GetFacadeXMLSchema

Initial Build	2006.2
xWeb	Web Method
Response Type	Object Schema

Provides a W3C XML Schema for any netFORUM Facade Object. The only parameter for this method is a valid ObjectName - the textual display name of the object for which the XML Schema document is being requested (individual, address, etc.). The XML Schema document that is returned contains the data relationships, the datatypes, and the documentation for each element and group. In short, this method returns a complete snapshot of the netFORUM Facade object.

This method returns the components within any netFORUM facade object whether the object was pre-built in the application or whether the object is custom to a netFORUM implementation. There is a one-to-one relationship between a netFORUM object and that object's XML Schema document.

The XML Schema document that is generated conforms to the W3C XML Schema specification which can be accessed here.

There are several open-source stylesheets that will transform a netFORUM object XML Schema document into an easier to-read HTML or MSWord document. Here is an example of a transformation of the netFORUM Individual XML Schema document (the XML Schema document is included in this example).

Every netFORUM XML Schema document has a root node which expresses the plural of a netFORUM object. This is an important consideration in the design of the XML Schema document so that client applications can process multiple records in an xWeb GetQuery() response. Avectra ensures that it will conform with the XML Schema document - the XML Schema document contains the rules, relationships and datatypes for every element in a netFORUM object.

Parameters

szObjectName (string). The name of the object. See GetFacadeObjectList for more direction on this parameter.

Response

This method returns an XML Schema for the specified object.

This web method is intended to give you a dictionary of the controls that you can set in InsertFacadeObject and UpdateFacadeObject.

Sample Request

<SOAP-ENV:Envelope xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" 
xmlns:SOAP-ENC="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" 
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
<m:AuthorizationToken xmlns:m="http://www.avectra.com/2005/">
<m:Token>f8d15d9d-ebce-4831-b1f2-1f2f05bc010c</m:Token>
</m:AuthorizationToken>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<m:GetFacadeXMLSchema xmlns:m="http://www.avectra.com/2005/">
<m:szObjectName>Individual</m:szObjectName>
</m:GetFacadeXMLSchema>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
</SOAP-ENV:Envelope>

Sample Response

The response is extremely long for a complicated object such as Individual. Note that this will be different for every netFORUM client, based on different Extender Table definitions.

Annotation

The GetFacadeXMLSchema response includes an annotation that says This is not intended for production-level implementations. What this means is that the XSD is for informational and instructional purposes to help you develop integrations, but should generally not be used to validate XML programatically within the application. The fact that everytime it loads, it must dynamically generate itself, means that you will slow down a production application.

<xsd:annotation>
<xsd:documentation>Automatically generated from Build 2006_01_05, Timestamp=9/21/2006 3:54:36 PM.  
     This is the current IndividualObjects.xsd netForum produced W3C XML Schema for 
     the 'netFORUM20060104' database at the 'netFORUM' server.  This is not intended 
     for production-level implementations.</xsd:documentation>
</xsd:annotation>

FAQ

Q. Are the controls in the XML schema available in the GetQuery web method?

A. In many cases yes, but not always. The controls in the schema are not quite the same as the columns/tables available in GetQuery. See GetQueryDefinition for how to get the Tables/Columns in GetQuery. See List Table vs Data Object to get a better understanding of the difference between Object Schema and Queries.