xmlHelpline Blog

new free tool: WSDL Flattener enters alpha stage

2010-01-28T18:53:00.004-05:00

I've developed the Xml Schema Flattener and Schema Lightener to solve specific problems around maintaining large libraries of Xml Schemas as well as communicating their practical use for a given setting.

I've always wanted to do the same thing for WSDL files. And in fact, have gotten several requests to do just that. Well, I've been getting enough inquiries recently that I thought I would put some time in on this.

The basic goal is to create a WSDL Flattener just like the Schema Flattener. Develop modular WSDL files and connect them via wsdl:import; which also contains a section with an xsd:schema element. This schema would in turn have xsd:import and/or xsd:include files. Indeed it seems that everyone developes schemas separately from the WSDL. So how about a tool that would take the whole thing and munge it into a single, stand alone WSDL file? Schemas and all. And to do it via XSLT (meaning open technology).

Well, I am getting very close to this. It didn't take long to be able to merge wsdl:imports. But adding in the nested flattening of schemas took a bit longer. I have a draft that seems to work. But I need to do some serious testing before I sent it out.

So stay tuned for this addition to the xmlHelpline Free Tools section.

Detailed feedback on Schema Lightener / Flattener

2009-10-31T11:32:00.000-04:00

Been getting more and more interest and feedback on the free Schema Lightener and Flattener combo tool (and I can't resist a link explaining its testing here. I've recently tested with NIEM too).

Here is a note from Kurt Kanaskie, Enterprise Architect at Merck and Company:

In any case, I spent some time with the Flattener and Lightener today, excellent work on your part!!!

The Flattener does exactly what I need it to do for what I've been calling our Production BODs. Since we use extensions via UserArea our delivered BODs need to have access to the entire set of elements in the OAGIS common library since any element may be used in a UserArea extension. Especially if we change the UserArea over time, then I just need to update the UserArea type. I've been doing this manually by placing all of the common developer schemas in a shared folder which is used the BOD and Noun. Effectively I provide the developer Schemas in a simplified folder structure. But now with the Flattener its easier!

Then I went on to the Lightener and I am very impressed. It works great!!! I did notice some situations that are not behaving as I expect. For example if I have SalesOrderReference only on the PurchaseOrderLine it also shows up on the Header and vice versa. If I remove them both, they both go away. [This behavior is by design. The Lightener removes components that are *never* used. It does not handle contextual variation, meaning an element used in one place but not another. In this case, it simply retains the elements. I've worked on a contextual variation version of the Lightener, but have not yet finished it. ]

I even ran it on a custom BOD, SyncActivity which just creates components for Activity and Resource from OAGIS components and fields. It works!!! Even lightens the imported Schemas! I did notice though, a few empty sequences, but still validates just fine. [Yes it may create empty sequences, but as you state this is still valid. If enough folks want the Lightener to remove empty sequences, it can be done.]

Let me know how I can really buy you coffee, this is great work!!! [You can buy me a coffee here.]

Best Regards,

Kurt Kanaskie
EA Solution Architect
Merck & Co., Inc.

TranslatHR free tool

2009-10-28T12:36:00.008-04:00

Just launched the TranslatHR project in draft form via a webinar. It attempts to facilitate the migration from HR-XML 2.x standards to the new version 3.0. It uses simple, free XSLT to translate 2.x xml instances to 3.0 instances.

Other proprietary tools can create XSLT from really nice WYSIWYG interfaces. However, the XSLT that results is sometimes opaque and hard to read. So updating, maintaining, and such cannot be done in the XSLT itself.

The solution is to create an easy to read XSLT. Of course some say that is an oxymoron - since XSLT is not easily read inherently - perhaps I should say "easier" to read. And designed to be extensible and maintainable by anyone with an XSLT processor.
Thus the TranslatHR.

webinar: Migrating to HR-XML 3.0

2009-10-27T10:28:00.004-04:00

Preparing for a webinar presentation tomorrow. The HR-XML Consortium has recently released its new 3.0 set of standards. This is the first non-backwardly compatible release is many years. It also takes advantage of (by building on top of) OAGIS architecture including its platform implementation of UN/CEFACT core components. Gettings slides and demo in presentable order!

Register here.

