Fast Infoset (or FI) is an international standard that specifies a binary encoding format for the XML Information Set (XML Infoset) as an alternative to the XML document format. It aims to provide more efficient serialization than the text-based XML format.
One can think of FI as gzip for XML, though FI aims to optimize both document size and processing performance, whereas gzip optimizes only the size. While the original formatting is lost, no information is lost in the conversion from XML to FI and back to XML.
The Fast Infoset specification is defined by both the ITU-T and the ISO standards bodies. FI is officially named ITU-T Rec. X.891 and ISO/IEC 24824-1 (Fast Infoset), respectively. However, it is commonly referred to by the name Fast Infoset. The standard was published by ITU-T on May 14, 2005, and by ISO on May 4, 2007.
The Fast Infoset standard can be downloaded from the ITU website. There are no intellectual property restrictions on its implementation and use.
A common misconception is that FI requires ASN.1 tool support. Although the formal specification uses ASN.1 formalisms, it uses custom encoding rules via Encoding Control Notation (ECN). ASN.1 tools are not required by implementations.
Read more about Fast Infoset: Structure, Performance, Typical Applications
Famous quotes containing the word fast:
“A feeble man can see the farms that are fenced and tilled, the houses that are built. The strong man sees the possible houses and farms. His eye makes estates, as fast as the sun breeds clouds.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)