XML requirements

When you create an external dimension—whether by creating it directly in an XML file or by transforming it from a source file—the dimension must conform to Endeca’s external_dimensions.dtd file before you import it into your project.

The external_dimensions.dtd file defines Endeca-compatible XML used to describe dimension hierarchies in an Endeca system. This file is located in %ENDECA_ROOT%\conf\dtd on Windows and $ENDECA_ROOT/conf/dtd on UNIX.

Also, an XML declaration that specifies the external_dimensions.dtd file is required in an external dimensions file. If you omit specifying the DTD in the XML declaration, none of the DTD’s implied values or other default values, such as classification values, are applied to the external dimensions during Endeca ITL processing. Here is an example XML declaration that should appear at the beginning of an external dimension file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE external_dimensions SYSTEM "external_dimensions.dtd">

Here is a very simple example of an external dimension file with the required XML declaration and two dimensions:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE external_dimensions SYSTEM "external_dimensions.dtd">

<external_dimensions>
	<node id="1" name="color" classify="true">
		<node id="2" name="red" classify="true"/>
		<node id="3" name="blue" classify="true"/>
	</node>
	
	<node id="10" name="size" classify="true">
		<node id="20" name="small" classify="true"/>
		<node id="30" name="med" classify="true"/>
	</node>
	
</external_dimensions>