String data types are used for values that contains character strings.
String Data Type
The string data type can contain characters, line feeds, carriage returns, and tab characters.
The following is an example of a string declaration in a schema:
<xs:element name="customer" type="xs:string"/>
An element in your document might look like this:
<customer>John Smith</customer>
Or it might look like this:
<customer> John Smith </customer>
Note: The XML processor will not modify the value if you use the string data type.
NormalizedString Data Type
The normalizedString data type is derived from the String data type.
The normalizedString data type also contains characters, but the XML processor will remove line feeds, carriage returns, and tab characters.
The following is an example of a normalizedString declaration in a schema:
<xs:element name="customer" type="xs:normalizedString"/>
An element in your document might look like this:
<customer>John Smith</customer>
Or it might look like this:
<customer> John Smith </customer>
Note: In the example above the XML processor will replace the tabs with spaces.
Token Data Type
The token data type is also derived from the String data type.
The token data type also contains characters, but the XML processor will remove line feeds, carriage returns, tabs, leading and trailing spaces, and multiple spaces.
The following is an example of a token declaration in a schema:
<xs:element name="customer" type="xs:token"/>
An element in your document might look like this:
<customer>John Smith</customer>
Or it might look like this:
<customer> John Smith </customer>
Note: In the example above the XML processor will remove the tabs.
String Data Types
Note that all of the data types below derive from the String data type (except for string itself)!
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ENTITIES | |
| ENTITY | |
| ID | A string that represents the ID attribute in XML (only used with schema attributes) |
| IDREF | A string that represents the IDREF attribute in XML (only used with schema attributes) |
| IDREFS | |
| language | A string that contains a valid language id |
| Name | A string that contains a valid XML name |
| NCName | |
| NMTOKEN | A string that represents the NMTOKEN attribute in XML (only used with schema attributes) |
| NMTOKENS | |
| normalizedString | A string that does not contain line feeds, carriage returns, or tabs |
| QName | |
| string | A string |
| token | A string that does not contain line feeds, carriage returns, tabs, leading or trailing spaces, or multiple spaces |
Restrictions on String Data Types
Restrictions that can be used with String data types:
- enumeration
- length
- maxLength
- minLength
- pattern (NMTOKENS, IDREFS, and ENTITIES cannot use this constraint)
- whiteSpace