall of '96, and I was presenting the SGML parser that I had written plus a style-sheet engine [I had also written] on top of it.
