Next to the Save button is a check box named Save data only.Check this box if you want to save the file without any WordML (Word Markup Language). Unless you have added document-formatting features in Word or are starting from an existing Word document, check this box before you click Save.
171
Chapter 10: Building a Custom XML Schema
16_588451 ch10.qxd 4/15/05 9:37 AM Page 171
XML schemas are a very effective validation method for XML files. You’ve dis- covered how to create a schema for a simple XML document in this chapter.
In Chapter 11, you’ll create a more complex schema and find out more about using namespaces.
Figure 10-2:
An XML file in Word 2003 with XML tags displayed.
172 Part III: Building In Validation with DTDs and Schemas
Creating an XML template in Word 2003
You can easily make a template from any XML file in Word 2003. Just open an XML file; then choose File➪Save As➪Document Template.
This creates a .dotfile that you can use to create additional XML files.
This is a fast, easy way to make new XML files — and anyone can use this method in Word 2003 to create new (and valid!) XML content files, whether they understand XML structure or not.
To use your template file:
1. Choose File➪New.
The New Document task pane appears.
2. In the New Document task pane (to the left), select On my computerfrom the Templates section.
If the New Document task pane isn’t visible, choose View➪Task Pane to display it.
3. Choose your template file from the Tem- plates dialog box and then click OK, 4. Click any tag to highlight the content you
want to replace and then replace it with new content.
5. Save as a new XML file.
16_588451 ch10.qxd 4/15/05 9:37 AM Page 172
Chapter 11
Modifying an Existing Schema
In This Chapter
Structuring XML Schema markup Designing for data
Choosing a content model Getting complex with data Calling XML Schema Including external data
Including and excluding document content Generating an XML Schema in XMLSpy Converting DTDs to XML Schema
This chapter grows right out of what you find in Chapters 9 and 10. In Chapter 9, you get to know the ins and outs of the basic structure of an XML Schema document; Chapter 10 walks you through building a custom schema step by step, according to the rules of the XML Schema specification.
Here’s where you get to try out the capabilities of a typical schema built using XML Schema.
If you’re using a schema to guide the development of your XML documents, you have four possible basic approaches:
Work with an existing, off-the-shelf schema:This is usually the fastest approach (but you knew that).
Create your own schema from scratch:Laborious, sure, but what custom-built item isn’t?
Customize an existing schema:Tinker with it till it fits your content like a glove.
Convert a DTD to a schema:This approach is the very thing if you already have a DTD but you want to take advantage of the XML Schema specification’s strong datatyping capabilities.
17_588451 ch11.qxd 4/15/05 12:15 AM Page 173
In this chapter, you test-drive the XML Schema specification so you can con- struct a schema in different ways, depending on the type of data you’re work- ing with. In addition, you discover how to convert a DTD to a schema.
Trading Control for Flexibility
Schemas offer much tighter control of your content’s format than do DTDs.
This is a major advantage when you’re using schemas to drive the creation of documents — and for validation when those documents are pulled into a pro- cessing system.
Of course, decisions about control and flexibility are best made at the begin- ning of the document design process. Examine your content closely, and make decisions about the most effective way to obtain and share the informa- tion in your XML document. After reviewing the content you want to include, you can make choices that determine how to structure that content to meet your requirements. Making these decisions at the beginning of the docu- ment’s design cycle saves time in the end and reduces the amount of time spent revising and rewriting.
The basic structure of the content determines the flexibility of the document.
You can make your schemas more versatile by using the choicecompositor and enumerated lists of attributes. We show you how in the section “A matter of selection.” later in this chapter. Add such flexibility with care, though — the price you pay may be a much more complex schema design.
Eliciting Markup from an XML Schema
In Chapter 10, you got the chance to create a simple XML schema (books2.xsd) to validate an XML file (books2.xml) that contains seven pieces of information about a book — five elements (title, author, pub- lisher, price, and isbn) and two attributes (contentTypeand format).
This schema could validate any XML file that conformed to this specific structure, whether it included information for 1 book or 1,000 books. So far, so good! However, in our (hypothetical) book business, we want to use XML to describe not only basic book information for one or more books, but also sales and customer information. For a closer look at how to go about that, flip over to Chapter 5 (bookstore.xml).
All the files mentioned in this chapter are available for download on the Web site for this book at
www.dummies.com/go/xmlfd4e
174 Part III: Building In Validation with DTDs and Schemas
17_588451 ch11.qxd 4/15/05 12:15 AM Page 174
Comparing the structure of books2.xmland bookstore.xmlvisually will help guide the modification and expansion of the books2.xsdschema into the more complex bookstore.xsdschema. The following two figures show diagrams of the XML file structure for each of these documents as presented in XMLSpy — books2.xmlin Figure 11-1 and bookstore.xmlin Figure 11-2.
The equal sign (=) indicates an attribute, and the brackets (<>)show an element.
XMLSpy is a great tool for working with XML documents in general — and especially for creating documents that conform to the XML Schema specifica- tion. You find out how to generate an XML Schema in XMLSpy in the last sec- tion of this chapter, “Creating a schema With XMLSpy.” Chapter 19 includes additional information on XMLSpy and other XML tools.
Figure 11-2:
The book store.xml page in Grid View in XMLSpy.
Figure 11-1:
The books2.
xmlpage in Grid View in XMLSpy.
175