[xml-dev] Using Wrapper Elements in Schemas

Are there any best practices for using wrapper elements in XML Schemas? We are having an internal debate on the merits of using wrappers, I summarize my opinions below.

The debate……should a set of symptoms be represented by a series of symptom tags alone or should they be contained in a <symptoms> wrapper element.

<symptom> This is symptom 1 </symptom>

<symptom> This is symptom 2 </symptom>

<symptom> This is symptom 3 </symptom>

</symptoms>

My initial thoughts: I think wrappers are useful when you need to group some tags and possibly need a lead wrapper element to capture some attributes or metadata. For example (yes this might be a bit silly) perhaps we want to know the symptoms based on how long they have been persisting. Maybe some symptoms have been around for 7 days and other for just 3. The following XML, using wrapper elements, accomplishes the description of this quite well.

<symptoms duration=”3”>
<symptom>cough</symptom>
<symptom>sneezing</symptom>
<symptom>runny nose</symptom>
</symptoms>

<symptoms duration=”7”>
<symptom>dizziness</symptom>
<symptom>stomach ache</symptom>
</symptoms>

Of course, this is just my opinion, and one I would like some community backing for before I espouse this as a “best practice” within my organization. This might just be a matter of style, but I’m interested in how other developers are determining this.

Brian Magick

[xml-dev] Using Wrapper Elements in Schemas - Any Best Practices?