Tutorial%20on%20XML%20Tag%20and%20Schema%20Registration%20in%20an%20ISO/IEC%2011179%20Metadata%20Registry

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Tutorial on XML Tag and Schema Registration in
anISO/IEC 11179 Metadata Registry

• Open Forum 2003 on Metadata Registries
• Tuesday, January 21, 2003 445-530 p.m.
• January 2003

Kathleen Gundry Science Applications
International Corporation (SAIC)
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Overview

• Identify various information assets to be managed
  in registries.
• Identify the relevant standards for management of
  those assets.
• Present the benefits of combining the management
  functions in a single registry.
• Present the architecture of a registry that might
  meet the various standards for managing a variety
  of organizational metadata.
• Present the current plans to register XML objects
  in a 11179 metadata registry, the EPAs
  Environmental Data Registry.

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Purpose of a Metadata Registry

• The purpose of a metadata registry is to collect
  and manage information about an organizations
  information assets.
• The registry is supposed to centralize that
  information, and improve the organizations
  ability to manage it.
• Registries should be able to promote reuse of
  data, identify opportunities for information
  integration, identify duplicate information
  collections, promote standardization.

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Types of Metadata and Related Registry Standards

• Data Elements ISO/IEC 11179, Data Element
  Metadata Registry
• Information Resources Dublin Core
• Data Sets, Spatial Data FGDC Content Standard
  for Digital Geospatial Metadata
• XML OASIS/ebXML Registry standard

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Central Registry Proliferation
Enterprise Application Inventory
XML Registry
Data Element Metadata
Document Management System
Data Set Metadata
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Taming Metadata Chaos at EPA
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Finding a Place for XML Metadata

• OASIS and ebXML have combined their efforts to
  build a standard for an XML Registry.
• A freeware, alpha version of an XML Registry,
  conformant with the current version of the
  standard is available from Sourceforge.
• There are several commercial XML registry
  products, but none currently available completely
  conform to the standard.
• Some organizations, including the Environmental
  Exchange Network, seek to link their XML metadata
  to other enterprise metadata, like data standard
  metadata.

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Managing XML Metadata in the EDR

• EPA and its State and Tribal Nation partners have
  a long term goal of building an Environmental
  Exchange Network based on environmental data
  standards.
• The Environmental Exchange Network partners
  identified a need to link XML schema to related
  data standards.
• With no available commercial products meeting
  that need, the group chose to register XML schema
  in the EDR as an interim solution.
• XML components will be registered in the EDR,
  without changing the underlying ISO/IEC 11179
  conformant metamodel.

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Registering XML Tags

• Conceptually, an XML tag a data element.
• XML tags are registered as designations
  (alternate names) for data elements.
• In the EDR, standard XML tags are registered as
  designations for standard data elements
• They use the standard data element name and
  follow the standard XML tag naming conventions
• XML tags as data elements.
• In the EDR, XML tags from XML schemas will be
  registered as data elements because the tags do
  not always have a one-to-one relationship with an
  application data element
• The application XML tags can be linked to the
  application data elements.

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Registering XML Schemas

• XML Namespaces, XML Schemas, XML Datatypes, and
  other grouping XML objects will be registered as
  Classification Schemes.
• 11179 defines Classification Scheme as the
  descriptive information for the arrangement or
  division of objects into groups.
• In the EDR Classification Scheme is used to group
  other elementary objects, such as data elements
  and value domains. For example, an application
  system is registered as a Classification Scheme,
  documented with metadata (name, definition,
  abstract, submitter), and linked to related data
  elements and value domains .

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Registering XML Schemas

• Classification Scheme Types will be created and
  assigned for various grouping XML components.
• Linkages between XML objects such as Trading
  Partner Agreements, XML schema, and other
  information resources can be stored.
• In the EDR, Classification Schemes can be related
  to other Classification Schemes through
  Classification Scheme items, creating
  hierarchical relationships.

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11179 Model Elements
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Linking XML Tags to Schemas

• The long-term plan is to link XML tags to related
  XML schemas through data elements.
• This linkage is supported by the 11179 metamodel.
• It can be used to track data standards
  conformance of XML schemas.
• It can be used as a data administration tool to
  understand what information is being exchanged by
  the different XML schemasto foster integration
  and harmonization.

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Tracking XML Schema Status

• The ISO/IEC 11179 standard provides registration
  and administrative statuses to track metadata
  objects through the review and approval process.
• In the EDR, an additional status field will be
  added to record the progress of the XML schema
  through the review and approval process to track
  the progress of the schema through the process,
  using the W3C defined statuses.

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XML Metadata in the EDR

• The EDR will be used to store both XML tags and
  XML documents, with no changes to the underlying
  model.
• Some new queries will be developed to allow users
  to search for XML schema based on submitting
  organization, subject, and statusthese are
  simply modifications to current application
  system/information resource queries.

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Registry Model Comparisons

• The ISO/IEC 11179 and the OASIS/ebXML metamodels
  have much in common.
• By extending one of the models, an organization
  could manage both data element and XML objects in
  a single registry.

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Future of XML Management

• XML metadata is related to data element metadata,
  so some linkages between the metadata is
  desirable.
• The Environmental Exchange Network is committed
  to building XML schemas based on approved data
  standards.
• Data standards will be stored in a 11179 metadata
  registry.
• XML schemas need to be related to the data
  element metadata either through storage in a
  single registry, or through linkages between two
  registries.

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For More Information
Kathleen Gundry Science Applications
International Corporation Kathleen.g.gundry_at_saic.c
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