Primitive XML Data Types

Article
02/21/2011

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.

Primitive XML Data Types

See Also

Reference

Concepts

Additional resources