RELAX NG: a simpler schema language for XML

SynopsisXML has spread rapidly into all aspects of computing because of its radical flexibility. Developers can create vocabularies that identify data and document structures according to their own preferences. While this flexibility is powerful, it has also driven the development of vocabularies that describe and constrain those structures, called schemas. Unfortunately, developers have been trapped between relatively weak but easily approachable XML 1.0 DTDs and the much more powerful but dauntingly complex W3C XML Schema. Over the past few years, an alternative has emerged, combining the ease of DTDs with the power of W3C XML Schema: RELAX NG.This book explores this new schema vocabulary, from its clean foundations through best practices to integration with other data-description approaches. While working with RELAX NG is easy compared to W3C XML Schema, there is still plenty to learn. RELAX NG explains both the XML syntax and compact syntax in depth, showing how to use every pattern in both syntaxes with clear, simple examples. Whether you're a programmer defining XML vocabularies for interchange or a document manager supporting new metadata in a publishing environment, you'll find RELAX NG a refreshing approach to describing XML. This book provides a complete guide to this exciting new technology, from how to get started to how best to apply it to many different kinds of XML problems. As developers know, the beauty of XML is that it is extensible, even to the point that you can invent new elements and attributes as you write XML documents. Then, however, you need to define your changes so that applications will be able to make sense of them and this is where XML schema languages come into play. RELAX NG (pronounced relaxing), the Regular Language Description for XML Core--New Generation is quickly gaining momentum as an alternative to other schema languages. Designed to solve a variety of common problems raised in the creation and sharing of XML vocabularies, RELAX NG is less complex than The W3C's XML Schema Recommendation and much more powerful and flexible than DTDs.RELAX NG is a grammar-based schema language that's both easy to learn for schema creators and easy to implement for software developers In RELAX NG, developers are introduced to this unique language and will learn a no-nonsense method for creating XML schemas. This book offers a clear-cut explanation of RELAX NG that enables intermediate and advanced XML developers to focus on XML document structures and content rather than battle the intricacies of yet another convoluted standard.RELAX NG covers the following topics in depth:Introduction to RELAX NGBuilding RELAX NG schemas using XML syntaxBuilding RELAX NG schemas using compact syntax, an alternative non-XML syntaxFlattening schemas to limit depth and provide reusabilityUsing external datatype libraries with RELAX NGW3C XML Schema regular expressionsWriting extensible schemasAnnotating schemasGenerating schemas form different sourcesDeterminism and datatype assignmentand much more.If you're looking for a schema language that's easy to use and won't leave you in a labyrinth of obscure limitations, RELAX NG is the language you should be using. And only O'Reilly's RELAX NG gives you the straightforward information and everything else you'll need to take advantage of this powerful and intelligible language. As developers know, the beauty of XML is that it is extensible, even to the point that you can invent new elements and attributes as you write XML documents. Then, however, you need to define your changes so that applications will be able to make sense of them and this is where XML schema languages come into play. RELAX NG (pronounced relaxing), the Regular Language Description for XML Core--New Generation is quickly gaining momentum as an alternative to other schema languages. Designed to solve a variety of common problems raised in the creation and sharing of XML vocabularies, RELAX NG is less complex than The W3C's XML Schema Recommendation and much more powerful and flexible than DTDs.RELAX NG is a grammar-based schema language that's both easy to learn for schema creators and easy to implement for software developers In RELAX NG , developers are introduced to this unique language and will learn a no-nonsense method for creating XML schemas. This book offers a clear-cut explanation of RELAX NG that enables intermediate and advanced XML developers to focus on XML document structures and content rather than battle the intricacies of yet another convoluted standard. RELAX NG covers the following topics in and much more.If you're looking for a schema language that's easy to use and won't leave you in a labyrinth of obscure limitations, RELAX NG is the language you should be using. And only O'Reilly's RELAX NG gives you the straightforward information and everything else you'll need to take advantage of this powerful and intelligible language.