A complex XML schema to map the XML documents of distance education technical specifications into relational database

To manage the complicated data such as recursive elements, multiply namespaces, repeatable structures, extended elements and attributes in the XML Binding documents of distance education technology specifications, and solve the existing P_Schema (Physical XML Schema) cannot map for above complicated data, this paper proposes a new mapping model namely C_Schema (Complex XML Schema) which inherits and expands P_Schema, and maps successfully the XML Schema of distance education technical specifications to relational schema. It extracts the complicated data to generate new types, each of which is stored in an independent relational table that associates with each other by foreign keys. In the mapping process, the namespace information is firstly extracted so as to restrict other extracted data, and the Element Table is created to keep the original information of extracted elements and attributes. The C_Schema can also be widely applied to map and manage the XML Documents of the SCORM Specification, a series of IMS Specifications and other similar specifications.