Authoring with Semantic Modeling Format
English Query stores its information about the database structure and semantic information into an Extensible Markup Language (XML) vocabulary designed for this purpose. The objects in this XML grammar are quite general: entities and relationships, along with their (possible) associations with SQL tables, columns, and joins, and Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services (formerly OLAP) cubes, dimensions and levels.
Semantic Modeling Format (SMF) is an XML-based language that was created to allow greater accessibility for other applications to the model information in an English Query application and to enable developers to programmatically expand an English Query model. You can use SMF to create, read, and generate English Query models programmatically without writing the .eqp file format directly.
Typographic errors or the deletion of required text will cause compile errors when building the model.
Universal Access to Model Information
English Query provides Question Builder, a tool that allows presentation of the entities and relationships available in the model with any Web browser that supports Microsoft ActiveX® Script. To allow an English Query model to be navigated by any COM application, the XMLDOMDocument object, available with the Authoring object model, loads the SMF into a hierarchy. Thus, the English Query model information is easier to access when you are programming the application.