Hot Topic: Namespaces and Versioning

["Toby Considine" <Toby.Considine@gmail.com>]

We have yet to deal completely with Schema and namespace versioning.

 

(1)    One approach would look like the following:

Table 1‑1: XML Namespaces in this standard

Prefix	Namespace
emix:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011
siscale	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/siscale/2011
power:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/power/2011
resource:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/power/resource/2011

 

(2)     An alternate approach would look like

Table 1‑1: XML Namespaces in this standard

Prefix	Namespace
emix:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/
siscale	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/siscale
power:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/power
resource:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/power/resource

 

(3)     Still another, which we seem to have adopted implicitly is

Table 1‑1: XML Namespaces in this standard

Prefix	Namespace
emix:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/
siscale	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/siscale
power:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/power
resource:	http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/power/resource

 

There are then the various approaches which summarize as “putting v1.0 in place of the 2011 in alternates (1) and (2)

 

 

This is confusing similar to but not identical to the similar issue of persistence of artifacts. In general, I recommend that we remain consistent with W3C Guidelines which are oft-quoted as follows:

 

<xs:annotation>

  <xs:documentation>In keeping with the XML Schema WG's standard versioning

   policy, this schema document will persist at

   http://www.w3.org/2005/08/xml.xsd.

   At the date of issue it can also be found at

   http://www.w3.org/2001/xml.xsd.

   The schema document at that URI may however change in the future,

   in order to remain compatible with the latest version of XML Schema

   itself, or with the XML namespace itself.  In other words, if the XML

   Schema or XML namespaces change, the version of this document at

   http://www.w3.org/2001/xml.xsd will change

   accordingly; the version at

   http://www.w3.org/2005/08/xml.xsd will not change.

  </xs:documentation>

</xs:annotation>

 

This would result in a statement as follows:

 

In keeping with the XML Schema WG's standard versioning policy, the schemas defined in this specification will persist in http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/06/. At the date of issue, each can also be found at http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/. The schema documents at that URI may however change in the future, in order to remain compatible with the latest version of EMIX Specification. In other words, if the schemas namespaces change, the version of these document at http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/ will change accordingly; the versions at http://docs.oasis-open.org/ns/emix/2011/06/ will not change.

 

 

 

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“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
– George Bernard Shaw.

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Toby Considine TC9, Inc TC Chair: oBIX & WS-Calendar TC Editor: EMIX, EnergyInterop U.S. National Inst. of Standards and Tech. Smart Grid Architecture Committee

Email: Toby.Considine@gmail.com Phone: (919)619-2104 http://www.tcnine.com/ blog: www.NewDaedalus.com