XML Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition

Name

rng:element — Matches an element

XML syntax example

<element name="description">
 <data type="string"/>
</element>

Compact syntax example

element description { string }

Attributes

name

An element name. If this name has a prefix, the namespace of the element is the namespace bound to that schema. Otherwise, the namespace is specified by the nearest enclosing ns attribute.

Parents

attribute, choice (( ) and |), define (name of pattern followed by =), element, except (-), group (( ) and ,), interleave (&), list, mixed, oneOrMore (+), optional (?), start (start followed by =), zeroOrMore (*)

Description

The element pattern matches an element in an instance. The name attribute is not required—you can specify a name with the name child element or specify a name class with an anyName, an nsName, or a choice child element. In other words, instead of this:

<element name="description"/>

You could use this:

<element>
 <name>description</name>
</element>

However, you cannot use the name attribute and a name child element at the same time; they are mutually exclusive. There is no distinction between the name attribute and a name child element in the compact syntax. If multiple child patterns are present, they are treated as if wrapped by a group pattern.

See also

§1, attribute, name