RE: Attribute Question

Arnold, Curt (Curt.Arnold@hyprotech.com)
Wed, 26 Aug 1998 14:56:08 -0600

The XSchema and XML-Data efforts both attempt (or foreshadow) more
effective ways of having common attributes and content. But in XML DTD,
you typically define an entity with common fragments and expand it later
in the DTD.

<!-- Defines entity -->
<!ENTITY % LINKATTRS 'ID ID #IMPLIED
HREF CDATA #IMPLIED'>

<!ELEMENT A (#PCDATA)>
<!-- Uses entity to say that element A has ID and HREF attributes -->
<!ATTLIST A %LINKATTRS;>

The ATTGROUP element in XSchema is an attempt to package this type of
information but XSchema 1.0 does not give you a way to reference a
existing ATTGROUP in a later element definition. That functionality is
anticipated in a future release.

p.s. Your return address does not appear to be valid. I attempted to
mail you a response to an early question privately and it bounced.

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Blau [mailto:fblau@nina.snohomish.wa.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 1998 3:16 PM
To: XML
Subject: Attribute Question

If I have 3 attributes ("Format", "Usage", and "Loop") that I want every
element in my DTD to have, is there a way to globally declare them? Do
subelements inherit the attributes of the parent element?

Frank