We define the problem of content integration for EBusiness, and show how it differs in fundamental ways from traditional issues surrounding data integration, application integration, data warehousing and OLTP. Content integration includes catalog integration as a special case, but encompasses a broader set of applications and challenges. We explore the characteristics of content integration and required services for any solution. In addition, we explore architectural alternatives and discuss the use of XML in this arena.
Michael Stonebraker, Joseph M. Hellerstein