SchemaAgent's Main Features
SchemaAgent Server processes client requests to create, update, or delete schema IIRs (Includes, Imports, and Redefines) and manages client–server communication. It also processes all file-based manipulations: create, delete, move, and rename.
Installation options
SchemaAgent Server can be installed as a standalone application with a graphical user interface, or as a service.
Graphical user interface
SchemaAgent Server's graphical user interface (GUI) provides full environment information, including lists of currently connected clients and all defined search paths. An Environment window displays all defined search paths as hierarchical tree structures as well as all file extensions defined for schemas, MFD, XML, XSL/XSLT, and WSDL files, and provides easy-to-use search path selection using Explorer-type browse functionality. The main window in the right area of SchemaAgent Server displays all files with the defined file extensions that have been found in the search paths.
Logging functionality
The user interface provides a Log window that displays detailed communications activity. The log reports can be configured and written to CSV files.
Access to schemas on the web
SchemaAgent Server enables access to schemas located in WebDAV folders on (secure) WebDAV servers with UNC paths and drive letters.
SchemaAgent Client provides a graphical user interface where you can view and build schema relationships and manage large numbers of schemas. You can also view relationships between MapForce design files and their associated schemas.
SchemaAgent designs
Schema designs help you to manage and organize schema collections intuitively. These designs can be saved as SchemaAgent design files for subsequent editing. You can create, update, or delete IIRs (Includes, Imports, and Redefines) between schemas by direct manipulation in a SchemaAgent design using drag-and-drop. Once an IIR relationship is created or modified in a SchemaAgent design, that relationship is physically written into the relevant schema (XSD) file(s) and any related schema file. To undo a modification to a relationship, you must edit the SchemaAgent design accordingly.
For XSLT stylesheets, SchemaAgent Client allows you to create imports and includes as well as import schemas or create new or display existing inline schemas.
The Design window also shows WSDL files where you can explore the content of the WSDL file and view its internal schemas as well as all of its messages, port types, bindings, and services. The import of XML schemas or different WSDL files is also possible.
File administration
If a file is renamed or moved, the change is passed to all other files in the workspace that reference the changed file. The advantage is that multiple files can be managed from within the SchemaAgent Client GUI, thus obviating the need to edit individual files separately.
Viewing structures and relations
In the Design window, you can obtain a graphical view of the relationships between the source and target schemas of MapForce design files, and all related schemas. IIRs can be viewed immediately and in greater detail in the schema component itself and the detailed structure of schema components, such as elements and complex types, can be displayed.
This applies also to XML instances, XSLT stylesheets and WSDL files. For each of these files, SchemaAgent Client displays a file box in the Design window. These file boxes contain all the relevant information for a particular file, structured in collapsed sections which can be expanded to view some of the data in detail.
Selecting or inserting related files
SchemaAgent Client offers several options to select file boxes or insert files that reference other files in the workspace.
Integration with XMLSpy
If set up to work with SchemaAgent, Altova's XMLSpy provides powerful schema editing capabilities. While a schema is being edited in the Schema/WSDL View of XMLSpy, components of all schemas in SchemaAgent Server's search paths are listed in the Entry Helpers and can be modified and reused in the schema being edited. Information about IIRs created or modified in Schema/WSDL View is written to related schemas.