FlexDoc/XML - XSDDoc - FAQ

Working with annotations

How to add descriptions/comments into XML schema?

The W3C XML Schema language defines a special <xs:annotation> element that allows you to add descriptions/comments into any XML Schema.

Actually, <xs:annotation> is a container of two other elements:

<xs:appinfo>, which is supposed for some custom instructions that may be used by a software processing the schema.
<xs:documentation>, which is where you should insert your description text.

In the following example, the string "Complete List of all Salutations" is the description added in the definition of the "SalutationType" type using <xs:annotation> element:

<xs:simpleType name="SalutationType">

<xs:annotation>

<xs:documentation>Complete List of all Salutations</xs:documentation>

</xs:annotation>

<xs:restriction base="xs:string">

<xs:enumeration value="MR."/>

<xs:enumeration value="MS."/>

<xs:enumeration value="MRS"/>

</xs:restriction>

</xs:simpleType>

Inside <xs:documentation> element you can place any text containing any number of lines. Note also that some XML markup character must be encoded with the corresponding entities:

Character	Entity
`<`	`<`
`&`	`&`
`>`	`>`

Along with the text, you can insert also other XML elements from various namespaces. Particularly important are XHTML elements, which allow you to enrich your annotations with very sophisticated formatting and images that will appear in the generated documentation. For more details, please see: Using HTML markup in annotations.

For additional information about <xs:annotation> element you can look also by these links:

Which annotations get into generated documentation?

Although <xs:annotation> elements can be inserted in almost any other XML Schema elements, XSDDoc currently processes only those specified at the following locations:

Location Details

In definition of the entire XML schema

Here, the <xs:annotation> elements may appear as one or multiple children of the <xs:schema> element. When processed, the annotation text will get into the «Description» section of the «Schema Overview». Multiple <xs:annotation> elements will produce separate «Description» sub-sections.

Related Parameter:

Details | Schema | Description

In definitions of global components

Here, the <xs:annotation> element may be a child of one of the XSD elements defining the component:

That will produce the «Description» section of the «Component Documentation».

Related Parameter:

Details | Component | Description

In definitions of anonymous Simple/Complex Types of elements/attributes

Here, the <xs:annotation> element may be a child of one of the locally used XSD elements:

<xs:complexType> (type <xs:localComplexType>)
<xs:simpleType> (type <xs:localSimpleType>)

Such an <xs:annotation> is processed into the «Description» section of the «Anonymous Type Detail».

Related Parameters:

In definitions of global/local elements or global element references

Here, the <xs:annotation> is a child of one of the local XSD elements:

That annotation will appear in the documentation of the parent component:

In the corresponding row of the Table Reprersentation of the content element model
In the corresponding item of the «Content Element Detail»

Related Parameters:

In case of global elements and globally documented local elements, it will also appear in the «Description» section of «Element Documentation».

Related Parameter:

Details | Component | Description

In definitions of local attributes or global attribute references

Here, the <xs:annotation> is a child of the locally used XSD element:

<xs:attribute>
<xs:attribute> (type <xs:attribute>)

That annotation will appear in the documentation of the parent component:

In the corresponding row of the Table Reprersentation of attributes
In the corresponding item of the «Attribute Detail»

Related Parameters:

In case of global attributes, it will also appear in the «Description» section of «Attribute Documentation».

Related Parameter:

Details | Component | Description

In facet definitions

Here, the <xs:annotation> may be a child of one of the XSD facet elements:

This annotation will appear in the corresponding «Facet Documentation».

Related Parameters:

Additionally, processing of all annotations is controlled by the parameter group: Descriptions

How to enable/disable interpreting line breaks in comments?

The text enclosed in a <xs:documentation> element may contain any number of lines. You may create the new lines simply for convenience during writing that text. However, you may also use the new lines as a way to format your comments. In that case, you will likely want to have your text broken into the same lines in the «Description» sections of the generated documentation. Click on the following screenshot to see how it may look:

That means that the generator must interpret the line breaks found in the raw XML with the markup coding appropriate to the given output format (e.g. with <br> in HTML or \line in RTF).

To tell the generator to do so, you should invoke the output Format Option Inspector (by clicking the «Options» button in the Generator Dialog) and check the option:

In case of HTML output: Text | Render line breaks
In case of RTF output: Text | Render line breaks

If you actually do not need to have the line breaks interpreted (which may be exactly the case when you format your annotation with HTML markup), make sure that those options are unchecked (false).