charston 2007-11-1 14:22
OTA学习(1)
OTA全称为:Open Travel Alliance;可以看做是一个标准组织．
他的主要功用是：
The OpenTravel Alliance is passionate about solving the problems inherent in connecting multiple systems within the complex travel distribution arena.
OTA的的产生也可以说是为各个行业中的同行系统的对接提供了一个完整的开发方案，随着许多行业中的系统对接越来越多的遵守OTA这个行业标准，越来越多的人对OTA的标准产生了兴趣，我仔细研究OTA的过程中，也希望能将我的一些学习成果分享！
OTA组织每年publishe两个OTA版本．example:2007年的两个版本会按先后顺序分别叫做2007A和2007B.
在利用OTA的标准进行开发的过程中也会遇到FAQ,以下是OTA提供的一些FAQ的解析．时间问题，先提供一下英文版以及我自己翻译的部分FAQ，有时间再来翻译
Frequently Asked Questions about OpenTravel Specifications
What’s the best way to get started with the specification?
OpenTravel publishes specifications twice a year, and the specification naming convention is:
Year + Alpha
So the first specification published in 2006 was 2006A and the second was 2006B. Download the most recent specification, and start with the ReadMe file and the Message Users Guide, which contains use cases and instance documents for most of the messages in the OpenTravel library. Match the message description with the business problem to be solved and review that message.
//Chinese
对于说明文档什么方式是最好的开始？
OpenTravel每年会公布两个版本的说明文档，说明文档的命名惯例是：
年份+字母
因此在2006里，第一个版本的说明文档被命名为2006A,第二个版本的说明文档被命名为2006B.下载最近的说明文档，然后从ReadMe文档和The MessageUsers Guide开始．
Why is the specification so flexible?
Often users of the specification say they would like the specification to be more rigid and contain more implementation guidance. That rigidity would not reflect the flexible way travel suppliers and distributors meet customer demands in today’s travel marketplace. Every set of travel trading partners has different messaging requirements, so OpenTravel specifications are designed to allow trading partners to implement the messages in the way that best suits their business requirements.
//Chinese
为什么说明文档这样灵活？
经常说明文档的使用者会说他们会喜欢比较严格的说明文档以及包含比较多的实现指导．在今天的旅游市场中,供应商和发行人在与客户进行协商需求的时所需要的灵活是这种严格所不能体现.每一个旅游行业合作者的建立有不同的信息需求．因此OpenTravel的说明文档被设计成允许贸易合作者去实现这些Message用最适合他们的商业需求的方式．
Why aren't there any required fields?
Each company implementing a message has different requirements. Making fields required forces specific data to be sent. When that data is not required by a company, that company is forced to send either blank or irrelevant data. OpenTravel believes it is a more effective to have optional fields than to force trading partners to exchange data that is not needed.
//Chinese
为什么不需要一些字段?
每个企业在实现一个Message有着不同的需求.制造空格需求是强迫一些特殊的数据去发送.当这些特殊的数据对一些公司来说不是必须的时候,这些公司被强迫去发送空格或是一些不相关的数据.OpenTravel相信有这些可选的字段比强迫行业全和者去交易交换对些不需要的数据来说比较有有效的.
How can I find out more about how the specifications are built?
The OpenTravel Best Practices Guidelines defines guidelines for all of OpenTravel's XML data assets. Specifications released prior to version base 2001C may not follow the guidelines defined in this document. This document may be updated on a regular basis.
//Chinese
我怎么样能发现比较多的关于OTA说明文档被建立?
How can I get answers to questions about the messages or implementing the messages as an OpenTravel Member?
All message level schema files are "owned" by a work group (Transport, Hospitality, Architecture and Travel Integration). The work group that owns the message is the first place to get your question resolved (see below - "How do I know which work group a message belongs to?").
As a member of OpenTravel, you have access to the workgroup and project team mailing lists. Sending a detailed message to the appropriate mailing list is the first way to get an immediate discussion started. To be added to a mailing list, contact the appropriate specification manager.
If your question is not addressed quickly or satisfactorily, you may contact the specification manager (non-member requests will be directed to the Executive Director).
Being able to discuss your issue within a work group may help you determine whether the schema does meet your requirements or confirm that the schema requires an update. If the schema requires an update, discuss with the group possible solutions to satisfy the requirements.
How do I know which work group a message belongs to?
Most message file names begin with a pattern. The pattern includes Air, Hotel, or Veh (Vehicle). If a name does not include one of those prefixes, the message is managed by the Travel Integration Work Group or Data Content/Best Practices.
How can I get answers to questions about the messages or implementing the messages if I am not an OpenTravel Member?
Members and non-members can use the OpenTravel Implementers Forum, which is not moderated by OpenTravel but is used by developers as a discussion board for schema and implementation questions.
How do I submit comments for changes to the schema?
Formal comments must be made using the comments input form and are officially accepted during comment review periods. If comments have been previously discussed with the work group or the Data Content/Best Practices (DC/BP) sub-committee, there is a better chance that they will be resolved exactly as submitted.
How do I get a new code added to the to the OpenTravel code list?
Code list additions should first be submitted to the work group via the appropriate mailing list. Once the work group has reviewed and approved the change, the request will be sent by either the chair of the work group or by the specification manager or chair of DC/BP for inclusion in the OpenTravel code list.
利用OTA提供的技术标准进行开发的时候，遇到了一些小问题，比如说一些文档是针对会员开放的，非会员没有办法看到，这点也是比较的麻烦的，呵！
附件中先提供OTA在2007最近publish的版本2007B,好像是9月份刚更新的！
Charston于北京
2007年11月1日