Do you really have to spend $50,000 a year and commit to spending that amount for each of the next three years to have formal input to the W3C process? Well...yes and no. If you expect to have hands-on influence in the development of W3C Recommendations for XML and other Web technologies, the answer is a qualified yes. There are two levels of membership: Full Member and Affiliate Member. However, if you want to participate in the Recommendation Review Process, then no.

There's little difference in levels of membership with the exception of the fees paid. A full member must pay $50,000 per year and make a three-year membership commitment. An affiliate member must also make a three-year membership commitment, but the fees are only $5,000 per year. To qualify as an affiliate member an organization must meet any of the following three criteria:

1. Not-for-profit organization
2. Governmental department or agency
3. For-profit organization with annual gross revenue, as measured by the most recent audited statement, of less than $50,000,000 (U.S.), and either: not majority-owned by an entity with over $50,000,000 (U.S.) revenue, or a subsidiary of a full member of the W3C.

Taken Directly from the W3C Web Site
Organizations with an annual gross revenue of $50,000,000 or greater must maintain full membership unless they meet any of the above criteria. The company I work for, Informix Software, Inc., is a full member and has several people working on various WGs (working groups). The WG is at the heart of the development of the W3C Recommendations.

The cost for Informix and every other organization is much higher than fees alone. There are phone conference calls each week, and every four to six weeks each WG has a face-to-face meeting somewhere in the world that members are expected to attend.

Each member of a WG must devote a great deal of time to the work needed to accomplish its goals. With the cost of technical people today, each organization has a heavy commitment to the W3C process.

The W3C has two sides: Public and Members. Everyone has access to the Public side at www.w3.org/. The Members side has a user and password requirement to access its resources. This side is where the work takes place in the W3C, and the WGs develop the Recommendations that in time will be reviewed and placed on the Public side. Members are prohibited from talking about what goes on in the Members side of the W3C.

Membership is not tailored to, or priced for, the individual. However, an individual who wishes to join may do so as an Affiliate Member. If you're interested in joining the W3C as a member, go to www.w3.org/Consortium/Prospectus/Joining.html. The W3C has a lot to accomplish and it can always use new members. For the current list of member organizations visit www.w3.org/Con- sortium/Member/List.php3.

The W3C is broken down into four domains:

1. User Interface
2. Technology and Society
3. Architecture
4. Web Accessibility Initiative

Each domain has a number of WGs that work on a particular part of the W3C's technology. I work in the Architecture Domain and I'm a member of the XML Schema, XML Query, and XML Protocol WGs. I'm also Informix's AC (advisory committee) member. As I write this column, I'm at the AC meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All the member organizations' AC members meet twice a year to get the big picture.

However, what I really want to write about is how the average Joe and Jane can have some real input in the W3C review process. I'll use the XML Schema WG to illustrate the process. The public XML Schema Web page is at www.w3.org/XML /Schema.html.

The chartering of a WG is controlled by the W3C. It must develop a charter and requirements document as its first deliverables. Then it begins developing working drafts of the tasks it's chartered for. Working drafts are released periodically to the public side for comment and review.

An XML Schema is a replacement for the Document Type Definition (DTD). While XML 1.0 provided the DTD for declaring constraints on the use of XML, DTDs are written in an extended Backus Naur Form (BNF). John Backus and Peter Naur introduced for the first time a formal notation to describe the syntax of a given language, ALGOL 60. BNF is used extensively to describe the syntax of many languages.

The automated processing of XML documents requires more rigorous and comprehensive features not available with DTDs, so in steps XML Schema. Another real plus is that Schemas are written in XML.

Requirements are for constraints on how the component parts of an application fit together, the document structure, attributes, datatyping, and so on. The XML Schema WG is addressing means for defining the structure, content, and semantics of XML documents. For a copy of the XML Schema requirements from February 15, 1999, go to www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-xml-schema-req.html.

Recommendations usually follow the progressive phase from Working Document to Candidate Recommendation to Proposed Recommendation, and finally, a W3C Recommendation. On October 24, 2000, XML Schema advanced to Candidate Recommendation status, which has three parts:

1. XML Schema Part 0: Primer: www.w3. org/TR/xmlschema-0/
2. XML Schema Part 1: Structures: www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-1/
3. XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes: www. w3.org/TR/xmlschema-2/

You Can Get Involved
Now's the time to get involved. If you're new to XML, read Elizabeth Castro's book, XML for the World Wide Web (Peachpit Press). This Visual Quickstart Guide style has been popular in teaching such subjects as HTML, Perl, and CGI, as well as Photoshop. It's one of the first books to deal with the subject of DTDs versus Schema. Peachpit has an online resource at www.quickstartonline.com/.

Once you have a comfortable background in XML and the use of DTDs, Schemas, and Namespaces, it's time to tackle the XML Schema Part 0: Primer. This nonnormative document's editor is David C. Fallside of IBM. David has produced a very approachable document that someone with a modest background in XML will find easy to understand. Don't attempt to read the other two parts without fully reading the primer.

The best way to approach XML Schema Part 1: Structures is with the primer nearby. I find this the most complex of the three parts of the Candidate Recommendation. This document has an editorial staff of four:

• Henry S. Thompson (University of Edinburgh)
• David Beech (Oracle Corp.)
• Murray Maloney (Commerce One)
• Noah Mendelsohn (Lotus Development Corp.)

The Structures document specifies the XML Schema definition language. This part of the Recommendation defines the facilities for describing the structure and constraining the contents of XML documents, including those that exploit the XML Namespace facility.

Work is still being done to reformat this part of the Recommendation for better readability, so you may see newer versions appear on the Public side during the review. Again, with the use of the primer, the Structures document is approachable, but by a more sophisticated reader. Part of the review process should center on how to make this part of the Recommendation more approachable by a wider audience.

XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes editors are:

• Paul V. Biron (Kaiser Permanente, for Health Level Seven)
• Ashok Malhotra (IBM)

This part of the Recommendation defines facilities for defining datatype specifications. The Datatype language is represented in XML and provides a superset of the capabilities found in XML DTD's datatypes on elements and attributes.

Again, to get the most from this document during the initial read, have the primer close at hand. During the review period it's expected that implementers of XML Schema tools will report problems and needed features back to the XML Schema WG. As a member of this WG, I'd like to see as many meaningful comments as possible sent to the mailing list at www-xml-schema-comments@w3.org .

For more information on XML Schemas there are several links on the public XML Schema page as well as links to several tools that can be used during your evaluation. I'd also suggest looking at IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle's Web sites for information on their implementations of XML Schema. Oracle has an implementation that represents the current state of XML Schema.

One other site to review is the OASIS site and "The XML Cover Pages, XML Schemas," by Robin Cover at www.oasis-open.org/cover/schemas.html.

It's always exciting to take part in the evolution of new technology, so climb on board and try the process. The W3C and the rest of the world could benefit from your insights.