Summary:
You've looked at the new 3.0 specification and are considering upgrading. You ask yourself, how can I do this? How much effort is involved in upgrading? Do I have to re-write my entire application? What is the easiest and least expensive way to upgrade? Answering these questions is a critical component of the value decision for implementers. This technical presentation will examine an inexpensive way for implementers to migrate applications from 2.x to 3.0. Participants will be shown (and receive for free) draft XSLT code that demonstrates how a translation can work.

annual charity "walk for hope"

2009-09-16T14:34:00.008-04:00

Something for the "other" category.
A number of friends and I are participating in the annual charity Walk for Hope, sponsored by the non-profit Foundation of Hope.

The 21st Annual Thad & Alice Eure Walk for Hope
Sunday October 11, 2009 - Raleigh, NC

http://www.walkforhope.com

We've been doing this charity walk for several years now. Our small group raised about $1,000 last year alone if memory serves. There were over 3,000 walkers/runners last year. It is a huge event.

If you want to sponsor, contact me offline.
And of course "thank you!"

Feedback on Schema Lightener

2009-07-22T11:58:00.011-04:00

I've been getting some great feedback on the Xml Schema Lightener tool. As noted, I've tested the tool with various standards. Now I have feedback from others using the tool with OAGIS, HR-XML, SWIFT, NIEM, OTA, ACORD, and proprietary schemas.

Here is a sampling of feedback (names omitted):

"I tried out the XML Schema Lightener. It works great! [...] You have provided a wonderful tool for the XML community. I hope you enjoy the coffee I sent you."

"I did a first test and it seems to work really well. This is just what I have been looking for just to get a XSD-schema that actually tells how the schema is used by my organization. The test I did for now was [...] on a propritary Xml format delivered by a company [...] ERP. "

"I haven’t tested it exhaustively with ISO 20022 schemas, but where I have tried it, it seems to work perfectly – exactly as advertised. For many use cases I am sure it could be very helpful."

"I have already worked with your schema lightener tool and i really liked it.... "

[feedback via my Linkedin profile:] “The schema lightener proposed by Paul is a powerful solution for people who are concerned by reliability and optimization of schemas. The tool responded to our needs at Aeroplan when we had several big schemas to "refresh"...”

[After a new release of the tool, fixing a bug] "The good news is that all of the problem scenarios I encountered before worked with the latest drop."

A sampling of feedback on use cases (names omitted):

"I’ve been thinking of writing just such a program, but came across your site! Very cool!"

"I would love a copy of your tool. I am working with a ridiculously large schema (from ACORD) that I need to subset."

"Your software looks like the solution to my nightmare, to lighten some OTA schemas."

"I would like to 'lighten' the 3000+ page ACORD schema, which is a standard for the Property and Casualty Insurance industry. My company only [works with] two of the dozens of lines of business included in the schema. I would like to simplify the schema to include only those lines of business we support. It looks like your XSL utility might do the job."

"I am working on a project using Oracle’s version of the OAGIS schemas and they have thousands of elements, and we end up using about 50 of them."

"I am working with XML Schema and have been developing subsets by hand. I am very interested in your XML Schema lightener."

"Your product looks interesting – the problem has occurred several times for our customers."

"I think your tool would be useful to some of those organisations who implement our schema for b2b messaging."

