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[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Best Practice: constrain an element's content by (1)a run-
The XPath expression you give in your second example makes me feel
somewhat uncomfortable. There is a lot of redundancy between the
content model and the XPath expression, for example "empty(* except
(Title[1],Date[1],Author,ISBN[1],Publisher[1]))" is exactly equivalent
to the lack of an <xs:any> element in the schema, and so is completely
redundant.
If I was going for the latter case, I would simplify the schema type as
follows.
First I would move the condition that every publication has a Title and
Date into the content model, rather than it being in the assertion. I
would then change the empty(* except ...) expressions into a list of the
elements that are explicitly empty.
<xs:element name="Publication">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Title" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="Author" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"
maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
<xs:element name="Date" type="xs:gYear" />
<xs:element name="ISBN" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"/>
<xs:element name="Publisher" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"/>
</xs:sequence>
<xs:attribute name="kind" type="xs:string" />
<xs:assert test="if (@kind eq 'book') then ISBN and Publisher
if (@kind eq 'magazine') then empty(Author | ISBN
| Publisher)
else empty(ISBN | Publisher))" />
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
The assertion then only covers the conditions that are not covered by
the data model, and this (at least to me) is a lot more readable.
Having said that, my preference would still be to go for option #1.
There is no need to restate the arguments made by Michael Kay.
Oliver Hallam
http://www.xqsharp.com
Michael Kay wrote:
> I think the best advice is probably: if you can do it conveniently using CTA
> (as you can here), then do. Otherwise use assertions.
>
> There are a number of reasons for this.
>
> (1) What is sometimes called the "rule of least power": don't use a chainsaw
> to snap a twig.
>
> (2) More concretely:
>
> (2a) A schema validator is more likely to adopt a streaming implementation
> for CTA than for assertions
>
> (2b) The schema validator is likely to produce better diagnostics if you
> describe the constraint using CTA
>
> (2c) You are likely to get a more precise type annotation on the element if
> you use CTA, which gives benefits when writing schema-aware stylesheets and
> queries.
>
> Regards,
>
> Michael Kay
> http://www.saxonica.com/
> http://twitter.com/michaelhkay
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Costello, Roger L. [mailto:costello@m...]
>> Sent: 11 May 2009 19:53
>> To: 'xml-dev@l...'
>> Subject: Best Practice: constrain an element's
>> content by (1) a run-time selection of alternate types or (2)
>> a run-time selection of child elements using an XPath expression?
>>
>>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> Consider this book publication:
>>
>> <Publication kind="book">
>> <Title>Everything is Miscellaneous</Title>
>> <Author>David Weinberger</Author>
>> <Date>2007</Date>
>> <ISBN>0-8050-8811-3</ISBN>
>> <Publisher>Henry Holt and Company, LLC</Publisher>
>> </Publication>
>>
>>
>> Next, consider this magazine publication:
>>
>> <Publication kind="magazine">
>> <Title>Science News</Title>
>> <Date>2005</Date>
>> </Publication>
>>
>>
>> Notice the *kind* attribute in both examples.
>>
>> If its value is 'book' then the content of <Publication> is:
>>
>> - Title
>> - Author
>> - Date
>> - ISBN
>> - Publisher
>>
>> And if its value is 'magazine' then the content of <Publication> is:
>>
>> - Title
>> - Date
>>
>>
>>
>> PROBLEM STATEMENT
>>
>> What is best practice for constraining the content of Publication?
>>
>>
>>
>> XML SCHEMA 1.1 PROVIDES TWO APPROACHES
>>
>> XML Schema 1.1 provides two approaches to constraining the
>> content of the <Publication> element.
>>
>>
>>
>> APPROACH #1: ALTERNATE TYPES
>>
>> Create a BookType and a MagazineType and then select one of
>> them to be Publication's type depending on @kind:
>>
>> if @kind = 'book' then select BookType
>> else select MagazineType
>>
>>
>> Here's how it is expressed in XML Schema 1.1:
>>
>> <xs:element name="Publication" type="PublicationType">
>> <xs:alternative test="@kind eq 'magazine'"
>> type="MagazineType" />
>> <xs:alternative test="@kind eq 'book'" type="BookType" />
>> </xs:element>
>>
>>
>> You see the (new) <alternative> element being used to select
>> a type for Publication based on the value of @kind.
>>
>>
>> (I don't show the complexType definition for MagazineType and
>> BookType because it's the same as in XML Schema 1.0.)
>>
>>
>>
>> APPROACH #2: XPATH EXPRESSION
>>
>> Let the content of Publication be a collection of all the
>> elements (both book elements and magazine elements) and set
>> them optional:
>>
>> - Title (0,1)
>> - Author (0, unbounded)
>> - Date (0,1)
>> - ISBN (0,1)
>> - Publisher (0,1)
>>
>>
>> Then create an XPath expression that selects the set of
>> children for Publication depending on the value of @kind:
>>
>> if (@kind eq 'book') then
>> Title and Date and ISBN and Publisher and
>> empty(* except
>> (Title[1],Date[1],Author,ISBN[1],Publisher[1]))
>> else
>> if (@kind eq 'magazine') then
>> Title and Date and
>> empty(* except (Title[1],Date[1]))
>> else
>> true()
>>
>>
>> Here's how it is expressed in XML Schema 1.1:
>>
>> <xs:element name="Publication">
>> <xs:complexType>
>> <xs:sequence>
>> <xs:element name="Title" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"/>
>> <xs:element name="Author" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"
>>
>> maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
>> <xs:element name="Date" type="xs:gYear" minOccurs="0"/>
>> <xs:element name="ISBN" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"/>
>> <xs:element name="Publisher" type="xs:string"
>> minOccurs="0"/>
>> </xs:sequence>
>> <xs:attribute name="kind" type="xs:string" />
>> <xs:assert test="if (@kind eq 'book') then
>> Title and Date and ISBN and Publisher and
>> empty(* except
>> (Title[1],Date[1],Author,ISBN[1],Publisher[1]))
>> else
>> if (@kind eq 'magazine') then
>> Title and Date and empty(*
>> except (Title[1],Date[1]))
>> else
>> Title and Date and
>> empty(* except
>> (Title[1],Date[1], Author))" />
>> </xs:complexType>
>> </xs:element>
>>
>>
>> You see that the content of Publication is all the book and
>> magazine elements and they are optional.
>>
>> You see an XPath expression within the (new) <assert> element
>> being used to constrain which child elements are allowed
>> within Publication based on the value of @kind.
>>
>>
>>
>> TWO APPROACHES
>>
>> You have seen two ways of solving the problem of constraining
>> the content of Publication:
>>
>> (a) Run-time selection of alternate types
>>
>> (b) Run-time selection of child elements using XPath
>>
>>
>>
>> DEFINITION OF "RUN-TIME"
>>
>> By "run-time" I mean that the content of Publication is not
>> determined until an instance document is validated against a schema.
>>
>>
>>
>> WHICH IS BEST PRACTICE?
>>
>> Which approach is best practice?
>>
>> What are the pros and cons of each approach?
>>
>>
>> /Roger
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> _________
>>
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>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
>
> XML-DEV is a publicly archived, unmoderated list hosted by OASIS
> to support XML implementation and development. To minimize
> spam in the archives, you must subscribe before posting.
>
> [Un]Subscribe/change address: http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/
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