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Primitive XML Data Types

The following table lists primitive XML schema data types, facets that can be applied to the data type, and a description of the data type. For descriptions of the facets, see Data Type Facets.

Facets can only appear once in a type definition except for enumeration and pattern facets. Enumeration and pattern facets can have multiple entries and are grouped together.

Data Type Facets Description

string

length, pattern, maxLength, minLength, enumeration, whiteSpace

Represents character strings.

boolean

pattern, whiteSpace

Represents Boolean values, which are either true or false.

decimal

enumeration, pattern, totalDigits, fractionDigits, minInclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents arbitrary precision numbers.

float

pattern, enumeration, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents single-precision 32-bit floating-point numbers.

double

pattern, enumeration, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents double-precision 64-bit floating-point numbers.

duration

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a duration of time.

The pattern for duration is PnYnMnDTnHnMnS, where nY represents the number of years, nM the number of months, nD the number of days, T the date/time separator, nH the number of hours, nM the number of minutes, and nS the number of seconds.

dateTime

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a specific instance of time.

The pattern for dateTime is CCYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss where CC represents the century, YY the year, MM the month, and DD the day, preceded by an optional leading negative (-) character to indicate a negative number. If the negative character is omitted, positive (+) is assumed. The T is the date/time separator and hh, mm, and ss represent hour, minute, and second respectively. Additional digits can be used to increase the precision of fractional seconds if desired. For example, the format ss.ss... with any number of digits after the decimal point is supported. The fractional seconds part is optional.

This representation may be immediately followed by a "Z" to indicate Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or to indicate the time zone. For example, the difference between the local time and Coordinated Universal Time, immediately followed by a sign, + or -, followed by the difference from UTC represented as hh:mm (minutes is required). If the time zone is included, both hours and minutes must be present.

time

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents an instance of time that recurs every day.

The pattern for time is hh:mm:ss.sss with optional time zone indicator.

date

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a calendar date.

The pattern for date is CCYY-MM-DD with optional time zone indicator as allowed for dateTime.

gYearMonth

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a specific Gregorian month in a specific Gregorian year. A set of one-month long, nonperiodic instances.

The pattern for gYearMonth is CCYY-MM with optional time zone indicator.

gYear

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a Gregorian year. A set of one-year long, nonperiodic instances.

The pattern for gYear is CCYY with optional time zone indicator as allowed for dateTime.

gMonthDay

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a specific Gregorian date that recurs, specifically a day of the year such as the third of May. A gMonthDay is the set of calendar dates. Specifically, it is a set of one-day long, annually periodic instances.

The pattern for gMonthDay is --MM-DD with optional time zone indicator as allowed for date.

gDay

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a Gregorian day that recurs, specifically a day of the month such as the fifth day of the month. A gDay is the space of a set of calendar dates. Specifically, it is a set of one-day long, monthly periodic instances.

The pattern for gDay is ---DD with optional time zone indicator as allowed for date.

gMonth

enumeration, pattern, minInclusive, minExclusive, maxInclusive, maxExclusive, whiteSpace

Represents a Gregorian month that recurs every year. A gMonth is the space of a set of calendar months. Specifically, it is a set of one-month long, yearly periodic instances.

The pattern for gMonth is --MM-- with optional time zone indicator as allowed for date.

hexBinary

length, pattern, maxLength, minLength, enumeration, whiteSpace

Represents arbitrary hex-encoded binary data. A hexBinary is the set of finite-length sequences of binary octets. Each binary octet is encoded as a character tuple, consisting of two hexadecimal digits ([0-9a-fA-F]) representing the octet code.

base64Binary

length, pattern, maxLength, minLength, enumeration, whiteSpace

Represents Base64-encoded arbitrary binary data. A base64Binary is the set of finite-length sequences of binary octets.

anyURI

length, pattern, maxLength, minLength, enumeration, whiteSpace

Represents a URI as defined by RFC 2396. An anyURI value can be absolute or relative, and may have an optional fragment identifier.

QName

length, enumeration, pattern, maxLength, minLength, whiteSpace

Represents a qualified name. A qualified name is composed of a prefix and a local name separated by a colon. Both the prefix and local names must be an NCName. The prefix must be associated with a namespace URI reference, using a namespace declaration.

NOTATION

length, enumeration, pattern, maxLength, minLength, whiteSpace

Represents a NOTATION attribute type. A set of QNames.

See Also

Reference

XML Data Types Reference
Derived XML Data Types

Concepts

Data Type Facets