New Orleans 2.0 - version management from a different perspective

2009-07-07T16:52:00.013-04:00

Had an interesting discussion with some colleagues recently about version management. Versioning is often a long conversation and has many theories / best practices. In order to gain a different perspective, we talked about it using New Orleans as the object to be versioned (not sure exactly how this got started). Using this analogy strips away the technical associations and assumptions that traditionally come up in these conversations.
At any rate, we began with New Orleans 1.0, founded in 1718 according to wikipedia (so it must be true). One can say that ownership is a reason for versioning, so the ceding of the city to Spanish control in 1763 could be considered a "New Orleans 1.1". The city had not physically changed and everything was still as it was. That is to say it was "backwardly compatible". Then another version came in 1801 when it reverted back to France and finally again in 1803 to the U.S. via the Louisiana Purchase. This puts us as New Orleans 1.3. A few thought ownership itself could be a major not a minor version, a "2.0" so to speak, but most though not.
One can also say that events since then were all backwardly compatible. The city never moved or completely burned. Its inhabitants grew but did not fundamentally change. Major improvements would be a good reason for a revision, such as the massive levee system created by the Corp of Engineers. This is the equivalent of adding new functionality while maintaining backward compatibility. Each new revision enabled the city to grow, better deal with problems, or overcome obstacles. Discovering oil is an example of a growth change. Creating the levees for flood control illustrates better problem management. Finally, the installation of railroads overcame problems with transportation of goods. In short, the revisions were "enablers". So the 1.x version of New Orleans created a usable, creative, and culturally robust product.
But there was a problem. The geography and elevation of the city made it vulnerable to hurricanes. A flaw existed in the 1.x. The city tried to fix this vulnerability with a backwardly compatible change, namely the levee system. And indeed this revision seemed to be working. But the fierceness of hurricane Katrina showed that the flaw in New Orleans 1.x still existed and was not adequately fixed.
So what to do? Create a 1.x+1 of the city with even bigger and more massive levees? That seems to be the solution in the works. But yet another revision seems like less of an enabler than a patch for preventing the object from failing. This is certainly analogous in software where patches and revisions are early enablers. But at some point they become band aids meant to retain the original. Plugging a leaky boat to use one colleague's poor analogy.
So we asked each other "should the city be moved to higher ground where it was less vulnerable to hurricanes?" It was agreed that this move would have to be considered non-backwardly compatible. One simply cannot pick up the French Quarter, move it, and expect it to be the same as it was. A geographic move, while fixing the problem, would be a major version. It would be New Orleans 2.0.
But is New Orleans 2.0 still New Orleans? Is the essence of the city inexorably tied to its original major version number? Will it forever have to be 1.x? At what point do you have a new object altogether? We were so used to asking these questions in the context of technology.
While we weren't entirely in agreement, there was a lot that we did see similarly. Raising the levees would be a 1.x+1 and would be a huge patch (not so much an enabler). Moving the city would be a "2.0" and not a "1.0" of a different city. New Orleans could be majorly versioned and stay New Orleans. But should it? We were divided on the policy of patching the levees. Saving the city at all costs was analogous to saying "maintain backward compatibility at all costs". Whereas moving the city could be translated into "don't let backward compatibility prevent you from innovating and creating better solutions".
And that was where it ended. We tended to agree on the definition of major and minor versions. However what "should" be done, or the policy, was not as shared.
I think I've been here before, but starting from a much different origin.

Fourth data standards consortia

2009-04-16T20:42:00.004-04:00

I've been talking directly with my 4th data standards consortia (all listed below). It seems I am getting a reputation for this. The fourth is a new organization that is dedicated to world food traceability. Recent news stories about problems have illustrated the need to find a solution. News reports of Peanut butter in Minnesota and tomatoes in the southwest show an outbreak of salmonella. But finding the source of these outbreaks has proven difficult. The folks at World Food Trace are working to create an effective solution that is very cost effective.

And in fact, my work with OAGi has begun to branch out because of its role as a platform on which other standards can build. So a convergence is occurring, which is connecting me to groups like CIDX, UN/CEFACT, STAR, AIAG, ISA, WBF, PDES (STEP) and others.

XBRL, HL7 and the rise of domain data models

2009-02-23T14:21:00.004-05:00

Been reading several items relating to the new proposal to require the use of XBRL for financial reporting. Indeed, Kurt Cagle has an extensive post, saying "this should be interesting." He suggests that this development should have a number of effects, including an increased need for Xml skills. Even Alexander Falk of XmlSpy (actually the company name is Altova but their flagship app is xmlspy) has commented on his company's product native support for both XBRL and HL7.

While I haven't worked intimately with XBRL, I have looked at their library from a design / best practice perspective as it relates to the other Xml Consortia for whom I have consulted. Its ontological nature is interesting and I think has something to say about that kind of data model.
The reason I group HL7 in there is because of the new administration's effort to push for electronic records in health care. This doesn't name HL7 by name, but one can't help but connect the two. Now having worked with a number of Xml Consortia, from human resources to supply chain management to media to research administration, I have always been amazed at the contrast between how technologically advanced the product is (medical care) and how *under*-automated the infrastructure is.

So I'll end the post by saying that I hope the trend is for the better. There is so much really good work being done in these domain Consortia and I'd love to see them have a broader impact. Yes, they each have their quirks (and not all of them are worth implementing), but the promise of domain data models has always been good. And there are many of us out there who are working to make these Consortia adopt common design patterns. Now we need to roll up our shirt sleeves and make them more of a reality.

Schema Lightener 2.0 released

2009-02-03T11:13:00.007-05:00

Announcing a new release of the “Xml Schema Lightener” utility. It has been completely updated and is now version 2.0.

What it does
----------------
It takes an Xml Schema and creates a subset based on user input. Some refer to this with terms such as a “subset Schema view”, “pruned Schema”, “LiteBOD”, or “profiled Schema”.

