XML Companion, The, Third Edition

Lists

Lists are just complex enough to raise a few specific issues regarding their design.

List structure

It is almost always a good idea to surround a set of elements that define list items with another element that defines the scope of the entire list:

<!ELEMENT list  (item+) >
<!ELEMENT item  (#PCDATA) >

   <list>
     <item>Item One</item>
     <item>Item Two</item>
     <item>Item Three</item>
   </list>

This approach is particularly important when using the same item elements in both numbered and non-numbered (also known as 'random', 'bulleted' or 'unnumbered') lists, as the enclosing element then specifies how the items are to be formatted:

<!ELEMENT numList    (item+) >
<!ELEMENT nonNumList (item+) >
<!ELEMENT item       (#PCDATA) >

At least two items

Some 'purists' ...