
RFID MIDDLEWARE 147
reportSpecs : List
// Specifies a list of reports to be returned after an event cycle
// is executed.
includeSpecInReports : boolean
// If set to true, the ALE implementation includes the complete
// ECSpec in the reports that are generated.
<<extension point>>
A report in ALE-speak is the output from an event cycle, which is returned as an ECReport
instance. A report specification, represented as ECReportSpec, provides filtering, grouping,
and other data processing instructions. Figure 7-8 shows the primary data elements. We’ll
discuss these further in the ““Data Model” section.
ALE Service Interface
Now that we understand the principal concepts and terms underlying the ALE specifica-
tion, let’s look at the primary ALE service interface. The EPCglobal ALE specification pro-
vides an abstract definition for the primary ALE API. The specification also provides a WS-
I-compliant SOAP binding for the ALE API. All that the ALE specification requires is that
the vendor implementations are compliant with the WS-I specification for its interface
schema and SOAP bindings. Figure 7-9 shows the main ALE interface.
FIGURE 7-8. Primary data elements
FIGURE 7-9. Main ALE service interface
Client(s)
ALE
service
ECSpec
ECReport
EPC(s) Reader(s)
EPC(s) collected over
event cycles after applying
necessary filters
ECSpec specifies
reader to tune into,
event cycle and an
ECReport specification
Raw EPC
observ ...