Re: [Quickfix-developers] FIXML Question

[Oren M. <ore...@ya...>]

Yes, this is correct.  FIXML simply defines and XML
document format, and nothing else.  FIXML doesn't
include any session level logic like FIX.  This is why
you can piggyback FIXML messages onto a FIX session. 
This is done through the XmlData and XmlDataLen
fields.  Although QuickFIX will not generate these
messages for you, QuickFIX can maintain the FIX
session and allow you to populate these fields with
FIXML messages.

Why would anyone want to do this?  Really, it beats
me.  Seems to me if you can already process FIX, FIXML
doesn't really buy you much.  Perhaps it makes things
easier for companies that have invested alot into XML
technologies.  If they have a lot of XML running
around their system, it would probably be easier to
transform FIXML messages into other formats than it
would native FIX messages.  I personally thing that
FIXML is most beneficial for those who don't want to
invest in FIX.  I imagine it will probably find its
niche in post and pre processing.  Most real-time
systems are more heavilly invested in protocols like
FIX than they are XML so I don't see them migrating
anytime soon, particularly since in that case all XML
buys you is additional overhead.  I don't really
believe readability is much of a benefit when most of
the time a human will never look at any of these
messages.  Various tools can be used to make messages
more readable when necessary (I'm working on such a
tool for FIX right now, here's a screenshot:
http://www.quickfixengine.org/screenshots/screenshot.jpg)

What are other ways you could send FIXML messages? 
Endless really.  You can push them through HTTP to an
appserver, write to a database, run them through XSLT,
publish on a TIB, email them to a trader on the floor.
 It's just a document so there are no rules on how you
send them, who you send them to, or what they do with
them.

I personally haven't heard from anyone who pushes
FIXML through FIX, or has indicated that they wanted
to do so.  If someone wanted to do it, all they would
need is an XML parser, the FIXML DTD, and QuickFIX. 
All freely available software.

--oren

--- Bernard Spanger <bsp...@gx...> wrote:
> We have been using QuickFix successfully in
> production for quite some
> time now, and we are very pleased with how it works
> for us.  Recently,
> some of our counterparties have asked us about
> FIXML.  As far as I can
> tell from my research, FIXML includes only the
> message structure, and
> does nothing with respect to the delivery and
> sequencing.  I have seen
> many references to the fact that FIXML messages can
> be delivered using
> FIX.  Why would I want to do this?  Does QuickFix
> support it?  Does
> anybody do it?  How else would I deliver such
> messages?  Are there
> advantages (other than easier readability) over the
> "native" FIX format?
>  
> Thanks.
>  
>     - Bernard
>  
> 
> 
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