XML Schemas

Similar to data modeling in a relational database, a schema provides a way to define the structure of XML documents. A schema specifies the elements that can be used in XML documents along with the structure that these elements must follow in order to be valid for that specific schema.

In other words, a schema describes the vocabulary (rules or grammar) that complying XML documents must follow in order to be considered schema-valid with that particular schema. Validation of XML documents ensures that the external data conforms to the rules (grammar) required by the schema.

To learn about	See
Benefits of XML schemas, frequently asked questions (FAQs)	Getting Started with XML Schemas
Validation	Validation
Using namespaces in schemas	Using Namespaces in Schemas
Data types in schemas	Data Types in Schemas
Structures	Schema Structures
Reference information on XML Schema definition language (XSD) schemas	XML Schema Reference (XSD)
Developing XML-Data Reduced (XDR) schemas	XDR Schema Developer's Guide
Reference information on XML-Data Reduced (XDR) schemas	XDR Schema Reference