Flatten an XML Schema

You can organize an XML schema on several levels linked by xs:include and xs:import statements. In some cases, working on such a schema as on a single file is more convenient.

The Flatten Schema operation allows you to flatten an entire hierarchy of XML schemas. Starting with the main XML schema, Oxygen XML Editor calculates its hierarchy by processing the xs:include and xs:import statements. This action is available from the contextual menu of the editor or from the Tools menu.

Figure: Flatten Schema Dialog Box

For the main schema file and for each imported schema, a new flattened schema is generated in the output folder. These schemas have the same name as the original ones.

Note: If necessary, the operation renames the resulted schemas to avoid duplicated file names.

Note: You can choose the output folder and the name of each generated schema file.

A flattened XML schema is obtained by recursively adding the components of the included schemas into the main one. This means Oxygen XML Editor replaces the xs:include, xs:redefine, and xs:override elements with the ones coming from the included files.

The following options are available in the Flatten Schema dialog box:

Open the flattened XML Schema file in editor - opens the main flattened schema in the editing area after the operation completes
Use the XML Catalogs when collecting the referenced XML Schemas - enables resolving the imported and included schemas through the available XML Catalogs;
Note: Changing this option triggers the recalculation of the dependencies graph for the main schema.
Process the imported XML Schemas resolved through the XML Catalogs - specifies whether the imported schemas that were resolved through an XML Catalog are flattened
Flatten the imported XML Schema(s) - specifies whether the imported schemas are flattened.
Note: For the schemas skipped by the flatten operation, no files are created in the output folder and the corresponding import statements remain unchanged.

To flatten a schema from the command line, use the following command:

flattenSchema.bat on Windows
sh flattenSchemaMac.sh on OS X
sh flattenSchema.sh on Unix/Linux

The command line accepts the following parameters:

-in:inputSchemaURL - the input schema URL
-outDir:outputDirectory - the directory where the flattened schemas should be saved
-flattenImports:<boolean_value> - controls if the imported XML Schemas should be flattened or not. The default value true
-useCatalogs:<boolean_value> - controls if the references to other XML Schemas should be resolved through the available XML Catalogs. The default value false
-flattenCatalogResolvedImports:<boolean_value> - controls if the imported schemas that were resolved through the XML Catalogs should be flattened or not
Note: This option is used only when -useCatalogs is set to true. The default value is true.
-verbose - provides information about the current flatten XML Schema operation
--help | -help | --h | -h - prints the available parameters for the operation

Command Line Example for Windows

flattenSchema.bat -in:http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/SCHEMA/xhtml11.xsd -outDir:mySchemas/flattened/xhtml -flattenImports:true -useCatalogs:true -flattenCatalogResolvedImports:true -verbose

Command Line Example for OS X

sh flattenSchemaMac.sh -in:http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/SCHEMA/xhtml11.xsd -outDir:mySchemas/flattened/xhtml -flattenImports:true -useCatalogs:true -flattenCatalogResolvedImports:true -verbose

Command Line Example for Unix/Linux

sh flattenSchema.sh -in:http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/SCHEMA/xhtml11.xsd -outDir:mySchemas/flattened/xhtml -flattenImports:true -useCatalogs:true -flattenCatalogResolvedImports:true -verbose