Posted by kehan on January 22, 2007 at 6:06pm
Really a prayer rather than a query - what are the feasibilies to taking an existing XML schema and importing it using this API? - am I in completely the wrong ballpark?
I work with biological databases and we have a whole load of standard data exchange formats (see TDWG for further information on these standards), and it would be really neat™ if this were possible.
Let me know if I need to be going elsewhere.
Thanks,
Kehan
Comments
No schemas
Sorry, but the importexportapi doesn't use or support XML schemas at all. Rather than using schemas, it relies on entity definitions, which are written as nested arrays in PHP, and which are used to determine the structure of import/export data in multiple formats (currently XML and CSV). You can't import/export the definitions, only the data.
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
quick question
Is that by design, i.e., is it proposed that that always continue to be the case? Or would schemas be seen as an enhancement?
Victor Kane
http://awebfactory.com.ar
Victor Kane
http://awebfactory.com
enhancement!
Hi Victor / Jaza,
Thanks for your responses. Given the amount of work that has gone on developing standard schemas for the semantic web both by W3C and by thousands of other groups, I do see this as a logical place to put this kind of extension. This means that data that is meant to be interoperable actually does become interoperable.
Through this, I vote enhancement but I'm a bit of a Drupal Noob so put me in my place if you feel necessary.
Thanks,
Kehan
I think the idea is to have
I think the idea is to have an API which is hooked into by other importexportapi-specific modules, similar to the views and cck modules. So, if you wanted to import and export xml, then you could create an importexportapi-xml.module or something, which would create its own data definitions and engines, but would just require that the api be installed.
By design
The lack of support for XML schemas at present is basically by design. This is for two reasons.
First, the importexportapi is not XML-centric. It supports import and export in XML and CSV, and its architecture allows for many more formats to easily be supported (e.g. iCal, ini, serialized php, executable php, structured text). It is not tied to any one of these formats.
Second, as I already said, the entire system is designed for import/export of sets of data, NOT for import/export of data definitions. The API's data definitions are written as nested associative arrays, which is a native-php, easy-to-work-with, format-independent representation of their structure.
However, it would certainly be possible to write a tool that could convert XSD schemas into importexportapi definitions, and vice versa. If anyone wants to write such a tool, I'm sure it could be added to the importexportapi module.
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
Jeremy Epstein - GreenAsh
that sounds...
...exactly right!
Victor Kane
http://awebfactory.com.ar
Victor Kane
http://awebfactory.com
Import data to XSD/SXN
Dear,
We have XML schema form in which we are inserting our data manually and I want to Import the data from my data base let's say from Access/EXCELL or oracle 8i but I need some help for you guys that how do i this.......... can you help me plz....
regards
Javed Raza Khan (JRK)
Javed Raza Khan (JRK)
there is a module (in development) for that
https://www.drupal.org/sandbox/idevit/2297199