[thelist] XML and Custom DTD Help

Hershel Robinson hershelr at netvision.net.il
Thu Nov 17 13:01:14 CST 2005


I have a new four-part task:

Step 1: Examine the DTD Version 3.2.1 from MISMO ( 
http://www.mismo.org/default.html ) and attempt to map fields from our 
company database to their field list. Any fields which do not map will 
be noted.

Step 2: Build a customized version of this DTD (or an extension if 
possible) which adds definitions for the fields in our database which do 
not correspond to MISMO fields. We are already aware that this will be 
necessary as our data extends beyond the MISMO list. My boss wants to 
begin with MISMO, however, as it is the industry standard.

Step 3: Generate a sample XML file with sample data which validates 
according to this new DTD.

These three steps are the current task. If all goes well and our client 
is happy with Step 3, then Step 4 will be to write code to generate such 
XML files based on the real data in the database.

At this point, however, I am focusing on the first three steps, and 
keeping the fourth in mind, should it influence any decisions made in 
the first three steps.

So if I could ask a few questions:

1 What tools do people recommend for my Windows 2K machine for this 
XML/DTD work? I am looking at a few but there are a lot of choices. 
There is actually a comprehensive review of XML editors from January 
2005 here:

http://ahds.ac.uk/creating/information-papers/xml-editors/

but this report itself is a lot to read. :)

Part of my confusion (aside from the fact that I am new to XML) is that 
I don't know if DTD editing is a feature I will need extensively or not. 
Perhaps I will end up doing the whole thing by hand in UltraEdit, but I 
had once a visual tool for XML and I think it helped me. Perhaps for DTD 
editig, however, a text editor will prove the most appropriate.

2 Any other references or information for this task would be 
appreciated. I am not brand new to XML and DTD's but my experience is 
certainly quite limited.

Thanks,
Hershel



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