Registering schema components

["Paul Spencer" <paul.spencer@boynings.co.uk>]

We have stated two requirements in this area.

The first is that we can register artefacts such as XML Schema elements,
attributes and data types (we will need to decide exactly which artefacts we
can register: what about groups etc?).

The second is that we can register metadata which we can later serialize as
XML Schema or other formats. I would expect this to be based on the CCTS
metadata, but we have not yet specified this.

How do we plan to use these? If information is entered into the registry as
metadata and later serialized as XML Schema, that is not problem. But we
know that, in Government, people don't like their schemas being messed with.
I don't think that, if people submit a schema component, we could convert it
to metadata and throw away the component. We therefore have two types of
artefact - schema components and metadata from which we can derive
components.

One possibility is always to derive metadata from a submitted schema
component and register this. The component goes into the repository. This
means that the registry can be searched in a way that treats submitted
components equivalently to the same information that has been submitted just
as metadata. If someone requests a component as XML Schema, we can see if
one is stored. If it is, we use it. If it isn't, we create it from metadata.

Any views? Carl? Nikola? Duane? Farrukh? Ann? Others?

Regards

Paul Spencer
Director
Boynings Consulting Ltd
http://www.boynings.co.uk