xml-dev - XSchema: Goals, final version

["Simon St.Laurent" <SimonStL@classic.msn.com>]

Note the name change: XSD is now XSchema.  _No one_ defended XSD.  Several 
people liked XSchema.  For now, SDDs are XSchema documents.  It could become 
XSD, but at this point, we don't need any more naming confusion.

This version should be considered final until proven otherwise.  The goals 
will be part of the final specification and, as such, may change if we hit 
enormous roadblocks.  Unless that happens, please consider these final so that 
we can move on to more specific issues.

-------------------------

1. XSchema documents shall use XML document syntax, using element nesting and 
attributes to 
describe all constraints that may be verified by a processor using XSchema .

2. XSchema shall define a transformation from XSchema documents to DTDs.

3. XSchema documents shall be capable of representing the normalized element 
and attribute 
structures defined in XML 1.0 DTDs, and provide namespace support.

4. XSchema documents shall be parseable, manageable, and manipulable using the 
same tools 
used to parse, manage, and manipulate XML documents.

5. XSchema documents shall be easy to create, read, and modify, and shall 
provide authoring support. 

6. XSchema documents shall be easy to use in combination with a parser to 
provide 
structural validation of documents.

7. XSchema shall include an XSchema document and an XML 1.0 DTD defining the 
structure of XSchema documents .

8. XSchema shall suggest mechanisms for applying XSchema documents to 
documents.

9. XSchema shall include mechanisms for extending the information included in 
XSchema documents to support metadata.

10. The XSchema specification shall be readable, clear, and rigorous, using 
terminology and nomenclature as close to the XML 1.0 specification as 
possible.

11. The XSchema specification will comply with and be consistent with W3C 
recommendations.

12. XSchema documents shall provide constructs for human- and machine-readable 

documentation.

---------------------------------

Notes:

9 - I left "to support metadata" here after much pondering.  Virtually any 
extension put here could be considered metadata in some sense.  We'll have to 
define this more closely in the spec.

Modifications:

11- Removed "regarding XML", bringing this proposal into hopeful alignment 
with more of the W3C's activities.  (Prompted by RDF discussion.)

Deletions:

13 - Folded namespace support into #3, with element and attribute support.

14 - Folded 'authoring support' into #5, "easy to create, read, and modify..."

Simon St.Laurent
Dynamic HTML: A Primer / XML: A Primer / Cookies


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