CIP4 Releases JDF Developer ToolKit

Published: December 20, 2001, By PFFC Staff

ZÜRICH, SWITZERLAND -- CIP4 (Intl. Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress) annnounced today the public release of an XML Schema and a Software Development Kit (SDK) beta version for the group's Job Definition Format (JDF) and related Job Messaging Format (JMF). The Schema will allow developers to test the JDF they produce using standard XML tools, says CIP4.

"Release of the schema is a major milestone in the development of JDF as the open standard of interoperability in the printing industry," reports Jim Mekis, VP of the PrintTalk consortium and CIP4 member. "The human-readable JDF specification has been available for some time. The schema provides a computer-readable representation of the JDF specification, and it defines both the required structure of the data and the terms that will be used to describe each element of that data. CIP4's release of JDF schema, along with a validation tool, allows developers who are currently building JDF-based workflow solutions to provide interoperability between these solutions," adds Mekis.

The Schema can be downloaded at no cost and is available at cip4.org/Schema/JDF_1.xsd. CIP4 says the Schema conforms to the W3C schema recommendation (as described in the W3C XML schema recommendation, w3.org/TR/xmlschema-0/).

As for the SDK, CIP4 tecnical officer Dr. Rainer Prosi says: "We are very excited to provide this toolkit to the worldwide developer community. The SDK will enable developers to add JDF connectivity to their products quickly and efficiently." Usage of the SDK is free to all for research purposes and in-house use and testing. Commercial usage, says CIP4, is limited to CIP4 full and partner members. It's available for download at cip4.org/open_source. Developer support is available via an open email forum (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About CIP4
CIP4 brings together vendors, consultants, and end-users in the print communications, graphic arts industry, and associated sectors, covering a variety of equipment, software, peripherals, and processes. According to the organization, members participate in focused working groups to define future JDF versions, to study user requirements, and to design the JDF SDK format. Visit cip4.org.