ProductsXMLSpySchema ToolsExtended Schema Validation

The graphical XML Schema editor in XMLSpy® 2012 lets you validate naming and coding conventions that are beyond the scope of the XML Schema standard. This gives you with more control over your XML architecture by allowing you to further constrain the way that elements and attributes are created and defined.

Though the examples below illustrate the use of this feature within the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), a United States government standard for exchanging data, the functionality for extended schema validation can be used for any set of rules that your organization might adopt. XMLSpy ships with a complete set of NIEM NDR rules. For more information on NIEM, visit the Solutions Center.

Managing & Defining XML Rule Sets

Rule sets are managed through the Schema tab in the Info entry helper window, where you can create a new rule set, browse to locate a rule set, or choose from a set of predefined rule sets that ship with XMLSpy.

You can add as many rule sets as needed to an XML Schema, and easily manage them using a context menu for editing, adding, or deleting assignments.

Editing or creating a new rule set brings up the Schema Rules Editor. This dialog has two panes:

• The Rules pane lets you add and remove rules. Each rule has a name, a descriptive message text, and a severity level (if the rule is contradicted, validation can be set to return an error or a warning).
• The Rule pane lets you define and edit the details of the selected rule.

You can define rule sets based on naming conventions and/or coding conventions that extend beyond the scope of the XML Schema standard.

Naming Conventions

Naming conventions refer to the guidelines for what element/attribute tags are called (i.e. <element>). XML Schema already provides a number of built-in naming allowances and constraints, for example, names cannot start with a numbers, punctuation, or "xml". This feature lets schema developers validate additional rule definitions. For example, the screenshot below highlights a rule that requires all attribute names to begin with a lower case letter.

Coding Conventions

Coding conventions refer to more complex rules for the way in which the schema is written and let developers narrow the scope of the XML Schema recommendation to align with internal best practices. For example, the screenshot below shows a rule that restricts the use of xsd:any, which can be used to extend an XML Schema with elements that are not explicitly specified in the schema.

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