I have some XML files and schemas that I would like to document. Everything for this project is documented using NetBeans UML models, Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and Microsoft Visio drawings. I'm a fan of self-documentation, but this isn't my choice – external documentation must be produced. How can I depict the XML files and schemas graphically using these tools?
Xml – Are there any standards for visually depicting XML file structures or schemas?
documentationxmlxml-documentationxsd
Best Answer
Although it depends somewhat on your dtd/schema, there's no reason you couldn't do it in UML. For example, has-a relationships identifying what tags can be nested within others, and attributes can easily be listed on each "class"(aka tag). If you'd prefer to make custom UML shapes for tags (based on classes), that's also an option.
See http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/x-umlschem/ for a decent example of this.