XML Schema is the new language standard from the W3C and the new foundation for defining data in Web-based systems. There is a wealth of information available about Schemas but very little understanding of how to use this highly formal specification for creating documents. Grasping the power of Schemas means going back to the basics of documents themselves, and the semantic rules, or grammars, that define them. Written for schema designers, system architects, programmers, and document authors, Modeling Business Objects with XML Schema guides you through understanding Schemas from the basic concepts, type systems, type derivation, inheritance, namespace handling, through advanced concepts in schema design.
*Reviews basic XML syntax and the Schema recommendation in detail.
*Builds a knowledge base model step by step (about jazz music) that is used throughout the book.
*Discusses Schema design in large environments, best practice design patterns, and Schema's relation to object-oriented concepts.

XML is bringing together some fairly disparate groups into a new cultural clash: document developers trying to understand what a transaction is, database analysts getting upset because the relational model doesn't fit anymore, and web designers having to deal with schemata and rule based transformations. The key to rising above the confusion is to understand the different semantic structures that lie beneath the standards of XML, and how to model the semantics to achieve the goals of the organization.
A pure architecture of XML doesn't exist yet, and it may never exist as the underlying technologies are so diverse. Still, the key to understanding how to build the new web infrastructure for electronic business lies in understanding the landscape of these new standards.
If your background is in document processing, this book will show how you can use conceptual modeling to model business scenarios consisting of business objects, relationships, processes, and transactions in a document-centric way. Database designers will learn if XML is subject to relational normalization and how this fits in with the hierarchical structure of XML documents. Web designers will discover that XML puts them into a position to automatically generate visually pleasing web pages and rich multimedia shows from otherwise dry product catalogues by using XSLT and other transformation tools. Business architects will see how XML can help them to define applications that can be quickly adapted the ever changing requirements of the market.