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Attribute Group Nodes

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Overview

In BizTalk Editor, you can add an Attribute Group node to a Record node or to another Attribute Group node to contain a group of attributes that you expect to use in more than one Record node. Adding an Attribute Group node to another Attribute Group node achieves attribute group nesting. This allows you to define a group of attributes in one place that can be used in multiple Record or Attribute Group nodes. Subsequent modifications to the attribute group will propagate to all of the nodes with which that attribute group is associated. This is true regardless of the node context in which the modifications are made.

Note

In BizTalk Editor, the AttributeGroup node is represented by default with the string <AttribGroup:attribGroupN> in the schema tree view, where N is a monotonically increasing numeral. You can change the attribGroupN portion of its name by typing a new unique name in its Group Reference property.

When initially creating an Attribute Group node, you simply insert it into one of the Record or Attribute Group nodes in which it will be used, and optionally change its name in its Group Reference property. There are two ways to use the same attribute group in another Record or Attribute Group node:

  • You can copy the existing Attribute Group node and then paste it into that other Record node.

  • You can insert a new Attribute Group node into that other Record node, and then set the Group Reference property of the new Attribute Group node to reference an existing Attribute Group node.

    Thereafter, you can modify the Attribute Group node—for example, by adding or deleting a Field Attribute node—in the context of any Record or Attribute Group node into which you pasted it. That change will propagate to all other Record or Attribute Group nodes with which the attribute group is associated.

    It would be pointless to add an Attribute Group node without adding at least one relevant node to it, where relevant nodes include Field Attribute nodes, Any Attribute nodes, and (nested) Attribute Group nodes. In fact, an attribute group that contains only a single attribute is somewhat ill-conceived, unless you are making a point of planning for the addition of more attributes in the future.

    Attribute Group nodes can be nested, allowing more possibilities in how groups of attributes can be constructed and combined. Attribute Group nodes can also contain the Any Attribute node, allowing an attribute group to contain wildcard character capabilities with respect to the attribute instances it can accommodate.

XSD representation

When an Attribute Group node is first added to a Record node or to another Attribute Group node, two distinct areas of the corresponding XML Schema definition (XSD) language representation of the schema are affected. In the following example, a new Attribute Group node, in bold, has been added to an existing Record node that already contains an existing Field Element node.

        ...  
        <xs:element name="ExistingRecord">  
            <xs:complexType>  
                <xs:sequence>  
                    <xs:element name="ExistingFieldElement" type="xs:string" />  
                </xs:sequence>  
                <xs:attributeGroup ref="attrGroup0" />  
            </xs:complexType>  
        </xs:element>  
        ...   
    <xs:attributeGroup name="attrGroup0" />  
</xs:schema>

Note how the attributeGroup element within the XSD representation of the Record node references a global attributeGroup element that is added as a child of the schema element. This global definition of the attribute group within the XSD representation of the schema allows the attribute group to be referenced in multiple locations throughout the schema.

Note

Default attribute group names that are supplied automatically have the form attrGroupN, where N is a monotonically increasing numeral. You can rename an attribute group by providing a new, unique name in its Group Reference property. An attribute group cannot be renamed in place within the schema tree.

See Also