I use XMLSPY quite successfully, and will probably recommend its
purchase at my company.
I am using it mainly to design schema in accordance with the W3C
candidate recommendation of 24 Oct 2000, which is commonly designated
as "XSD", as it is in XML SPY. If you are doing the same first make
sure you are using the 3.5B version.
XMLSPY requires basic knowledge of the XML Schema Language. Sections 1
and 2 of XML Schema Part 0: Primer should give you a very good start.
I work mainly in the text view and validate often. This lets me know
whether I am using valid child elements, that is, structure. I also
use the enhanced grid view and utilize the buttons at the bottom,
principally the six on the left, to add attributes or elements, which
you can do at the current level you are at in the document, or at a
child level.
A feature of XMLSPY I like very much is that when you add an element
or attribute, he gives you a context-sensitive list of possibilities,
although in some contexts not all the possibilities he displays are
valid (so validate often; I always check for well-formedness first).
Another technique I use is to take advantage of the feature that
generates a schema from a source XML document. I construct the XML
source as I wish to represent a portion of my data, usually a
relatively small portion, and then ask XMLSPY to generate the schema,
and see how he does it. This has allowed me to design schema fairly
rapidly.
Something you might try, to get familiar with how he represents
schema, is to make your own copy of the Purchase Order Schema in Part
0 (above), familiarize yourself with its structure, and then see how
XMLSPY displays it in the various views.
Good luck, rajeev.
- timothy
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