New documentation is available to describe how to setup an XML validation service on the ISA² Interoperability Test Bed. The new guide, "Setting up XML validation", is part of the Test Bed's online guides.

Testing conformance to XML-based specifications is one of the Interoperability Test Bed's most commonly received requests. Validation of XML content may be needed to test document instances, produced through various means based on a given semantic specification, or to validate messages exchanged based on a messaging protocol that uses XML-based payloads. Regardless of the specific scenario, XML validation typically involves use of an XML Schema (XSD) to check the document's structure and Schematron rules to check its content against business rules.

The ISA² Interoperability Test Bed offers rich XML validation capabilities supporting validation at two levels:

• Data validation, by offering a configurable standalone validator that, given set of XSDs and Schematrons, enables validation via user interface and SOAP web service. The resulting validator can be made publicly accessible through the Test Bed's infrastructure or installed on-premise as a Docker container.
• Conformance testing, by introducing XML validation as a step in testing scenarios included in a complete conformance testing campaign. This is achieved through GITB TDL test cases that may use the Test Bed's built-in XML validation capabilities (validation using XSD, Schematron, XPath or template matching) or delegate validation to a standalone validation service.

The approach to configure XML validation for a given user community is mature, offering a streamlined initial setup and a subsequent self-service approach to customise and update the validator. This process is now also supported by rich documentation as one of the Test Bed's guides, that explains the options to consider, the available solutions and offers step-by-step instructions to configure your validator.

This new documentation serves both as a practical tutorial but also as a user guide and detailed reference of all configuration options. The new guide is available at: https://www.itb.ec.europa.eu/docs/guides/latest/validatingXML/.

Be sure to check out this latest documentation update as well as our other guides. For more information on how the ISA² Interoperability Test Bed can help you with your data validation or conformance testing needs you are invited to visit our Joinup site and become a member to receive relevant updates.