Representing Time-dependent Information in Multidimensional XML

Abstract

Multidimensional XML (MXML) is an extension of XML that incorporates dimensions in order to represent in an elegant and concise way context-dependent data, that is, data which can exhibit different variations in value or structure (e.g. that can exist in different languages or various degrees of detail). In this paper we show that MXML dimensions can be used to express time and associate it with XML elements and attributes. We discuss the properties of time domain and the features of MXML which are necessary in order to represent time, and give key points that motivate further investigation on the use of MXML for representing time-dependent data.