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XML DTD: What Is A DTD?

An XML DTD defines the structure and legal elements and attributes of an XML document to validate that XML documents conform to the DTD specification. A DTD can also define entities for reuse in XML documents.

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Keshav Bagaade
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111 views3 pages

XML DTD: What Is A DTD?

An XML DTD defines the structure and legal elements and attributes of an XML document to validate that XML documents conform to the DTD specification. A DTD can also define entities for reuse in XML documents.

Uploaded by

Keshav Bagaade
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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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".

What is a DTD?
DTD stands for Document Type Definition.

A DTD defines the structure and the legal elements and attributes of an XML
document.

Valid XML Documents


A "Valid" XML document is "Well Formed", as well as it 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 above contains a reference to a DTD file. The


content of the DTD file is shown and explained below.

XML DTD
The purpose of a DTD is to define the structure and the legal elements and
attributes of an XML document:
Note.dtd:
<!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"

Tip: #PCDATA means parseable character data.

Using DTD for Entity Declaration


A DOCTYPE declaration can also be used to define special characters or
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: W3Schools.">
]>

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
<footer>&writer;&nbsp;&copyright;</footer>
</note>

When to Use a DTD?


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.

When NOT to Use a DTD?


XML does not require a DTD.

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 DTD. Otherwise, your software might stop working because of
validation errors.

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