SCHEMA FRAMEWORK AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NORMALIZING SCHEMA

• US 20080052325A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WTVIII, Inc.
• Original Assignee: WTVIII, Inc.
• Inventors: VINCENT, Winchel
• Granted Patent: US 8,688,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/80 of semi-structured data, e.g. markup language structured data such as SGML, XML or HTML content-based retrieval of web data G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/226 Validation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

The schema framework of the present invention is a set of rules and best practices that a user follows when creating schema in accordance with the present invention. By following these rules, schema are produced that can be used, reused, and managed in a distributed computing environment, thus reducing the time and effort associated with creating instance documents. Certain rules govern the content and format of the schema namespaces. Each schema namespace includes a category identifier that identifies a category to which the schema associated with the namespace relates. Once an instance document has been published by storing it in a schema repository, the schema and the namespace associated with that schema are “frozen” and cannot be changed. By freezing the schema and namespace, the schema and namespace become standardized, which facilitates instance document generation, validation, and use across a distributed system.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining whether a markup language schema is normalized, the apparatus comprising:

logic configured to receive a markup language schema and to determine whether the markup language schema conforms to one or more rules of a schema framework rule set.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein if the logic determines that the markup language schema does not conform to the one or more rules, then the logic conforms the markup language schema to the one or more rules of the schema framework.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the logic further determines whether a markup language namespace associated with the markup language schema conforms to the one or more rules of the schema framework rule set.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the markup language schema namespace is unique and identifies a unique mark up language schema within the schema framework.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the logic further determines whether the markup language namespace includes a valid version number.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the logic determines whether the markup language namespace conforms to the one or more rules of the schema framework rule set by determining whether the markup language namespace includes a uniform resource identifier (URI) and a category identifier, wherein the category identifier identifies a genre to which the markup language schema associated with the markup language namespace relates.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the category identifier is selected from the group comprising a geographical region, a legal jurisdiction, an organization, an institution, an industry, a department, an agency, a type of document, a type of form, a person, an address, a location and a place.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising logic for publishing an instance document associated with the markup language schema namespace.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising logic for freezing the markup language schema and the category identifier used as the markup language schema namespace so that they can no longer be changed or duplicated within the schema framework.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising logic for freezing the markup language schema so that it can no longer be changed.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein once the markup language schema is frozen, all markup language instance documents associated with the frozen markup language schema are frozen such that they cannot be changed.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

logic for publishing a markup language instance document based on the markup language schema; and

logic for freezing the markup language schema, wherein once the publishing logic publishes the markup language instance document, the freezing logic freezes the markup language schema so that it cannot be changed.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising logic for storing the frozen markup language schema in a schema repository.

14. A markup language schema framework, comprising:

a plurality of markup language schemas, wherein each of the plurality of markup language schemas includes a unique markup language schema namespace associated therewith; and

a plurality of rules of construction, wherein a first rule of construction requires the markup language schema namespaces to convey a description of markup language elements provided by the markup language schema,

wherein the markup language schema framework is embodied on a computer system.

15. The schema framework of claim 14, wherein a second rule of construction requires that once an instance document associated with a markup language schema is published, the markup language schema can no longer be changed.

16. The schema framework of claim 14, wherein the markup language namespace includes a uniform resource identifier (URI) and a category identifier, wherein the category identifier identifies a genre to which the markup language schema associated with the markup language namespace relates.

17. The schema framework of claim 14, wherein the plurality of markup language schemas is stored in a schema repository communicatively coupled to the computer system.