These solutions require basic information about products. Missing from these solutions is the the business information concerning the design, manufacture and support of these goods. This information, referred to as product data, has a life that starts when the product is first conceived and runs through product development, manufacture, delivery, support and retirement. Solutions in these areas are the domain of STEPml.
Text formats created in XML are unambiguous and platform-independent.
XML became an ISO standard in February 1998 . Although it is somewhat new, the underlying technology of XML has been in development for over a decade. Product data describes the products of a company, how they are designed, analyzed, built, maintained and used by customers. In a global marketplace, every manufacturer is forced to compete on cost, time to market and quality. The efficient flow of product information is critical to driving down the cost, improving quality, and reducing cycle time.