Experience in Computer-Assisted XML-Based Modelling in the Context of Libraries

In this paper, we introduce a software called Meta Data Visualisation (MDV) that (i) assists the user with a graphical user interface in the creation of his specific document types, (ii) creates a database according to these document types, (iii) allows the user to browse the database, and (iv) uses native XML presentation of the data in order to allow queries or data to be exported to other XML-based systems. We illustrate the use of MDV and XML modelling using library-related examples to build a bibliographic database. In our opinion, creating document type descriptions corresponds to conceptual and logical database design in a database design process. We consider that this design can be supported with a suitable set of tools that help the designer concentrate on conceptual issues instead of implementation issues. Our hypothesis is that using the methodology presented in this paper we can create XML databases that are useful and relevant, and with which MDV works as a user interface.