XML: Generic Data Models and Schemas

Presentation by Jeff Lowery of ScenicSoft

The IEEE Seattle Section's Computer Society and Communication Society will jointly host a presentation on "XML: Generic Data Models and Schemas" by Jeff Lowery of ScenicSoft.

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is the foundation of the next generation of web applications. It is also the basis of Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), a public standard for spontaneous networking.

The presentation will focus on one project's experience in developing a generic data model for holding application data. To ensure data integrity within the model, an early draft XML-Schema was created and enforced through a homegrown schema validator. Discussed will be motivations, advantages and pitfalls in using such a data model; how it evolved over the course of a year and our current thinking on how in the future to generate code from the schema definitions themselves.

Jeff Lowery, with many years experience in database applications, joined ScenicSoft in 1997 and became the Lead Architect on development of a Java-based end-user application which is built around the XML data model. Recently, Jeff was promoted to Product Engineering Manager, and is working on a database solution that aims at a broader automation of the print industry.