Schema framework and a method and apparatus for normalizing schema

Abstract

The schema framework of the present invention is a set of rules and best practices that a user follows when creating schema in accordance with the present invention. By following these rules, schema are produced that can be used, reused, and managed in a distributed computing environment, thus reducing the time and effort associated with creating instance documents. Certain rules govern the content and format of the schema namespaces. Each schema namespace includes a category identifier that identifies a category to which the schema associated with the namespace relates. Once an instance document has been published by storing it in a schema repository, the schema and the namespace associated with that schema are “frozen” and cannot be changed. By freezing the schema and namespace, the schema and namespace become standardized, which facilitates instance document generation, validation, and use across a distributed system.

1 . An apparatus for determining whether a markup language schema is normalized, the apparatus comprising:
 logic configured to receive a markup language schema and to determine whether the markup language schema conforms to one or more rules of a schema framework rule set.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein if the logic determines that the markup language schema does not conform to the one or more rules, then the logic conforms the markup language schema to the one or more rules of the schema framework. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the logic further determines whether a markup language namespace associated with the markup language schema conforms to the one or more rules of the schema framework rule set. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the markup language schema namespace is unique and identifies a unique mark up language schema within the schema framework. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the logic further determines whether the markup language namespace includes a valid version number. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the logic determines whether the markup language namespace conforms to the one or more rules of the schema framework rule set by determining whether the markup language namespace includes a uniform resource identifier (URI) and a category identifier, wherein the category identifier identifies a genre to which the markup language schema associated with the markup language namespace relates. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the category identifier is selected from the group comprising a geographical region, a legal jurisdiction, an organization, an institution, an industry, a department, an agency, a type of document, a type of form, a person, an address, a location and a place. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising logic for publishing an instance document associated with the markup language schema namespace. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising logic for freezing the markup language schema and the category identifier used as the markup language schema namespace so that they can no longer be changed or duplicated within the schema framework. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising logic for freezing the markup language schema so that it can no longer be changed. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein once the markup language schema is frozen, all markup language instance documents associated with the frozen markup language schema are frozen such that they cannot be changed. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 logic for publishing a markup language instance document based on the markup language schema; and   logic for freezing the markup language schema, wherein once the publishing logic publishes the markup language instance document, the freezing logic freezes the markup language schema so that it cannot be changed.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising logic for storing the frozen markup language schema in a schema repository.