XML in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Name

xs:element

Synopsis

<xs:element

  abstract = "( true | false )"
  block = "( #all | extension | restriction | substitution )"
  default = "string"
  final = "( #all | extension | restriction )"
  fixed = "string"
  form = "( qualified | unqualified )"
  id = "ID"
  maxOccurs = "( nonNegativeInteger | unbounded )"
  minOccurs = "nonNegativeInteger"
  name = "NCName"
  nillable = "( true | false )"
  ref = "QName"
  substitutionGroup = "QName"
  type = "QName">
  <!-- ( xs:annotation?,
       ((xs:simpleType | xs:complexType)?,
       (xs:unique | xs:key | xs:keyref)*) ) -->
</xs:element>

The xs:element element declares an element, including its name and type. Used at the top level of the schema, it indicates a potential root element. Used inside an xs:complexType element, it indicates a potential child element of another element. Alternately, instead of specifying a name and a type, it can have a ref attribute that points to a top-level element declaration elsewhere in the schema.

Attributes

abstract, optional

If the abstract attribute has the value true, then only elements from this element’s substitution group are allowed in instance documents, not elements actually declared by this declaration.

default, optional

default is the default value of the element reported for empty elements matching this declaration in the instance document.

block, optional

If the block attribute contains the value extension or restriction, then this element cannot be replaced in instance documents by instances of subtypes derived from this element’s ...