Cambridge Communique: Reinventing the Wheel?

I think the notion of Schema Validity is absolutely essential, and I
think the vision articulated in the Cambridge Communique is headed in
the right direction, but I gotta ask: is the support this paper offers
for XML Infoset and XML Schema endorsing the reinvention of the wheel?

Data models have been around since the sixties - why do we need another
one?  Why can't the Relational Model, or EXPRESS (ISO 10303-11), or
generic E-R model, or ORM serve in this same role or be adapted to serve
in this role?  There is an existing synergy between existing data models
and application software that does not (yet) exist for data models like
XML Infoset/XML Schema - so why not leverage this synergy and define
mappings between an existing data model and XML syntax? 

Am I the only one that thinks this stuff suffers from a little NIH?

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William C. Burkett
Product Data Integration Technologies, Inc.
100 W. Broadway, Suite 540
Long Beach CA 90802
(562) 495-6500 x13, FAX (562) 495-6509
wburkett@pdit.com      www.pdit.com
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