MISMO Myth Busted: We Can Use MISMO With JSON

JSON is supposed to be a “better mousetrap” for data exchange. Let’s understand what it is first.

JSON was standardized both as part of the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC (Request for Change) process (RFC 7159) and the ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) specification ECMA-262 and ISO/IEC 16262. The JSON schema was defined in an IETF draft that expired in August 2013.

XML has detailed specifications that are vague in spots which has led to inconsistent implementations. JSON has almost no standardization and a handful of implementation inconsistencies also.  I guess that the lesson is that good faith partners can work together and make good thinks happen.

There is a simplified MISMO BORROWER structure in Figure 1 BORROWER Model. It has enough in it for use to explore how to represent this in JSON.

•       Optional Data
•       List of Aliases that is unbounded in length.
•          A variety of data types

o   String

o   Date

o   Boolean

o   Enumerated.

• The NAME structure under both BORROWER and ALIAS

Figure 1 BORROWER Model

There is an example XML that is valid with respect to the schema in Figure 1 BORROWER Model in the file named BORROWERExample.xml in the ZIP file named JSONExamples.ZIP located here.

Using an XSD to JSON Schema conversion tool from Altova I made a JSOM Schema from our example BORROWER in Figure 1 BORROWER Model.  In the ZIP mentioned above it is the file named BORROWER.json. Altova XMLSPy can also show the JSON model

Figure 2 BORROWER Model in JSON Schema

In the ZIP file you will also find a JSON example that fits the model derived from the XML schema.

Conclusion

The MISMO model can be used to in JSON applications after casting the schema into JSON schema. Since is a popular to use JSON as the data carrier between a Web Server and the page rendering in a browser it is unlikely that you will need the entire MISMO RM cast into JASON. But you could assert name, definition, data type and cardinality consistency between the data enter or presentation UI and the model.  We saw in a previous blog that we could instantiate a data at rest SQL database directly from the MISMO RM. Your Web application could use that DB to store data received from a data entry or edit UI. We could exchange data via Web Services with our legacy COBOL/DASD based systems.

In this series of blogs ( “We Cannot”, “DB Myth Busted”, “COBOL Myth Busted” and this one we have demonstrated that we COULD build systems that use the MISMO vocabulary and reference model using the technologies many companies use and integrate it with the tools of theirlegacy systems.