XML Schema Definition Tool (Xsd.exe)

The XML Schema Definition (Xsd.exe) tool generates XML schema or common language runtime classes from XDR, XML, and XSD files, or from classes in a runtime assembly.

The XML Schema Definition tool (Xsd.exe) usually can be found in the following path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\{version}\bin\NETFX {version} Tools\

Syntax

Run the tool from the command line.

xsd file.xdr [-outputdir:directory][/parameters:file.xml]
xsd file.xml [-outputdir:directory] [/parameters:file.xml]
xsd file.xsd {/classes | /dataset} [/element:element]
             [/enableLinqDataSet] [/language:language]
                          [/namespace:namespace] [-outputdir:directory] [URI:uri]
                          [/parameters:file.xml]
xsd {file.dll | file.exe} [-outputdir:directory] [/type:typename [...]][/parameters:file.xml]

Argument

General Options

XSD File Options

You must specify only one of the following options for .xsd files.

You can also specify any of the following options for .xsd files.

DLL and EXE File Options

Remarks

The following table shows the operations that Xsd.exe performs.

Xsd.exe only allows you to manipulate XML schemas that follow the XML Schema Definition (XSD) language proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). For more information on the XML Schema Definition proposal or the XML standard, see https://w3.org.

Setting Options with an XML File

By using the /parameters switch, you can specify a single XML file that sets various options. The options you can set depend on how you are using the XSD.exe tool. Choices include generating schemas, generating code files, or generating code files that include DataSet features. For example, you can set the <assembly> element to the name of an executable (.exe) or type library (.dll) file when generating a schema, but not when generating a code file. The following XML shows how to use the <generateSchemas> element with a specified executable:

<!-- This is in a file named GenerateSchemas.xml. -->
<xsd xmlns='http://microsoft.com/dotnet/tools/xsd/'>
<generateSchemas>
   <assembly>ConsoleApplication1.exe</assembly>
</generateSchemas>
</xsd>

If the preceding XML is contained in a file named GenerateSchemas.xml, then use the /parameters switch by typing the following at a command prompt and pressing Enter:

 xsd /p:GenerateSchemas.xml

On the other hand, if you are generating a schema for a single type found in the assembly, you can use the following XML:

<!-- This is in a file named GenerateSchemaFromType.xml. -->
<xsd xmlns='http://microsoft.com/dotnet/tools/xsd/'>
<generateSchemas>
   <type>IDItems</type>
</generateSchemas>
</xsd>

But to use preceding code, you must also supply the name of the assembly at the command prompt. Enter the following at a command prompt (presuming the XML file is named GenerateSchemaFromType.xml):

xsd /p:GenerateSchemaFromType.xml ConsoleApplication1.exe

You must specify only one of the following options for the <generateSchemas> element.

To generate a code file, use the <generateClasses> element. The following example generates a code file. Note that two attributes are also shown that allow you to set the programming language and namespace of the generated file.

<xsd xmlns='http://microsoft.com/dotnet/tools/xsd/'>
<generateClasses language='VB' namespace='Microsoft.Serialization.Examples'/>
</xsd>
<!-- You must supply an .xsd file when typing in the command line.-->
<!-- For example: xsd /p:genClasses mySchema.xsd -->

Options you can set for the <generateClasses> element include the following.

The following table shows the attributes that can also be used with the <generateClasses> element.

You can also control how DataSet code is generated by using the <generateDataSet> element. The following XML specifies that the generated code uses DataSet structures (such as the DataTable class) to create Visual Basic code for a specified element. The generated DataSet structures will support LINQ queries.

<xsd xmlns='http://microsoft.com/dotnet/tools/xsd/'>
    <generateDataSet language='VB' namespace='Microsoft.Serialization.Examples' enableLinqDataSet='true'>
    </generateDataSet>
</xsd>

Options you can set for the <generateDataSet> element include the following.

The following table shows the attributes that can be used with the <generateDataSet> element.

There are attributes that you can set on the top level <xsd> element. These options can be used with any of the child elements (<generateSchemas>, <generateClasses> or <generateDataSet>). The following XML code generates code for an element named "IDItems" in the output directory named "MyOutputDirectory".

<xsd xmlns='http://microsoft.com/dotnet/tools/xsd/' output='MyOutputDirectory'>
<generateClasses>
    <element>IDItems</element>
</generateClasses>
</xsd>

The following table shows the attributes that can also be used with the <xsd> element.

Examples

The following command generates an XML schema from myFile.xdr and saves it to the current directory.

xsd myFile.xdr

The following command generates an XML schema from myFile.xml and saves it to the specified directory.

xsd myFile.xml /outputdir:myOutputDir

The following command generates a data set that corresponds to the specified schema in the C# language and saves it as XSDSchemaFile.cs in the current directory.

xsd /dataset /language:CS XSDSchemaFile.xsd

The following command generates XML schemas for all types in the assembly myAssembly.dll and saves them as schema0.xsd in the current directory.

xsd myAssembly.dll

See also

• DataSet
• System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer
• Tools
• Developer command-line shells
• LINQ to DataSet Overview
• Querying Typed DataSets
• LINQ (Language-Integrated Query) (C#)
• LINQ (Language-Integrated Query) (Visual Basic)