xml-dev - XSchema Spec - Content Model Declarations (Section 2.3), Draft 5

["Simon St.Laurent" <SimonStL@classic.msn.com>]

This section has received much rougher treatment.  A paragraph at the top 
explains the mostly undetermined issues of putting content model declarations 
inside XSC:XSchema elements.  All elements now have (optional) id attributes 
for easy reference.  I also cleaned out a lot of odd conditional language.

As always, a prettier HTML version of this will be posted shortly at 
http://purl.oclc.org/NET/xschema. 

Simon St.Laurent
Dynamic HTML: A Primer / XML: A Primer / Cookies


2.3 Content Model Declarations

Content model declarations are made within the declaration for the element to 
which they apply. 

Reference, Mixed, Choice, and Sequence models may appear inside XSchema 
elements for reusability, documentation, and reference, but will need to be 
linked to particular element declarations through mechanisms not yet defined 
(most likely XLink). All content model declarations have an optional id value 
for reference.

2.3.1 Empty Content Model

The simplest content model is empty, which indicates that the parent element 
has no sub-elements and no character data content. The XSC:Empty element 
indicates that an element is empty.

<!ELEMENT XSC:Empty EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST XSC:Empty
    id ID #IMPLIED>

For example, to declare the Species element shown in the previous section 
empty, use the following XSchema declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Empty/>
</XSC:ElementDecl>

This would not allow the Species element to contain any text or sub-elements.

2.3.2 Any Content Model

The Any content model, which allows the element to contain parsed character 
data or any other elements as content, is equally simple:

<!ELEMENT XSC:Any EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST XSC:Empty
    id ID #IMPLIED>

Using the Any content model is much like using the Empty content model. To 
declare that the Species element had a content model of any, use the following 
declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Any/> 
</XSC:ElementDecl>

This allows the Species element to contain text and any sub-elements an author 
desired.

2.3.3 PCData Content Model

The PCData content model, which allows the element to contain only parsed 
character data, is also represented by a single empty element.

<!ELEMENT XSC:PCData EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST XSC:Empty
    id ID #IMPLIED>

Using the PCData content model is much like using the Empty and Any content 
models. For example, to assign the Species element a content model of PCData, 
use the following declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:PCData/> 
</XSC:ElementDecl>

This allows the Species element to contain text, but no sub-elements.

2.3.5 Reference Content Model

The Reference content model allows an element to specify other elements which 
it may contain, as well as their quantity. XSC:Ref elements identify the 
element to be contained, as well as the frequency with which it must appear:

<!ELEMENT XSC:Ref EMPTY>
<!-- Element references the name in an ElementDecl element -->
<!ATTLIST XSC:Ref
    id ID #IMPLIED
    Element NMTOKEN #REQUIRED
    Frequency (Required | Optional | ZeroOrMore | OneOrMore) 'Required'>

The Element attribute must refer to the Name attribute of an XSC:ElementDecl 
element elsewhere in the XSchema document. An XSC:ElementDecl element may 
contain at most one XSC:Ref element. 

The Frequency attribute controls the number of referenced elements that may 
occur.  To define content models that permit or require the use of more 
elements, the Any, Mixed, Choice, or Sequence content models should be used as 
appropriate.

To declare that the Species element may contain a single CommonName element, 
and nothing else, use the following declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName" Frequency="Required"/> 
</XSC:ElementDecl>

This requires the Species element to contain a single CommonName element. To 
make the CommonName element optional - though it may still only appear once, 
set the Frequency attribute to 'Optional':

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName" Frequency="Optional"/> 
</XSC:ElementDecl>

Optional is the equivalent of the ? occurrence indicator in XML 1.0 DTDs.
To require the Species element to contain at least one but possibly multiple 
CommonName elements, set the Frequency attribute to 'OneOrMore':

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName" Frequency="OneOrMore"/> 
</XSC:ElementDecl>

OneOrMore is the equivalent of the + occurrence indicator in XML 1.0 DTDs.
Finally, to allow the Species element to contain any number (including zero) 
of CommonName elements, set the Frequency attribute to 'ZeroOrMore':

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName" Frequency="ZeroOrMore"/> 
</XSC:ElementDecl>

ZeroOrMore is the equivalent of the * occurrence indicator in XML 1.0 DTDs.

