XML-Based Logistics Metadata Storage

As an extensible markup language, XML can easily express the complicated structure of logistics metadata because of its properties of self-description, flexible data structure and its key role manifesting in data exchange and sharing. XML can finish the transformation and demonstration of metadata by using XSLT, and satisfy the user many kinds of demands. But XML has no superiority of being saved. It is a research hotspot that how to save and manage XML logistics metadata effectively.After introducing logistics metadata, including its concept, content, characteristic and function, the paper analyses XML related technologies. Most of the major differences between XML Schema and DTD have also been covered. Then the paper analyzes four methods of storing XML data in detail. On the basis of the typical method of storing XML data based on relational database, the paper proposed XML Schema-based logistics metadata storage, which refers to the transformation of DTD, the pretreatment of XML Schema, the mapping of XML documents to relational schema, the parsing of XML documents and data loading. The paper analyses these techniques in detail. For storing logistics metadata based on XML Schema, we use logistics metadata which is expressed by XML Schema as the data source, and at the same time adapt the SQL Server2000 relational database to finish the storage of logistics metadata. The experimentation made clear that relational database could store the XML logistics metadata effectively according to relational pattern by using of its advantage. Because of the low efficiency of the method when used in saving big logistics documents, the dissertation has made certain improvements to the pattern mapping algorithm, the experiment has proved that the improved algorithm can save big logstic documents more effectively.Finally, in view of some existing problems, further works and developments are given.