XsdEditorNotation Alternative

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Graphical Representation

Summary

An xs:element can have a number of xs:alternative's associated with it. When the xml is loaded the 'test' property on each <alternative> is evaluated. If it's true then that alternative is used in place of the parent element.

The definition of an xs:alternative is very similar that of an xs:element, however its base type must be a base type of the contained element.

Creating

An <alternative> can only be applied to an <element>, this can be done using the right click context menu on any of these entities.

Properties

Derived By
Facets	The facets available depend on the 'type' attribute see Facets for more information.
Id	A user defined ID to uniquely identify the entity within the schema
Test	The test carried out to see if this alternative definition will be applied. An XPath expression.
XPath Default Namespace	The default namespace applied to the 'Test' property

Sample

The following XSD code

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
        elementFormDefault="qualified">
    <xs:element name="Example">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element name="Beverage" type="BeverageType" maxOccurs="unbounded">
                    <xs:alternative test="@current-time &lt;= '12:00:00'" type="MorningBeverage" />
                    <xs:alternative test="@current-time &gt; '12:00:00'" type="AfternoonBeverage" />
                </xs:element>
            </xs:sequence>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
    <xs:complexType name="BeverageType">
        <xs:simpleContent>
            <xs:extension base="xs:string">
                <xs:attribute name="current-time" type="xs:time" use="required" />
            </xs:extension>
        </xs:simpleContent>
    </xs:complexType>
    <xs:complexType name="MorningBeverage">
        <xs:simpleContent>
            <xs:restriction base="BeverageType">
                <xs:simpleType>
                    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
                        <xs:enumeration value="tea" />
                    </xs:restriction>
                </xs:simpleType>
            </xs:restriction>
        </xs:simpleContent>
    </xs:complexType>
    <xs:complexType name="AfternoonBeverage">
        <xs:simpleContent>
            <xs:restriction base="BeverageType">
                <xs:simpleType>
                    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
                        <xs:enumeration value="juice" />
                    </xs:restriction>
                </xs:simpleType>
            </xs:restriction>
        </xs:simpleContent>
    </xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>

Will be represented like this

Sample XML would look like this

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Example>
        <Beverage current-time="08:00:00">tea</Beverage>
        <Beverage current-time="13:00:00">juice</Beverage>
       
</Example>

Inline Properties

Properties that apply to a type are shown inline at the bottom of the items container.

Values that are inherited from the base types are shown in brackets, values specifically set against the item are shown without brackets.

If a facet is not valid for a given type (typically because of its data type), then its value is shown in red.

Inline properties can be disabled in the Options.

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