What’s a Namespace?

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Namespaces are unique identifiers for XML schemas that avoid naming ambiguity. They allow for closed sets of names to interact with different protocols and distinguish between similar elements. This simplifies the identification of functional names within a larger document and can streamline the process of creating URLs.

Namespaces are unique forms of identification related to a given organization that has created some kind of XML schema. The primary function of a namespace is to avoid any ambiguity in naming relative to the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). This is despite the fact that the tag or title can be found in a variety of different metadata sets.

An easy way to think of a namespace is to think of this type of scope construct as a specified set of closed names. Essentially, this set of closed names is broken up in such a way that it creates an attribute name for each function or class, but at the same time remains an identifiable construct in its own right. The result of this type of action is that the namespace can interact with all kinds of protocols, such as packages, modules, classes, and procedures.

A common component in using Extensible Markup Language or XML, the namespace allows you to distinguish one set of closed names from another, even if they contain some of the same element and attribute names. The namespace provides a global means of identification for the particular collection of items and allows the system to identify the collection as unique. Essentially, this is done by creating a general attribute name that includes the unique namespace followed by the local or functional element or attribute name.

The ability to use a namespace can be very useful when there are similar elements used in the same XML document. For example, a single document may include the garden type element, but within the construct it is effectively both vegetable gardens and flower gardens. Being able to further define the nature of both types of gardens by creating a unique namespace for both involves nothing more than creating unique names for the particular collections. The core element of “garden” can still be used in either case, but the namespace will allow you to focus on one of the two types of gardens.

The multipart approach to creating a namespace allows you to use namespace creation to use the same elements while still working with more than one related concept. From this point of view, the use of a namespace helps simplify the process of recognizing and identifying various functional names for elements within the larger construct of the document. Consequently, the ability to create a URI can also help streamline the process of creating the URLs most users are familiar with as part of the browsing process in an Internet environment.




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