VoiceXML Introduction

VoiceXML is an XML format that is used for the purpose of categorizing voice dialogues that will occur among humans and computers. It is connected to W3C, and it gives voice programs the ability to be created and used with HTML. HTML document is designed to be read by web browsers, and documents that are created in VoiceXML must be processed by a unit that is called the voice browser. One way to set up VoiceXML is to create a group of voice browsers which are connected to the public switched telephone network. This will allow the system to be used to interact with a variety of different voice programs.

A sizeable number of VoiceXML programs have been introduced, and many of them are being used commercially. This programs are responsible for processing millions of phone calls within a short period of time. Some of the tasks that VoiceXML is responsible for are emergency response, order processing, the tracking of flights, and access to email. In addition to this, VoiceXML is also used to keep track of packages. It has a number of useful applications, and it has become quite popular with developers over the years. It should also be noted that VoiceXML has been efficiently used with nation directory assistance programs. VoiceXML will function by using specific tags that will give instructions to voice browsers.

The tags may tell the voice browser to process speech recognition, speech analysis, or process sound files. A VoiceXML interpreter will be responsible for handling the instructions that are submitted. The transport protocol that will be commonly used by VoiceXML is HTTP. The purpose of HTTP is to obtain VoiceXML pages. While many applications will use what is called a dynamic VoiceXML page, others will use what is called a static VoiceXML page. Some good examples of dynamic VoiceXML tools are WebSphere or Tomcat. If the computer program is well designed, the visual interface and voice interface should be integrated in a way that allows them to use the identical back-end business logic.

Traditionally, vendors who have developed VoiceXML programs have utilized it in a number of different ways, and they have continued to add new features to it. It should be noted that the VoiceXML 2 standard brought and understanding to areas that had confused many people. One industry organization that has become responsible for using a specific standard is the VoiceXML Forum. They will often perform testing processes to make sure that vendor utilizations are in compliance. If they are, the VoiceXML Forum can certify them. There are a number of systems that are closely related to VoiceXML, and they will often be used in conjunction with it. Two of these systems are Speech Recognition Grammar Specification and the Speech Synthesis Markup Language.

SSML is commonly used for the purpose of bringing a certain type of design to text prompts. It will provide information for how they should be rendered into speech. For instance, SSML would dictate which speech synthesizer should be used, and it could also process information as to how loud it should be. In contrast, SRGS will be used to inform the speech recognizer of what it should hear from various sentence patterns. Another W3C standard that is closely related to VoiceXML is CCXML, or Call Control eXtensible Markup Language. The CCXML interpreter will be used for the purpose to process the first call setup that will occur among the voice browser and the caller. In addition to this, it will also offer phone services such as disconnect or the ability to transfer calls.

There are a number of future versions that are expected from this standard. As of this writing, VoiceXML 2.1 has a number of impressive features, and it is backward compatible with VoiceXML 2.0. It is expected that VoiceXML 3.0 will be released in the near future, and it will have a number of major changes that will differentiate it from VoiceXML 2.0. It will use a specific language that is called SCXML. It is expected that the release of VoiceXML 3.0 will bring a number of changes and advances to the VoiceXML standard. The acronym SCXML stands for State Chart XML, and it is currently in development.