GN-DTD: Graphical Notations for Describing XML Documents

This paper presents a graphical approach to model XML documents based on a Data Type Documentation called Graphical Notations-Data Type Documentation (GN-DTD). GN-DTD allows us to capture syntax and semantic of XML documents in a simple way but precise. Using various notations, the important features of XML documents such as elements, attributes, relationship, hierarchical structure, cardinality, sequence and disjunction between elements or attribute are visualize clearly at the schema level. We believe, by having GN-DTD as tool, helps the user to arrange the content of XML documents in order to give a better undertanding of DTD structures, to improve XML design and normalization process. In this paper we presented also the transformation rules to convert from GN-DTD to DTD.