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XML DTD


An XML document with correct syntax is called "Well Formed".

An XML document validated against a DTD is both "Well Formed" and "Valid".


Valid XML Documents

A "Valid" XML document is a "Well Formed" XML document, which also conforms to the rules of a DTD:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE note SYSTEM "Note.dtd">
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

The DOCTYPE declaration, in the example above, is a reference to an external DTD file. The content of the file is shown in the paragraph below.


XML DTD

The purpose of a DTD is to define the structure of an XML document. It defines the structure with a list of legal elements:

<!DOCTYPE note
[
<!ELEMENT note (to,from,heading,body)>
<!ELEMENT to (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT from (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT heading (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT body (#PCDATA)>
]>

The DTD above is interpreted like this:

  • !DOCTYPE note defines that the root element of the document is note
  • !ELEMENT note defines that the note element must contain the elements: "to, from, heading, body"
  • !ELEMENT to defines the to element to be of type "#PCDATA"
  • !ELEMENT from defines the from element to be of type "#PCDATA"
  • !ELEMENT heading defines the heading element to be of type "#PCDATA"
  • !ELEMENT body defines the body element to be of type "#PCDATA"
Note

#PCDATA means parse-able text data.


Using DTD for Entity Declaration

A doctype declaration can also be used to define special characters and character strings, used in the document:

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE note [
<!ENTITY nbsp "&#xA0;">
<!ENTITY writer "Writer: Donald Duck.">
<!ENTITY copyright "Copyright: Noidatut.">
]>

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
<footer>&writer;&nbsp;&copyright;</footer>
</note>
Try it yourself »
Note An entity has three parts: an ampersand (&), an entity name, and a semicolon (;).

When to Use a DTD/Schema?

With a DTD, independent groups of people can agree to use a standard DTD for interchanging data.

With a DTD, you can verify that the data you receive from the outside world is valid.

You can also use a DTD to verify your own data.

If you want to study DTD, please read our DTD Tutorial.


When to NOT to Use a DTD/Schema?

XML does not require a DTD/Schema.

When you are experimenting with XML, or when you are working with small XML files, creating DTDs may be a waste of time.

If you develop applications, wait until the specification is stable before you add a document definition. Otherwise, your software might stop working because of validation errors.