XML schema: how to allow one particular element anywhere?

[MarcSharma]

I have a `xml` file that is basically the data of an article. I want to write a `xml schema` to validate that file. In the xml article's file, I have used a few tags in the middle of text, for instance:

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<p>The dog is <em>brown</em><p>

I use that `em` tag elsewhere as well, inside other type of elements, so the problem isn't just to allow it inside `p`.

**My question:** how do I allow it to be used inside any elements of my schema?

I did not really understand those answers (I am a beginner), but it seems `openContent` might be the solution I am looking for.

Minimal Working Example:

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    <?xml version="1.0"?>

    <doc>

        <foo>text <bar /> anything</foo>

        <tag>text <bar /> </tag>

    </doc>

Schema:

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    <?xml version="1.0"?>

    <xs:schema 

    xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">

        <xs:element name="subclass">

            <xs:complexType>

                <xs:sequence>

                     <xs:element name="foo">

                     </xs:element>

                    <xs:element name="tag">

                    </xs:element>

                </xs:sequence>

            </xs:complexType>

        </xs:element>

    </xs:schema>

My real document involves some nested `sequence` and `choice`, and other documents I create will be different, so I am looking for a general solution.

**Optional question:**if the solution does not involve `openContent`, can someone explain me how it works as well? Search results were strangely lacking in example and explanations (for beginners), unlike everything I looked up.

[adrian]

Hi,

I use that `em` tag elsewhere as well, inside other type of elements, so the problem isn't just to allow it inside `p`.
**My question:** how do I allow it to be used inside any elements of my schema?

There is no such a thing in XML Schema (not even 1.1). You can allow any element from a namespace (or any namespace) to be used in a specific context, but there is no way to specify that a single element can be used anywhere (in any context).

**Optional question:**if the solution does not involve `openContent`, can someone explain me how it works as well? Search results were strangely lacking in example and explanations (for beginners), unlike everything I looked up.

xs:openContent and xs:defaultOpenContent only allow at most interleaved elements (siblings, not children). So these could, in theory, resolve the problem for complex types.
e.g.

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    <xs:complexType name="nameType">

        <xs:openContent mode="interleave">

            <xs:any namespace="http://myns"/>

        </xs:openContent>

        <xs:sequence>

            <xs:element name="name" type="xs:string"/>

            <xs:element name="number" type="xs:int"/>

            <xs:element name="family" type="xs:string"/>

        </xs:sequence>

    </xs:complexType>

    <xs:element name="elem" type="xs:string"/>

Then 'elem' (which is from the http://myns namespace) is allowed anywhere between the elements of the complex type.
xs:defaultOpenContent does the same at schema level, for all complex types.

If you think about it it's not really possible to do anything like this for elements that have simple or atomic types.
e.g.

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<xs:element name="name" type="xs:string"/>

<xs:element name="number" type="xs:int"/>

How would this work if 'em' would be allowed within these elements?

There is no easy way out for this problem. You have to make significant changes to the schema and convert all types to allow your element. You might actually discover that it shouldn't be allowed everywhere.

Regards,
Adrian