xml validation（一）

xml valid分为两种：DTD(Document Type Definition)和XML Schema。

 

What is validation?
XML files are designed to be easy for people to read and edit. They are also
designed for easy data exchange among different systems and different
applications.

 

Valid documents are always well formed, but well-formed documents may not be valid. --What does it mean?

 

Compare this simple document and its DTD:

 

XML document:

 

<?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE memories SYSTEM "memory.dtd"> <memories> <memory tapeid="23412"> <subdate>5/23/2001</subdate> <donor>John Baker</donor> <subject>Fishing off Pier 60</subject> </memory> <memory tapeid="23692"> <subdate?>8/01/2001</subdate> <donor>Elizabeth Davison</donor> <subject>Beach volleyball</subject> </memory> </memories>

 

DTD

 

<!ELEMENT memories (memory*) > <!ELEMENT memory (subdate, donor, subject) > <!ATTLIST memory tapeid CDATA #REQUIRED > <!ELEMENT subdate (#PCDATA) > <!ELEMENT donor (#PCDATA) > <!ELEMENT subject (#PCDATA) >

 

XML schemas

 

XML document:

 

<?xml version="1.0"?> <memories xmlns:xsi= "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation=="'memory.xsd"> <memory tapeid="23412"> <subdate>5/23/2001</subdate> <donor>John Baker</donor> <subject>Fishing off Pier 60</subject> </memory> <memory tapeid="23692"> <subdate>8/01/2001</subdate> <donor>Elizabeth Davison</donor> <subject>Beach volleyball</subject> </memory> </memories>

 

XML Schema:

 

<xsd:schema xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> <xsd:element name="memories"> <xsd:complexType> <xsd:sequence> <xsd:element name="memory" type="memoryType"/> </xsd:sequence> </xsd:complexType> </xsd:element> <xsd:complexType name="memoryType"> <xsd:sequence> <xsd:element name="subdate" type="xsd:date"/> <xsd:element name="donor" type="xsd:string"/> <xsd:element name="subject" type="xsd:string"/> <xsd:attribute name="tapeid" type="idNumber" /> </xsd:sequence> </xsd:complexType> </xsd:schema>

 

using XML Namespaces instead of the DOCTYPE.

 

to be continued--section 3 validating a document.