Understanding How XML Validation is Processed

Hi ppl,

Today i am going to discuss about validation process of XML document.
For developing a successful XML document we need to understand how validation is processed in XML. XML validation is a formal process of checking your XML file against the relevant DTDs or schemas, or both. First we should understand that an XML document does not require either a DTD or a schema reference to be perfectly functional.The document cannot be said to be valid unless it has a reference to at least one of these and that reference has been validated by a validating processor. It is important for us to know the sequence in which DTDs and schemas are used in validating an XML document and short notes on what is being validated so that we will be able to make use of the built-in facilities of XML processors for security correctly. Also have in mind that what they don’t do so that we will be able to construct appropriate internal validation routines for data passed through XML. XML validation mechanisms like DTD or schema are primarily for structural quality, data type constraints, and consistency throughout an organization or system of applications.They are not designed for checking data for consistency of the application.

There are certain validation processes for checking and delivering quality product. XML validation is a coarse sieve which filters out major structural and data inconsistencies.There are certain routines written by service developer to check the type of inputs,range of inputs etc.. In these routines, input must be validated for character type, correctly decoded, and then verified for content. We should do all this in a cheaper way without any unacceptable performance costs on either the server or the client software. Actually the cost for proper validation are enormous. Firstly, proper validation and verification eliminate most of the major plain-text attacks which i have discussed later in my blog. Characters that are of an unusual encoding or with a decoded value outside the logical parameters of the data entity are filtered out of the data stream before being executed or stored in the database. As a result quality control for the application data is enhanced.

Thanks for readind this post. I hope this information is useful to you. I have lots more topics related to XML so please visit my blog daily.

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