Bowne & Co's Rob Blake has prepared a new white paper that explains XBRL in clear terms and also traces its history from its inception to the most recent SEC announcements making it mandatory. This is an essential read for those interested in knowing what makes XBRL tick.
http://www.accountingweb.com/whitepapers/XBRL_The-Dawn-of-a-New-EDGAR--Bowne.pdf

Support materials

The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation today announced the publication of the IFRS Taxonomy Guide 1.00 - 'All you need to know about the IFRS Taxonomy as a preparer, supervisor, software developer…'

The document offers assistance in the implementation, application and further development of the IFRS Taxonomy 2008.

It can be downloaded from:
http://www.iasb.org/XBRL/IFRS+Taxonomy/Support+materials.htm

SEC Announces Successor to EDGAR Database (Press Release No. 2008-179; August 19, 2008)

Chairman Cox of the SEC has formally announced the creation of a successor to Edgar, called IDEA (Interactive Data Electronic Applications). The new database/set of applications will be built from the ground up and will be based on XBRL. Initially it will supplement Edgar, but ultimately will replace it. SEC Announces Successor to EDGAR Database (Press Release No. 2008-179; August 19, 2008)

Financial Data 'on Steroids' - washingtonpost.com

According to an article in the Washington Post today, the SEC is planning to replace EDGAR with a new system called Interactive Data Electronic Applications (IDEA), which will be XBRL based. If confirmed by the SEC in its press conference later today, this will be another very significant boost in the use of XBRL. Financial Data 'on Steroids' - washingtonpost.com

CFOs Anticipate a Filing Crunch - Technology - CFO.com

The SEC got some pushback in their recent comment period on their new rules for filing XBRL documents. The biggest criticism has been the timetable, which has been labelled as aggressive, and not the worth or usefulness of XBRL tagged financials. As the companies struggle to find ways to adopt the technology, one thing is increasingly clear - it would be great if the financial software vendors got moving and integrated XBRL technology into their products. CFOs Anticipate a Filing Crunch - Technology - CFO.com

IFRS Taxonomy Modules Manager (ITMM)

An IFRS Module Manager has been released by the IASC Fouundation that enables users to put together the modules in the standard 2008 IFRS taxonomy to be able to produce financial statements in their desired format. For example, the tool provides for selection of balance sheets classified according to current/non-current, or unclassified balance sheets using the order of liquidity format. It also provides for various forms of income statement and the cash flow statement using the direct method and the indirect method. Numerous notes are represented by separate modules, enabling the user to select the notes he or she wishes to include in the financial statements. The module is an important tool for starting with IFRS adoption by effectively forming the taxonomy in the format required for a particular company. IFRS Taxonomy Modules Manager (ITMM)

The final report of the CIFR committee of the SEC has been released. Although there are no surprises in it from an XBRL point of view, it confirms the message in earlier drafts about the mandatory filing of XBRL documents with the SEC. The report is also worth a read from the viewpoint of its comments on other changes needed in the Financial Reporting System. It's a step forward, but much more is needed to catch up with the current wave of technology and its impact on Financial Reporting, particularly in the area of how the move to data centric reporting is accelerating. Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting