Implementation Instrument

The OASIS Universal Business Language (UBL) defines a generic XML interchange format for business documents that can be restricted or extended to meet the requirements of particular industries. UBL provides the following: 

• A suite of structured business objects and their associated semantics expressed as reusable data components and common business documents. 

• A library of XML schemas for reusable data components such as “Address”, “Item”, and “Payment”—the common data elements of everyday business documents. 

• A set of XML schemas for common business documents such as “Order”, “Despatch Advice”, and “Invoice” that are constructed from the UBL library components and can be used in generic procurement and transportation contexts. 

UBL is designed to provide a universally understood and recognized syntax for legally binding business documents and to operate within a standard business framework such as ISO/IEC 15000 (ebXML) to provide a complete, standards-based infrastructure that can extend the benefits of existing EDI systems to businesses of all sizes.  

UBL schemas are modular, reusable, and extensible in XML-aware ways. As an implementation of UN/CEFACT Core Components Technical Specification 2.01, the UBL Library is based on a conceptual model of information components known as Business Information Entities (BIEs). These components are assembled into specific document models such as Order and Invoice,.and then transformed into W3C XSD schema syntax. UBL is freely available to everyone without legal encumbrance or licensing fees.