XSD: Proposed Goals

[Simon St.Laurent]

Peter Murray-Rust suggested:
>I'd also suggest we set goals a la X*L processes, etc.

The last few messages, particularly the interchange between Peter and Paul 
Prescod, seem to have clarified what we're aiming for, which is considerably 
less than my original proposal.  This is good; I think we have an excellent 
chance of achieving these smaller goals.

Per the X*L processes, a proposed list of 10 goals follows.  I've called this 
project XSD (Extensible or XML Structure Definitions) for now.  Structure 
Definition Documents (SDDs) are the documents that contain Structure 
Definition information, and XSD is the standard defining the structure of 
SDDs.

1. SDDs shall use XML document syntax.

2. SDDs shall be transformable into an XML 1.0 DTD containing the same 
structure.

3. SDDs shall be capable of representing the normalized element and attribute 
structures defined in XML 1.0 DTDs.

4. SDDs shall be parseable, manageable, and manipulable using the same tools 
used to parse, manage, and manipulate XML documents.

5. SDDs shall be easy to create and document.

6. SDDs shall be easy to use in combination with a parser to provide 
structural validation of documents.

7. XSD shall include an XML 1.0 DTD defining the structure of SDDs.

8. XSD shall suggest mechanisms for applying SDDs to documents.

9. XSD shall include mechanisms for extending the information included in 
SDDs, and prescribe limits on the behavior of programs using that extended 
information.

10. The XSD specification shall be readable and clear.

This is a _start_.  Changes to language, meaning, order, terminology, etc. are 
all welcome, as are additions.  Ten is traditional, but not required.

Simon St.Laurent
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