XML Schema: The W3C's Object-Oriented Descriptions for XML

by Eric van der Vlist

If you need to create or use formal descriptions of XML vocabularies, the W3C's XML Schema offers a powerful set of tools for defining acceptable document structures and content. An alternative to DTDs as the way to describe and validate data in an XML environment, XML Schema enables developers to create precise descriptions with a richer set of datatypes?such as booleans, numbers, currencies, dates and times?that are essential for today?s applications. Schemas are powerful, but that power comes with substantial complexity. This concise book explains the ins and outs of XML Schema, including design choices, best practices, and limitations. Particularly valuable are discussions of how the type structures fit with existing database and object-oriented program contexts. With XML Schema, you can define acceptable content models and annotate those models with additional type information, making them more readily bound to programs and objects. Schemas combine the easy interchange of text-based XML with the more stringent requirements of data exchange, and make it easier to validate documents based on namespaces. You?ll find plenty of examples in this book that demonstrate the details necessary for precise vocabulary definitions. Topics In addition to the explanatory content, XML Schema provides a complete reference to all parts of both the XML Schema Structures and XML Schema Datatypes specifications, as well as a glossary. Appendices explore the relationships between XML Schema and other tools for describing document structures, including DTDs, RELAX NG, and Schematron, as well as work in progress at the W3C to more tightly integrate XML Schema with existing specifications. No matter how you intend to use XML Schema - for data structures or document structures, for standalone documents or part of SOAP transactions, for documentation, validation, or data binding ? all the foundations you need are outlined in XML Schema .

Genres: Reference, Technical, Programming

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a technical book on creating schemas using the XML Schema standard. It would be written more clearly. Instead of clearly explaining all of the features of the standard, the author is using an example to show what appears to be parts of the standard. As such, as long as what you want to do matches the example he is building up, you're OK. Otherwise, you have to find other sources.

[Chris Corbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have colleagues who recommended against this book but I'm not sure why, it's been extremely useful to me. I compared it with a few other more bloated volumes in the bookstore and found it succinct and complete.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent reference.