Overview

With the pervasiveness of XML data structures and XML web services, it is appropriate for a spreadsheet application to consume XML data structures and render the data in the sheet grid. Furthermore it is appropriate and desirable for the spreadsheet application to be able to generate XML data structures. Finally, since XML is extensible, the kinds of XML structures that can be consumed or produced by a spreadsheet application should be as varied as the number of XML schemas that exist.

The XML Mapping feature enables adding arbitrary XML data structures and arbitrary XML schema definitions to the workbook, then mapping the various XML nodes to cells and ranges in the workbook. Once an XML Mapping is set up, the application is able to import and export XML instance structures according to the schema definition.

While the original schema or XML definition may reside on disk or at some file location outside the workbook, a copy of the schema is stored in the workbook.

Every time an XML instance or schema is added to the workbook, a new map object is created which ties together the schemas and where the various elements are mapped in the workbook.

Additional properties are stored on each cell and each column of a Table that has an XML map association.