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XSD Complex Type Elements Only

An "elements only" complex type contains an element that contains only other elements.

Define Complex Types with Elements Only

An XML element, "person", that contains only other elements:

<person>
<firstname>John</firstname>
<lastname>Smith</lastname>
</person>

You can define the "person" element in a schema, like this:

<xs:element name="person">
  <xs:complexType>
    <xs:sequence>
      <xs:element name="firstname" type="xs:string"/>
      <xs:element name="lastname" type="xs:string"/>
    </xs:sequence>
  </xs:complexType>
</xs:element>

Notice the <xs:sequence> tag. It means that the elements defined ("firstname" and "lastname") must appear in that order inside a "person" element.

Or you can give the complexType element a name, and let the "person" element have a type attribute that refers to the name of the complexType (if you use this method, several elements can refer to the same complex type):

<xs:element name="person" type="persontype"/>

<xs:complexType name="persontype">
  <xs:sequence>
    <xs:element name="firstname" type="xs:string"/>
    <xs:element name="lastname" type="xs:string"/>
  </xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>

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