Why it does this
----------------
Consider these use cases:

You have an Xml Schema and want to implement a subset (a selected portion) of the data points. Or you want to communicate the selected data points to an audience.
You have an internal data model in Schema and want to communicate to a trading partner only the data points necessary for a particular integration.
You are implementing an Xml Schema acquired from somewhere else (i.e. from a trading partner, or from a standards consortium such as OAGi, HR-XML, etc.) and want to implement only the data points relevant to your business context.

In all these cases, it would be useful to create a Schema that shows these points and can be used for validation. The Xml Schema Lightener allows you to create the contextual Schema that each of these require. It does it using simple XSLT and Xml. And a GUI is included to make it easy to use.

It has been heavily tested, includes a free flattener, and also has a simple GUI too.

Cost effective
----------------
This utility is presented with its full functionality in a very inexpensive package. The $29 (USD) price does not cover the full cost of development and is simply a way to offset a portion of its creation and keep it going.

For more information
----------------
See http://www.xmlhelpline.com/tools/ for more information and FAQ.

the joys of air travel

2009-02-03T08:56:00.004-05:00

Cost of checked bag: $25

Cost of "emergency" exit seat: $30

In flight meal: $5

Bottle of water: $2

Airline customer service: priceless

Solved! internal_power_error BSOD on hibernate

2008-12-21T18:18:00.009-05:00

Strange title for the posting I know, but if you are having the same problem you'll recognize it. I've had this intermittent problem with hibernation and done a lot of research around it. It all began when HP replaced my motherboard because of a recall issue. It came back in good working order. However, whenever I tried to hibernate (on vista), it caused a BSOD (blue screen of death) and automatically rebooted. Not 100% of the time but the vast majority of the time.

I want hibernate because the laptop is in my bedroom and sleep mode allows a flashing blue light to continue indefinitely. At night, I don't want this flashing, so hibernate is perfect for my needs.

Did a bunch of research on this problem, which lots of other folks have had. Many said there was a process that somehow caused the machine to come out of hibernate immediately. Others said it was a BIOS issue. Still others said completely deactivate hibernation and then reactivate. The more adventurous of you can read more here, here, here, here, here, and here (even though I have 32 bit).

Here are some of the things I've tried:
Tried powercfg.exe /hibernate off and then back on. No effect. On power settings, completely disabled hibernate on all modes (power button, lid close, etc), then reactivated. No fix. I went into device manager and made sure none of the devices were "allowed to wake computer". No fix. Also checked task scheduler and removed any task that I thought could be responsible for waking the machine at the wrong time. Again no fix.

Someone suggested a corrupt hibernation file. Trashed it and had it create another. Not a fix. My BIOS is completely updated, so I didn't suspect that. And I didn't want to regress to an earlier version. (Also someone said this was fixed in SP1, but I already had that installed.)

So my solution came in this form. First, I disabled automatic restart. This allowed me to see the BSOD message before it rebooted. The error was "internal_power_error", which is of course horribly unclear. Here is how to disable auto restart from a help file:
1. Click on Start and then Control Panel.
2. Click on the System and Maintenance link.
3. Click on the System link.
4. In the task pane on the left, click the Advanced system settings link.
5. Locate the Startup and Recovery area and click on the Settings button.
6. In the Startup and Recovery window, locate and uncheck the check box next to Automatically restart.
7. Click OK in the Startup and Recovery window.
8. Click OK in the System Properties window.
9. You can now close the System window.
10. From now on, when a problem causes a BSOD or another major error that halts the system, the PC will not automatically reboot. Rebooting manually will be necessary.

Second, on my NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller (the culprit), I had previously made sure it was not allowed to wake computer. (Unchecked "Allow this device to wake computer" in power management tab.) The problem was that my system was trying to turn the device off to save power. In device manager, I "unchecked" the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" box (see pic below, which has it checked as I found it originally). This seems to have fixed the problem. Not sure exactly why this was a problem, but I am happy nevertheless. I've been able to hibernate for a few days now with no errors. Hope this helps some of you out there with the same problem.

SchemaLightener gets a user interface

2008-12-10T16:26:00.002-05:00

The Xml SchemaLightener now has a user interface. So making a thinner view of an Xml Schema is now as simple as point and click.
Screenshot (click to enlarge - image is a bit fuzzy):

The SchemaLightener can be integrated into other tools and so does not *require* the use of the UI. But the UI provides a nice easy way to perform this function. Need a quick view of the schema for a group meeting? No problem. Just point and click, selecting an Xml Schema to lighten, an Xml instance that is representative of what you want, and then executing the transformation.

