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MS Base

• prefix: ms:
• schema: b:

Categories (Data):

• constants
• documentation
• definitions
• payloads
• units
• values

Categories (Governance):

• collections
• namespaces
• rules
• server

The base schema

Important design committees have demonstrated that you can build huge schemas with very little expression power. This has given XML (schemas) a (deserved) bad name. This base schema for Meshy Space tries to avoid those pitfalls with various shameless short-cuts.

The elements in base use standards when they exist. There are many standards, and people have put a lot of effort in composing them. Meshy Space defines a uniform use of them.

• Download the full schema. (Most browsers will not show it, as it is XML: do "view source")

This base schema defines the b:unit of operation. It could have been named object, atom, item, entry, file, quantum, or blob: the Unit is an sequence of octets (bytes) with some meaning. When you merge the features for these abstract thingies in many application, you get a unified idea about managing data.

Wrapping data in Units (standardization)

For easier access, the components defined by this schema are split into a few accessible categories. This is for documentation only: they form one namespace and one XML schema.

Units

Groups the payload data, with meta-data, documentation, and definitions into one data-structure. The Unit of knowledge.

Constants, Units which represent facts

Many sets of namespaced constants are used, mainly to explictly refer to values defined in RFCs, IANA, and other standardization bodies.

Definitions group configuration logic

Describe relations to other units, and simplify the "body" of the Unit.

Documentation

Organize the documentation of a single Unit. This handles translation as well.

Payloads

Contain the data of each unit (in-lined) or as reference. Some payloads are native to the Meshy Space infrastructure.

Values

Representations of basic values, like expressions and numbers.

Organizing the Units (governance)

Where the b:unit contains the data, and maintains Unit related meta-data, the b:namespace manages the collection of Units. This in structured in separate layers, for separate sets of management complications.

Namespaces: related data

One archive with related data, for instance "your pictures", "a Linux distribution", "my business documents". The Namespace knows where the data is (Units on Shards), and how to search (Index instances). It also keeps track of referenced other Namespaces.

Collections: logical organization of Units

Within one Namespace, you can organize Units in (sub-)Collections, like files in directories.

Rules: restricting the organization of Units

Access-rights, name- and content restriction, life-cycle settings.

Server: physical organization

Saving, loading, and searching Units: Shards and Indexes.

The schema header

<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" version="0.1.0"
   elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="qualified"
   targetNamespace="https://schemas.meshy.space/base.xsd"
   xmlns:b="https://schemas.meshy.space/base.xsd"
>