How to exclude root elements in an XSD?

StackOverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3672251

  •  01-10-2019
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Question

I have several elements defined in my XSD file that I use as references later on in the document. I do want any of these "reference" elements to constitute a valid xml file.

For example I have

<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
    <xs:element name="Section">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element ref="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
            </xs:sequence>
            <xs:attribute name="code"/>
            <xs:attribute name="url"/>
            <xs:attribute name="isLegacy"/>
            <xs:attribute name="name"/>
            <xs:attribute name="helpFileName"/>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
    <xs:element name="Sections">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element ref="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
            </xs:sequence>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
</xs:schema>

I don't want the following xml to validate (if this is the only line in the file)

<Section code="" url="" isLegacy="" name="" helpFileName="" />

Removing the "Section" node from the global prevents me from referencing it for recursion

Was it helpful?

Solution

If you want that, don't declare these elements as global, instead, base your schema design on complex types and declare only the element you want as a root global. Nobody forces you to make every element global.

For example, your sample can be refactored as follows:

<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
    <xs:complexType name="Section">
        <xs:sequence>
            <xs:element name="Section" type="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
        </xs:sequence>
        <xs:attribute name="code"/>
        <xs:attribute name="url"/>
        <xs:attribute name="isLegacy"/>
        <xs:attribute name="name"/>
        <xs:attribute name="helpFileName"/>
    </xs:complexType>
    <xs:element name="Sections">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element name="Section" type="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
            </xs:sequence>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
</xs:schema>
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