B2B server can search within XML tags to get precise data and also has multithreading query functions for simultaneous searches of all the vendor Web sites. It uses the WIDL files that describe each vendor site to create the queries. The WIDLs are stored in flat files on the server or in a local database. Since the vendor sites contain basically the same information but are formatted differently, the WIDL is defined for each Web site and describes how to extract data like the product description, SKU number, and price. By responding to requests that are formatted in XML, the B2B Integration Server allows the browser to use the same language for both viewing data and making requests.
All data is returned as XML data.
The XML snippets are then integrated into an XML document on the middle tier. The B2B Integration Server shows George's manager the appropriate POs based on his login. They are provided in XML, regardless of the format or structure used to store them. The B2B Integration Server organizes the XML data from the purchase orders into a format that each Web site can understand, and launches a purchasing process specific to each site. An XML form presents possible search categories.