You are here: Home > What's New > XML Designers: Take Cue from the Web

XML Designers: Take Cue from the Web

Consider These Things

1. The Web is a bunch of independently developed and maintained chunks of information, connected by hyperlinks.
2. Hyperlinks are widely used on the visible Web but have not gained significant traction on the invisible Web.
3. XML resides predominately in the invisible Web.
4. Key features of the visible Web are:
   • chunks of information are independently developed and maintained
   • related chunks are connected.
5. These are desirable features for emulation on the invisible Web.
6. Hyperlinking is just one method for connecting related chunks of information.
7. Another method is composition: chunks of information are composed into a single document.
8. Composing independently developed and maintained chunks of information into a single document is well-suited to the invisible Web.
9. Composition is to the invisible Web what hyperlinking is to the visible Web.

Recommendations for XML Designers

1. Create xml documents composed of independently developed xml vocabularies.
2. Create small xml vocabularies. They have the most potential for use in varied documents.
3. Put each xml vocabulary in a different namespace. The reason for doing this is that namespaces modularize the document, enabling applications to do module-specific processing.

Last Updated: October 29, 2008