The W3C XML Schema Working Group have released XML Schema as a Candidate Recommendation. The three part specification (Structures, Datatypes and Primer) now enters a review period, to end 15 December 2000.

Following extensive public feedback, last month the working group released a revised working draft, including some significant changes to the specification (described in detail by Rick Jelliffe on XML.com).

The Candidate Recommendations do not appear to have changed substantially since that working draft, which was released early for the benefit of implementers and authors. The only new change in Structures, "Validation outcomes", noted in section J. 15, reads:

The determination of the values of the post-schema-validation infoset properties relating to validation has been reworked.

Datatypes also includes a number of changes and editorial reworkings, having changed more substantially than Structures since the most recent WD.

Vendors and software authors now have just under three months to attempt the implementation of tools for XML Schemas, in order to give feedback to the W3C. Comments should be sent to the W3C's XML Schema Comments mailing list.

• Official press release
• W3C member testimonials