Documents vs. Data, Schemas vs. Schemas
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SVG versionTrack: Core Technologies, Client Applications
Audience Level: High Level/Technical View
Time: Tuesday, November 16 at 14:45
Keywords: Content Model, Data Interchange, Data Representation, Database, Datatypes, Documentation, DTD, Electronic Publishing, Metadata, Publishing, Relational Database, RELAX NG, Schema, SOAP, Validation, W3C XML Schema, Web Services, Publishing
Abstract:
One class of XML use, often called "data-oriented," uses XML to relay database or transaction information. The second class of XML use, usually known as "document-oriented," uses XML to store information destined for publication in one medium or another. Despite the gray area between the two categories and their unfortunate names, the distinction provides a useful context for discussing XML processing models.
In particular, the distinction helps determine which of the two dominant schema languages can contribute more to your applications. The W3C's Schema Language was influence by the DBMS vendors on its Working Group and the B2B e-commerce concerns in the air at the time, giving it more features to benefit transaction-oriented XML. RELAX NG gives finer-grained control over the flexibility allowed in element content models, making it more useful in the processing of content destined for publication. A review of where these two schema languages have gained traction confirms the greater suitability of RELAX NG for content publishing applications and W3C schemas for transactional applications.
