Professional XML Schemas - Softcover

Duckett, Jon; Ozu, Nik; Williams, Kevin; Mohr, Stephen; Cagle, Kurt; Griffin, Oliver; Norton, Francis; Stokes-Rees, Ian; Tennison, Jeni

4.05

20 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861005474 ISBN 13: 9781861005472

Publisher: WROX Press Ltd, 2001

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In order to leverage XML's power as a self-describing and extensible language, we need a way to define and describe the allowable content of any type of XML document. In the past, this has been achieved with DTDs, but these have in many ways fallen short of the requirements for working with data. XML Schemas were created to provide a more powerful and flexible mechanism for describing permissible document structures using XML syntax. They provide a set of built-in datatypes, which can mimic the object-oriented mechanisms of many languages, offer support for namespaces, and facilities for automated documentation.

Professional XML Schemas exhaustively details the W3C XML Schema language, and teaches the new syntax in an intuitive and logical way. From declaring elements and attributes, creating complex content models, and working with multiple namespaces, you'll move on to see how XML Schemas are used in real-world situations. A number of practical case studies will illustrate the design and creation of schemas in the diverse worlds of relational databases, document management, and e-commerce applications.

This book covers:

A complete guide to XML Schema Syntax

Using XML Schema built-in types, and deriving new types

Working with XML Schemas and namespaces

Creating identity and uniqueness constraints

Good XML Schema design, illustrated in a number of different areas

Working with XML Schemas and XSLT

Writing XML Schemas for working with SOAP

Integrating Schematron and XML Schemas

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Review:

Professional XML Schemas is a detailed guide to the XML Schema language. Schemas define the allowable content of a class of XML documents. They form an alternative to the DTD (Document Type Definition), and provide more powerful features including the ability to define data types and structures. This book covers the official W3C Schema Recommendation, released in May 2001. It is a valuable title for developers, particularly since many XML books give only sketchy coverage of this key topic.

Starting with an overview of what Schemas are for, the authors go on to cover the built-in Schema datatypes and then show how to define complex types and content models. A chapter of example datatypes helps to bring this material into focus. Next comes a close look at how XML Namespaces are used in the Schema language, including three design models with intriguing names: Russian Doll, Salami Slice and Venetian Blind. There is a chapter on using Schemas defined in multiple documents, followed by a guide to Identity Constraints and Normalisation, which are important for database work. Further chapters tackle XSLT, system modelling, creating Schema for an existing database, and document management. A fascinating chapter looks at Schema-based programming, which implements an entire application in XML. The authors also take a quick look at non-W3C schemas, particularly one called Schematron, and there is an appendix of reference material.

Professional XML developers need to know about Schemas, and this is a thorough and informative tutorial. It is a complex subject, but the book is sensibly organised so that readers can easily master the basics before going on to the more demanding aspects. --Tim Anderson

About the Author:

Jon Duckett has been working with XML since editing and co-authoring Wrox's first XML title in 1998. Having worked for Wrox's Birmingham UK offices for over 3 years, Jon recently moved to Sydney to get a different view from his window.

Nikola Ozu is a systems and information architect. Recent work has included the use of XML for both production and publishing of text and bibliographic databases, an architectural vocabulary and a new production and delivery system for hypermedia. He designed and developed an early hypertext database, a monthly CD-ROM product called Health Reference Center in 1990, followed by advanced versions of the similar InfoTrac.

Kevin Williams career has been focused on Windows development - first client-server, then onto Internet work. He's done a little bit of everything, from VB to Powerbuilder to Delphi toC/C++ to MASM to ISAPI, CGI, ASP, HTML, XML, and any other acronym you might care to name, but these days, he's focusing on XML work. Kevin is a Senior System Architect for Equient, an information management company located in Northern Virginia. He may be reached for comment at kevin@realworldxml.com.

Stephen Mohr is a software systems architect with Omicron Consulting, Philadelphia, USA. He has more than ten years' experience working with a variety of platforms and component technologies. His research interests include distributed computing and artificial intelligence. Stephen holds BS and MS degrees in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Kurt Cagle is president of Cagle Communications, a consulting company in Olympia, Washington specializing in Internet, XML based document management and multimedia technologies. He has authored ten books and more than one hundred articles on topics relating to XML/XSLT and web services on Windows, Java and Linux platforms.

Oliver Griffin decided to combine his interest in technology and publishing by forming Griffin Brown Digital Publishing Ltd with Alex Brown. Based in Cambridge, England, the company has become a world leader in the application of XML to document management, particularly within the academic and STM (Scientific, Technical and Medical) sectors. Oliver is responsible for managing the company and leading the consulting team in a variety of work including DTD and schema development, transformation and workflow design. He also runs training courses in XML and XSLT.

Ian Stokes-Rees is the Engineering Manager for DecisionSoft Ltd., an Oxford UK based XML company and creators of XML Script. Ian has been working with XSDL since the first working draft and has been involved in the modeling and production of schemas for various applications. He has also been heavily involved in the integration of XML into the business process of many DecisionSoft clients and as such has been working on X-Meta, an XML meta-data repository, which facilitates information modeling and integration of business rules with data definitions. Ian can be reached at ijstokes@ieee.org and is happy to hear from readers.

Jeni Tennison is a freelance consultant in XML, XSLT and XML Schemas. She is a regular contributor on XSL-List and was an invited speaker on XSLT design patterns at XSLT UK '01 and is one of the people behind the EXSLT initiative.

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