XML Guide

10.4.0
- 10.5

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anyType Elements

An anyType element can be any datatype in an XML instance document. Declare an element to be anyType when the element contains different types of data.

The following schema describes a person with a first name, last name, and an age element that is anyType:

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

The following XML instance document includes a date type and a number in the age element:

<person>
   <firstname>Danny</firstname>
   <lastname>Russell</lastname>
   <age>1959-03-03</age> 
</person>
<person>
   <firstname>Carla</firstname>
   <lastname>Havers</lastname>
   <age>46</age> 
</person>

Both types are valid for the schema. If you do not declare a datatype for an element in a schema, the element defaults to anyType when you import the schema in the Designer.

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anyType Elements

anyType Elements