This UI is built with Java, so it works cross platform. It has been tested on windows vista, xp, and linux (ubuntu). And as I said before, has been tested using many Consortia standard schemas.

Plus, the Flattener, which was recently added, can also be invoked using the UI.

SchemaLightener gets a Flattener

2008-11-19T11:03:00.007-05:00

I've added a new feature to the Xml SchemaLightener, namely that of a Flattener. First, here are some definitions:

Lighten: to remove elements and types from a schema, while the remaining elements and types are still consistent with the original schema. To "prune", or create a subset of the schema. To create a "view" of the schema, focusing on certain components.

Flatten: to merge all schema dependencies connected via xsd:include into a single schema file. To create a "stand alone" version of a set of schemas. All components are consolidated into one file without any editing or changes. Does not pertain to dependencies connected via xsd:import (because this will not result in a valid schema).

I've often needed a flattening tool. Schemas are usually developed modularly to maximize reuse. This has tremendous benefits in building a data model. However, come deployment time, tools sometimes have a problem managing a web of xsd:include files. So it is generally recommended to create a runtime version of a schema which consolidates includes into a "stand alone" one. (Of course it may not literally be stand alone because of xsd:import files, but it isn't possible to merge these according to the spec.)

The difference between xsd:include and xsd:import is in namespaces. Files connected via xsd:include have the same default namespace. This is what allows them to be consolidated into a single schema. Files connected via xsd:import have different default namespaces.

So I've thrown in an XSLT which will create a stand alone or flattened schema into the SchemaLightener tool. Importantly, even though imports cannot be merged, it does automatically go to each import and flatten its includes (if any) and so the result is a fully valid set of schemas that may have imports but no includes.

In short, the absolute minimum number of schema files possible.

Schema Lightener undergoes heavy testing

2008-10-22T18:37:00.015-04:00

The Xml Schema Lightener is coming along quite nicely. I've been gathering as many test cases as I can to put a significantly updated version through trials. It is designed to lighten a schema (some call it "prune" or "filter" or "creating a view of") based on an xml instance. Here are the test cases I've run:

127 test cases ... HR-XML (Human Resources Xml) v. 2_5
58 test cases ... HR-XML (Human Resources Xml) v. 3.0 (draft)
494 test cases ... OAGi (Open Applications Group) v. 9.2
141 test cases ... STAR (Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail) v. 5.1.4
56 test cases ... CIDX (Chemical Industry Data eXchange) v. 4.0
96 test cases ... ACORD (Insurance Data Standards) v. 2.9
289 test cases ... OTA (Open Travel Alliance) v. 2003-05
41 test cases ... TWIST (Transaction Workflow Innovation Standards Team) v 3.1

In total, that is 1,302 test cases. All of them are lightened correctly. All of them result in valid xml schemas. All of the original test xml validates against the resulting schema. 100%!

This process has really helped me increase the quality of this tool. It is a great resource for removing components that are never used from an xml schema.

HR-XML integration summit next week

2008-10-06T15:44:00.004-04:00

Next week is the second annual Global Partnering and Integration Summit. It is designed to bring together the HR community and solve data integration issues. Last year's show was very successful. (You can still register for this one.)
I'll be involved in the pre-conference workshop entitled:

Making Data Standards Work:
A Detailed Look at Pre-hire to Post-hire HR Systems Integration

It's been a pleasure working with ADP and HES Corp on this session. Hope you can join us in Chicago.

article: Extend enumerated lists in XML schema

2008-09-23T16:33:00.004-04:00

Hi folks,

In my effort to empower Xml Schema designers and implementers, I've added another item of interest. I've written an article for IBM's DeveloperWorks on the topic of extensible enumerated lists.

Extend enumerated lists in XML schema

The topic of extending enumerated lists is a perennial request I get from clients. The fact that the schema spec does not allow for this extensibility has caused many to develop a work around. The article outlines solutions I've seen.

It is a complimentary piece to my article on Xml.com some time ago on developing a usable profile of xml schema.

Profiling Xml Schema

This paper was well received and I even got a couple clients as a direct result of the article. So I feel like my effort to empower Xml Schema designers is proving useful for folks.

My current work helping schema implementers is involved in moving the Xml Schema Lightener into a more mature level. Again, I got some great early interest and am working hard on improvements.

