As we mentioned before in this specification, an IMS LD document is an XML file, so by practical means, we are just dealing with an XML file, which is easy to parse. In this XML file is defined all the unit of learning. We took advantage of the work already done in the assessment package, where an IMS QTI parser was implemented. In the case of the assessment package, the document follows the IMS QTI specification, and it is parsed and imported into the data base. The imsld package will do something similar but with documents following the IMS LD specification, and with the big difference that the MS LD document can not be displayed in only one .LRN package, as happens with IMS QTI. IMS LD deals with activities, roles (users), properties, conditions, workflows, etc, and that is why the imsld package will interact with other .LRN services.

Besides the XML parser, we need .LRN to recognize each one of the activities and roles defined in the IMS LD and to know what to do with each one of them.

The professor or IMS LD designer will only have to enter a path where it is located an IMS LD file and then push upload. By these way a profesor can upload an existing IMS LD file which describes a unit of learning. The IMS LD importer will recognize IMS LD files that are integrated in IMS CP or files that are IMS LD, but are not in an IMS CP.

We call the process of parsing and interpreting the IMS LD document the import stage. This IMS LD document can be generated with any external or internal editor that follows the IMS LD specification, such as LAMS, Coppercore, Reload, etc, wich is one of the main advantages and purposes of following a well defined standNoard.