Generating XSD

[Luke Murphy]

Hi,
Suppose you have your domain model defined in XML.
You need to generate XSDs so that you can use representations of your domain model in webservices.

You have two choices:

1. Use something like XLST.
2. Use a scripting language which looks at your XMLs and generates your XSDs?

Questions:
1. What limiations are there using XLST? Is there any fancy logic you will not be able to do using it?
2. If you have to use a scripting language to generate the XSDs what would be a good choice?

Thanks.

[Jimmy Clark]

You can certainly define the "data" portion of your domain/business model with an XML-based language.

How will you excecute domain/business logic with this data?

1. What limiations are there using XLST? Is there any fancy logic you will not be able to do using it?
2. If you have to use a scripting language to generate the XSDs what would be a good choice?

XSLT is a non-object-oriented programming language. There will be limitations when attempting to implement certains types of logic.

You can create XML schemas with a Java application or a Perl application or a C++ application or a BASIC application or a COBOL application ...lots of choices

Aside, you wouldn't read XML files and then create XSD. Creating the XSD comes first... you are thinking backwards!

[Luke Murphy]

Jimmy Clark wrote:

Aside, you wouldn't read XML files and then create XSD. Creating the XSD comes first... you are thinking backwards!

Agree. I don't make some choices. The organisation I am involved with did a few years back and we are stuck with them.

[Jimmy Clark]

Sounds good. Check out the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF). It represents a clean strategy for building applications based upon a data model.