OAG and STEP convergence

2008-07-31T17:56:00.003-04:00

Just back from a convergence meeting between OAGi and STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data). Lots of players including OMG PLM services, OASIS PLCS TC, Eurostep, PDES inc, etc. This is one of many convergence efforts building upon OAGIS as a platform. It is great to see so many standards coming together and doing the right thing. Sometimes the standards world can get distracted with egos and agendas and competition (to put it nicely). But it seems like convergence is the name of the game now and the rush to build upon OAGIS as a platform is becoming a stampede. Lots of work to do, but that is a good problem to have.

Some great upcoming news on OAGIS as a platform, so stay tuned!

STAR meeting

2008-06-24T09:51:00.006-04:00

I am off today to participate in the STAR meeting in california. They are the consortium for standards in automotive retail. STAR has had some really great success in advocating and enabling data integration standards. They build their material on top of OAGIS, thus leveraging an existing data model. This is similar to what HR-XML is doing as well as others. (Look ma, standards convergence!)
I have more to say about OAGIS as a platform later as there is some interesting news. But for the time being, I'm off to STAR.

Microsoft gets behind UML

2008-06-11T09:28:00.011-04:00

Could be real exciting news. I saw this posting from Joe McKenrick. Microsoft backing UML as part of its SOA (Oslo Modeler) offerings would be a real boon to the UML world. Templates that bring UML to Visio are nice, but getting backing in a bigger way is enticing. Hopefully they are not simply trying to create buzz. A few other links here and here.

Schema Lightener updated, version 1.1.1

2008-05-28T14:33:00.005-04:00

I’ve finally gotten a moment to update the Schema Lightener (now version 1.1.1). Several of you have been requesting this and I am glad to make some progress on it.

Most notably, I’ve fixed the “stack overflow error” that sometimes occurred as a result of how namespaces in data (not tags) is handled by XSLT processors. The problem was when two element names (the value of xsd:element/@name and not the tag itself) were the same but with different namespace prefixes. XSLT can handle the namespace prefix in tags very well, but in the content of data, there are some caveats. And because we are parsing an xml schema, the data is in the content.

Long story short, the Schema Lightener is updated and no longer throws this error. I’ve tested this with OAGIS 9.2 stand alone schemas and got some really good results. 100% validity and significant reduction in the number of components when applied using the sample xml instances that come with it.

For OAGIS folks, when this is combined with the BOD Flattener, it can take a big cumbersome schema set and pair down as well as flatten into something much more manageable.

I would like to know what you want to see next:

1) a user interface of some kind (i.e. browse to the xsd to lighten)
2) ability to take multiple xml instances as input
3) improve performance
4) other ….

Send me an email to request a free copy or let me know what you want next.

off to Helsinki

2008-04-13T11:02:00.001-04:00

I'm off to Helsinki Finland, doing some OAGIS training and consulting work there. My first time to that city, so I am excited.

using Ruby with windows

2008-03-29T10:37:00.001-04:00

I've downloaded Instant Rails (Ruby on Rails), which is a development environment for Ruby in a windows setting. So far it has worked really well. Nice not to have to fuss with dual boot issues. And it comes with PHP and MySql in a nice all-in-one package.

Found this little gotcha in that if you are in windows, chances are good something already has port 80 taken. Edit your config to use another port. I have IIS already, so I had to change ports. Here is a blog post on this topic.

you asked, I delivered: Schema Lightener updated

2008-03-19T21:59:00.002-04:00

Recently posted about the Schema Lightener tool. Some of you responded with a request to better support Xml Namespace prefixes. Now, you can use prefixes in either the Xml instance or the schema. This new version still uses xslt 1.0 technology. Send me an email and I'll send you a copy. As I've said its completely free.

Also, I've added in a command line XSLT processor, a batch file, and a couple sample schemas to help you get started.

Am also working on a version with xslt2.0 that will manage all your includes and imports with one invocation.

Schema Lightener, a free tool to simplify xml schemas

2008-03-05T15:17:00.006-05:00

I just released the free Xml Schema Lightener in order to address the issue described as "LiteBODs", subset Schemas, or constrained Schemas. In short it is a method to take a Schema and create a "Lite" one with all the undesired elements, attributes, and data types removed. Same data model but with fewer components.

I've gotten this request from clients in the data integration space, who either need to communicate a subset to their others (internal or external); or from clients who are trying to generate code from the Schema and don't want lots of unnecessary classes created for elements they don't implement.

Also got this request from Consortium members (i.e. members of HR-XML and OAG), where they want to take a base open standard Schema and constrain it down to an "as implemented" one that can be used for validation. It's been tested with OAGIS version 9.1 and HR-XML version 2.5.

There is an FAQ and real world statistics on the amoung of reduction in the number of components. Have a look and let me know your thoughts.