Why were these services created?
Our motivation for this service was to make multiple
parsers available for XML developers on a single site, and present the
results
on a single page for easy comparison. This way, the user would not have
to
download and install each parser to run their schemas and instances
through. We
have found that on integration projects schemas are often developed
with one
tool and then distributed only to find out that the partners are using
a
different tool and there are problems with the schema.
Why should I run my XML files through multiple parsers? Won't one parser catch all the errors?
It is not necessarily the case that one parser will catch all the
errors/warnings associated with XML schema or instance validation. Not
all parsers
have the same implementation of the W3C standard. Our validation
service is a way to check a file's validity through multiple parses, in
order to provide some insight as to possible errors within the instance
or schema. One parser may flag errors the other two parsers did not
catch, or vice versa,
simply because certain constraints were checked and others were not.
Analyzing the output from multiple parsers will hopefully make it
easier to detect and diagnose potential issues. This is why we hope to
add more parsers in the future.
Why are publicly available schemas provided?
We provide access to existing XML schemas, such as UBL and the
Grants.gov schemas, so that users may validate instance data against
those schemas or extend those schemas without downloading and
installing the schemas for themselves. We hope to expand the number of
schemas that we make available in this way as well. Our
experience with an earlier project showed this to be extremely useful
in analyzing the impact to data as schemas changed. For example,
we could have the latest and greatest version of a schema installed on
our website and a user could test their data with the new version
before migrating to the new version of the schema in their own
environment.
How do I make my schema files available?
Please
contact us if you would like to see your schema files available to
other users through this service, as is the case with the UBL and
Grants.gov schemas
What happens to the files that are uploaded?
The files are saved only during the time of validation, and deleted
immediately afterwards. We do not save them permanently.
Does NIST have other tools I can use?
Yes, NIST is actively working to create other tools and services
supporting the development and testing of XML schemas for data
integration. Tools that we have publicly
released are available through the
NIST Manufacturing
Systems and Integration Division Tools page.
We are interested in partnerships with groups who would be willing to
use our tools before they are released to the general public. This
helps us get early feedback on the tools and gives you the opportunity
to provide input into the functionality of the tool as well as use
it.
If you are interested in
partnering with us, please send email to
xmlTestbed@cme.nist.gov.
Currently we are focusing our efforts on developing a Quality of Design
tool. This tools is designed to encode and check for adherence to
naming and design rules in XML schemas.
The NIST XML
Schema and Instance Validation Services are a part of a number of tools
supporting the development and testing of XML
content models. These tools are described in the Model Development Life
Cycle. The Model Development Life Cycle is an activity model for
the
creation, use, and
maintenance of XML schemas to support data integration and has been
used to frame our
research and development of tools. For more information
about our
efforts in developing a life cycle and tools for content specification
see the following presentation and reports:
- Presentation
to the XML Community of Practice, March 2005: "Standards Process
& Tools for XML Content", [HTML] [PPT]
- Boonserm Kulvatunyou, KC Morris, J.
Buhwan, Puja Goyal,
"Development Life Cycle and Tools for XML Content Models," XML
Conference 2004, (2004) [ PDF ]
- KC
Morris, Boonserm Kulvatunyou, Simon
Frechette, Joshua Lubell,
Puja
Goyal, "XML Schema Validation Process for CORE.GOV," NISTIR
7187, (2004) [ PDF / HTML
]
Can you include other XML tools in your service besides the
ones that you already make available?
We would love to expand the service to provide access to other tools
and will do so as time and resources permit, and there is a perceived
need for access to other tools. If there are specific tools you
would like to see included, please send us an
email stating what tools you
would like to see.
