ebXML requirements

The ebXML Core Components group have asked that, if possible. DOM Level 3
interfaces be used to express the relationship between a registred ebXML
core component and an XML document.

ebXML Core Components will be recorded in the form of a set of W3C XML
Schema SimpleType and ComplexType definitions and a set of abstract element
definitions from which schemas can be generated. Specific ebXML applications
can apply restrictions or extensions to the recorded models as appropriate
to thier application.

What the ebXML Core Component team would like to be able to do is to return
model information in a neutral format in terms of DOM-compliant models that
can be used to validate documents irrespective of whether the system is one
based on DTDs, W3C XML Schemas, proprietary forms of Schema or schema
generators such as RELAX or Schematron.

To do this, however, a number of criteria must be met. For example:

1) It must be possible to identify which abstract element an actual element
has been derived from
2) It must be possible to identify which SimpleType or ComplexType model
formed the basis of the abstract element used to derivean element (i.e. the
model applied to the abstract element used to derive an element)
3) It must be possible to identify any restrictions or extensions applied to
the recorded model when applying the abstract element
4) It must be possible to identify all elements derived from the same
abstract type
5) It should be possible to identify all elements to which the same
restrictions/extensions have been applied.
6) It should be possible to distinguish elements added by extensions (called
domain-specific components in ebXML) from those derived from abstract
elements (called managed core components in ebXML)
7) It should be possible to distinguish attributes added by extensions from
those derived from the models assigned to abstract elements.

It should be noted that ebXML requires that element content and attribute
values be validated against a data type that is a restriction on the basic
CDATA string data type currently being discussed for Level 3 of DOM.
Typically ebXML data types will be subsets of XML primitive data types.

Your help in ensuring that we can achieve our goals would be much
appreciated.

Martin Bryan
ebXML Core Component Metamodel Development Team

Received on Tuesday, 21 November 2000 12:30:39 UTC