2.3.6 Mixed Content Model
Mixed content model allows the unordered use of different element types and 
character data. Content within an element that uses a mixed declaration must 
be PCData or one or more of the elements referenced by XSC:Ref elements nested 
within the XSC:Mixed declaration.  Only XSC:Ref elements can be nested under 
an XSC:Mixed element; the PCData content is inherent in the Mixed content 
model.

<!ELEMENT XSC:Mixed (XSC:Ref+)>
<!ATTLIST XSC:Mixed
    id ID #IMPLIED
    Frequency (ZeroOrMore) #FIXED "ZeroOrMore">

To declare that the Species element may contain a mix of PCData, CommonName 
elements, LatinName elements, and PreferredFood elements in any order, use the 
following declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Mixed>
         <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName"/>
         <XSC:Ref Element="LatinName"/>
         <XSC:Ref Element="PreferredFood"/>
    </XSC:Mixed>
</XSC:ElementDecl>

The XSchema processor should ignore any frequency attributes in XSC:Ref 
elements that appear as subelements of the XSC:Mixed element.

2.3.7 Choice Content Model

The Choice content model allows for either-or inclusions of elements and 
groups of elements. The Choice content model represents groups of element 
content possibilities and must contain at least two sub-elements. Situations 
where only one element is needed should use the Ref content model instead of 
Choice. The XSC:Choice element may indicate a frequency, allowing the content 
model defined by the XSC:Choice model to appear one, one or zero, one or more, 
or zero or more times. 

<!-- A Choice must have two or more children -->
<!ELEMENT XSC:Choice ((Seq | Ref), (Seq | Ref)+)>
<!ATTLIST XSC:Choice 
    id ID #IMPLIED
    Frequency (Required | Optional | ZeroOrMore | OneOrMore) 'Required'>

The simplest XSC:Choice element will contain two Ref elements and a frequency 
attribute. By default, the XSC:Choice element's content model is required to 
appear once.

To declare that a Species element may contain either a common name or a Latin 
name, but not both, use the following declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Choice Frequency="Required">
         <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName"/>
         <XSC:Ref Element="LatinName"/>
    </XSC:Choice>
</XSC:ElementDecl>

The XSC:Ref elements in an XSC:Choice element may also specify the frequency 
with which they appear, as may the XSC:Seq elements described in section 
2.3.8. The XSC:Choice element is the equivalent of the choice group (element | 
element) in XML 1.0 DTDs. The ordering of the sub-elements within an 
XSC:Choice element has no effect.

2.3.8 Sequence Content Model

The Sequence content model allows for the sequential appearance of 
sub-elements. Elements, if they are required to appear, must appear in the 
order of the XSC:Choice and XSC:Ref sub-elements in the XSC:Seq element. The 
XSC:Seq element may also indicate a frequency, allowing the content model 
defined by the XSC:Seq model to appear one, one or zero, one or more, or zero 
or more times.

<!-- A Seq must have two or more children -->
<!ELEMENT XSC:Seq ((Choice | Ref),(Choice | Ref)+)>
<!ATTLIST XSC:Seq 
    id ID #IMPLIED
    Frequency (Required | Optional | ZeroOrMore | OneOrMore) 'Required'>

The simplest XSC:Seq element will contain two Ref elements in the order in 
which they should appear and a frequency attribute. By default, the XSC:Seq 
element's content model is required to appear once.

To declare that the Species element requires a common name and a Latin name, 
in that order, use the following declaration:

<XSC:ElementDecl name="Species">
    <XSC:Seq Frequency="Required">
         <XSC:Ref Element="CommonName"/>
         <XSC:Ref Element="LatinName"/>
    </XSC:Seq>
</XSC:ElementDecl>

The XSC:Ref elements in an XSC:Seq element may also specify the frequency with 
which they appear, as may the XSC:Choice elements. The XSC:Seq element is the 
equivalent of the sequence group (element, element) in XML 1.0 DTDs.


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