Xml Schema

by van der Vlist, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780596002527
• ISBN10: 0596002521
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-07-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

Most developers working with interchanging XML documents will need to work with XML Schemas on some level. XML Schemas are much harder to get started with than XML 1.0, and tools like XML Authority, and XML Spy only cover over a few aspects of schema development and processing. This means the first few steps on the learning curve will be especially daunting. With both an introduction to creating schemas and a guide to the many complexities of the XML Schema Recommendation, XML Schema is an on-the-fly learning aid for a tough subject. Primarily designed as a tutorial, the book serves double-duty as a reference to many aspects of XML Schema creation and processing. It's organized to allow readers to get started creating schemas quickly and then return to different aspects of schemas as needed for particular projects.

Author Biography

Eric van der Vlist is the resident expert on XML schema languages on XML.com. He is also a member of the ISO DSDL committee, where standardization work on RELAX NG and related specifications is in progress. Eric is also the author of O'Reilly's XML Schema.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Schema Uses and Development	1	(5)
What Schemas Do for XML	1	(3)
W3C XML Schema	4	(2)
Our First Schema	6	(9)
The Instance Document	6	(1)
Our First Schema	7	(6)
First Findings	13	(2)
Giving Some Depth to Our First Schema	15	(6)
Working From the Structure of the Instance Document	15	(2)
New Lessons	17	(4)
Using Predefined Simple Datatypes	21	(23)
Lexical and Value Spaces	21	(2)
Whitespace Processing	23	(1)
String Datatypes	24	(6)
Numeric Datatypes	30	(4)
Date and Time Datatypes	34	(7)
List Types	41	(1)
What About anySimple Type?	41	(1)
Back to Our Library	41	(3)
Creating Simple Datatypes	44	(25)
Derivation By Restriction	45	(14)
Derivation By List	59	(2)
Derivation By Union	61	(2)
Some Oddities of Simple Types	63	(2)
Back to Our Library	65	(4)
Using Regular Expressions to Specify Simple Datatypes	69	(17)
The Swiss Army Knife	69	(1)
The Simplest Possible Patterns	70	(1)
Quantifying	71	(1)
More Atoms	72	(7)
Common Patterns	79	(4)
Back to Our Library	83	(3)
Creating Complex Datatypes	86	(41)
Simple Versus Complex Types	86	(1)
Examining the Landscape	87	(1)
Simple Content Models	88	(3)
Complex Content Models	91	(24)
Mixed Content Models	115	(4)
Empty Content Models	119	(2)
Back to Our Library	121	(5)
Derivation or Groups	126	(1)
Creating Building Blocks	127	(14)
Schema Inclusion	127	(2)
Schema Inclusion with Redefinition	129	(6)
Other Alternatives	135	(2)
Simplifying the Library	137	(4)
Defining Uniqueness, Keys, and Key References	141	(12)
xs:ID and xs:IDREF	141	(1)
XPath-Based Identity Checks	142	(7)
ID/IDREF Versus xs:key/xs:keyref	149	(2)
Using xs:key and xs:unique As Co-occurrence Constraints	151	(2)
Controlling Namespaces	153	(31)
Namespaces Present Two Challenges to Schema Languages	153	(3)
Namespace Declarations	156	(2)
To Qualify Or Not to Qualify?	158	(6)
Disruptive Attributes	164	(1)
Namespaces and XPath Expressions	165	(1)
Referencing Other Namespaces	166	(3)
Schemas for XML, XML Base and XLink	169	(6)
Namespace Behavior of Imported Components	175	(2)
Importing Schemas with No Namespaces	177	(2)
Chameleon Design	179	(2)
Allowing Any Elements or Attributes from a Particular Namespace	181	(3)
Referencing Schemas and Schema Datatypes in XML Documents	184	(13)
Associating Schemas with Instance Documents	184	(5)
Defining Element Types	189	(5)
Defining Nil (Null) Values	194	(1)
Beware the Intrusive Natur of These Features	195	(2)
Creating More Building Blocks Using Object-Oriented Features	197	(16)
Substitution Groups	197	(8)
Controlling Derivations	205	(8)
Creating Extensible Schemas	213	(11)
Extensible Schemas	213	(9)
The Need for Open Schemas	222	(2)
Documenting Schemas	224	(11)
Style Matters	224	(2)
The W3C XML Schema Annotation Element	226	(5)
Foreign Attributes	231	(1)
XML 1.0 Comments	232	(1)
Which One and What For?	233	(2)
Elements Reference Guide	235	(70)
Datatype Reference Guide	305	(32)
A. XML Schema Lanquages	337	(18)
B. Work in Progress	355	(6)
Glossary	361	(8)
Index	369