All attributes are declared as simple types.
Simple elements cannot have attributes. If an element has attributes, it is considered to be of a complex type. But the attribute itself is always declared as a simple type.
The syntax for defining an attribute is:
where xxx is the name of the attribute and yyy specifies the data type of the attribute.
XML Schema has a lot of built-in data types. The most common types are:
Here is an XML element with an attribute:
And here is the corresponding attribute definition:
Attributes may have a default value OR a fixed value specified.
A default value is automatically assigned to the attribute when no other value is specified.
In the following example the default value is "EN":
A fixed value is also automatically assigned to the attribute, and you cannot specify another value.
In the following example the fixed value is "EN":
Attributes are optional by default. To specify that the attribute is required, use the "use" attribute:
When an XML element or attribute has a data type defined, it puts restrictions on the element's or attribute's content.
If an XML element is of type "xs:date" and contains a string like "Hai Everyone", the element will not validate.
With XML Schemas, you can also add your own restrictions to your XML elements and attributes. These restrictions are called facets. You can read more about facets in the next chapter.
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