[www-xml-schema-comments] <none>

Hello All;

I am currently designing a specification for describing jobs in the print
industry (JDF - job definition format) that uses a hierarchical data model
that, in 
shorthand, looks like this:
<JDF>
  <Audits ?>
  <Customer ?>
  <Resources ?>
  <Links ?>
  <JDF*>
</JDF>
 The ordering of the elements is irrelevant, and since the data is supposed
to be modified by  various processors, which may append additional 
elements, it would be very convenient not to enforce any ordering, since the
ordering has no semantic value.
If no ordering is enforced, all you have to do is e.g:

DOM_Node links=JDF.GetNode("Links")
if customer.isNull() links=JDF.AppendNode("Links")

instead of writing of a loop that searches all predecessor children for the
last valid predecessor. IMO it is evident, that enforced ordering is an 
unnecessary burden in this case.

The other schema validable alternative is to define a child pool that
contains  multiple JDF childre e.g:
<JDF>
  <Audits ?>
  <Customer ?>
  <Resources ?>
  <Links ?>
  <JDFPool ?>
     <JDF*>
  </JDFPool>
</JDFl>

This is possible but seams to be a very formalistic solution to a problem
that can be solved simply by telling an XML Schema element that the ordering

of its children is arbitrary.

As a conclusion, I agree with Ivan, Michael and Martin that a construct that
allows unbounded elements in arbitrary ordering is desirable.

Rainer

Rainer Prosi
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Received on Monday, 16 October 2000 02:46:00 UTC