File format connector

The XML data catalog your whole team can trust.

The Dawiso XML connector turns XML payloads into searchable, governed metadata: elements, attributes, structure and ownership your teams can document in Dawiso.

Read the docs

Live connector Stable connector

XML

Dawiso

Metadata-only · your data never leaves the source

Type: Markup data interchange format
Auth: DIR-reachable file path
Sync: Scheduled, file-path driven
Direction: Read-only · metadata

First things first

What is a data connector?

Metadata-only Read-only access Incremental sync Cross-system lineage

A data connector is the bridge between a tool in your stack and the catalog that gives you a unified view of it. Once a connector is configured, it reaches into the source system on a schedule, reads out the metadata - schemas, tables, dashboards, jobs, ownership, lineage - and represents it inside the catalog. Your actual rows and values stay where they are.

Connectors are the reason a data catalog can answer questions like "which Power BI dashboard depends on this Snowflake table?" or "who owns the orders topic in Kafka?" - automatically, without anyone keeping a spreadsheet up to date.

Three properties separate a good connector from a brittle one: it should be read-only and safe, it should be incremental so a full re-scan isn't required for every refresh, and it should resolve lineage across system boundaries, not just inside one tool.

About the platform

What is XML?

XML 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation in February 1998 and still moves the most regulated data on earth. Financial-products markup language (FpML) in banking, HL7 in healthcare, NIEM in government, IWXXM in weather, SOAP in legacy integrations: most of the data running through banks, insurers and public-sector pipelines is XML on the wire.

XML files are where catalog tools tend to give up. The structure is deep, the schemas are external, and the people who know what each element means retired a decade ago. When a warehouse load breaks, finding the culprit takes a regex across a shared drive. That's where the Dawiso XML data catalog joins the picture: read-only, metadata-only, and cross-platform.

Architecture

How Dawiso connects to XML

A small read-only role on the XML side. The Dawiso scanner pulls metadata on a schedule. Everything ends up in your catalog, business-readable.

Source

XML file path

Files & folders
Element trees
Attributes & namespaces
Inferred schemas

REST · JDBC

Dawiso scanner

Read-only metadata

Schema & object discovery
Dependency resolution
SQL flow parsing (optional)
Sampling on opt-in

Internal

Catalog

Dawiso platform

Searchable metadata
Lineage & ownership
Business glossary
Policy & classifications

Connection details

Protocol: File-path scan via Dawiso Integration Runtime (DIR)
Authentication: Private connection only · DIR with read permission to the file path
Lineage: XML files become catalog assets with their element trees, namespaces and ownership documented in Dawiso

Setup

Connect XML in 4 steps

01

Pick the file path

Identify the network share, SFTP location or mounted cloud storage path where the XML files live. DIR must have read access to that path.
02

Create a Private connection

Only private connections are supported for this provider. Enter the full file path; DIR validates the path is reachable from the runtime host.
03

Choose ingestion scope

Select the whole folder or a glob of files. Schedule the ingestion frequency to match how often new payloads land in the source directory.
04

Run ingestion

Scheduled sync keeps the catalog current. Element trees, attributes and namespaces are recorded; schema drift between runs is tracked.

Capabilities

What you get with the XML connector

Element & attribute catalog

Every root element, child element, attribute and namespace is searchable in Dawiso. Finally, FpML payloads are catalog assets, not opaque blobs.
Schema drift tracking

Scheduled scans record added, changed and removed elements between runs. When a regulated-industry payload's shape moves, the catalog shows exactly what changed.
Namespace-aware parsing

Dawiso records XML namespaces alongside element names so colliding tags across HL7, FpML or custom schemas stay distinct in the catalog.
Ownership for files

Assign owners and stewards to XML files the same way as tables. The team that ships the payload owns the contract and the next change.
Metadata-only by DIR

Files never leave your network. DIR reads structure locally and pushes only catalog records to the Dawiso tenant. Audit-friendly for banking and insurance.
AI-generated descriptions

Opt in and Dawiso drafts element and file descriptions from element names and inferred types. A reviewer approves before anything publishes.

Business value

Why teams turn on the XML connector

Regulated
Banking, insurance and government

XML pipelines that auditors care about become first-class catalog assets. Compliance evidence stops living in a shared drive.
0 copies
No data leaves your network

DIR scans locally and pushes only metadata to Dawiso. Customer data in HL7 or FpML payloads stays inside the perimeter where regulators expect it.
Documented
Structure and ownership on record

Every XML source has its element trees, namespaces, owner and steward documented in the catalog. Compliance evidence comes from the platform, not a shared drive.

Ready to catalog your XML?

Set up the connector in an afternoon. See your first lineage graph the same day.

Read the docs

Frequently asked questions

Still curious? Talk to our team ->

What is metadata in XML?

XML metadata is carried in its schema (XSD) - element names, types, structure and constraints. Dawiso reads XML and XSD read-only and catalogs each element and type with description and owner.

What is an XML catalog?

An XML catalog documents your XML data structures. Dawiso reads XML schemas read-only and adds each document type to one searchable catalog alongside the rest of your data, with ownership and namespaces.

What is a data catalog used for?

A data catalog makes every dataset discoverable, documented and trustworthy. Dawiso brings XML sources into the same catalog as your databases and BI, with classification and ownership.

Does Dawiso open every XML file?

DIR reads structural metadata: element trees, attributes, namespaces and inferred types. Row content can be sampled on opt-in profiling jobs, but the default flow leaves values inside the file.

Does Dawiso understand XSD schemas?

Dawiso records element and attribute structure from the XML payloads themselves. If an XSD is co-located with the files, it can inform the inferred schema; ask Dawiso Engineering for the supported XSD scenarios before relying on it.

What about industry standards like FpML and HL7?

Treated as ordinary XML at the structural level. Namespaces and element trees are recorded; the regulated-industry semantic mapping lives in your business glossary inside Dawiso, where stewards link payload elements to business terms.

Where do my XML files live?

Wherever you keep them. Dawiso reads files from any path the Dawiso Integration Runtime can reach: network shares, SFTP mounts, on-prem file systems, mounted object storage. Files never leave your network.