Learning XSD Syntax
The main takeaway from the XML Schema Definition Tutorial I went through today was the following:
So the node <xs:sequence>...</xs:sequence> is part of the definition of a complex type, it is also called an indicator. What it does is that it tells the XML checker that the elements specified inside have to occur in the same order in the XML document to be valid. Also it specifies what elements may be contained in the complex node.
This greatly improved my understanding of visinfo.xsd which describes how a viewpoint.bcfv file is built. As I learned during design, the representation of a viewpoint is almost as complex as the representation of the remaining contents of a BCF file.
I thought about how I coudl read the contents of a BCF into this file structure. As my brain always does, it thinks through the whole process, from checking if the given file is valid till the point where all the data resides in an object in memory. This makes me prone to "reinventing the wheel" as I also design a XSD parser/checker in my head which I then would use to check the given files before reading them in. But a quick google search brought up a better option, namely an offical python library for checking XML files against a schema.
Last but not least: I am pleased to announce that the first draft of the class diagram is ready. You can find it here if you are interested.