1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
3 @setfilename ../../info/nxml-mode.info
5 @documentencoding UTF-8
9 This manual documents nXML mode, an Emacs major mode for editing
10 XML with RELAX NG support.
12 Copyright @copyright{} 2007--2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
17 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
18 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
19 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
20 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
22 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
23 modify this GNU manual.''
27 @dircategory Emacs editing modes
29 * nXML Mode: (nxml-mode). XML editing mode with RELAX NG support.
36 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
48 This manual is not yet complete.
53 * Inserting end-tags::
59 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
65 nXML mode is an Emacs major-mode for editing XML documents. It supports
66 editing well-formed XML documents, and provides schema-sensitive editing
67 using RELAX NG Compact Syntax. To get started, visit a file containing an
68 XML document, and, if necessary, use @kbd{M-x nxml-mode} to switch to nXML
69 mode. By default, @code{auto-mode-alist} and @code{magic-fallback-alist}
70 put buffers in nXML mode if they have recognizable XML content or file
71 extensions. You may wish to customize the settings, for example to
72 recognize different file extensions.
74 Once in nXML mode, you can type @kbd{C-h m} for basic information on the
77 The @file{etc/nxml} directory in the Emacs distribution contains some data
78 files used by nXML mode, and includes two files (@file{test-valid.xml} and
79 @file{test-invalid.xml}) that provide examples of valid and invalid XML
82 To get validation and schema-sensitive editing, you need a RELAX NG Compact
83 Syntax (RNC) schema for your document (@pxref{Locating a schema}). The
84 @file{etc/schema} directory includes some schemas for popular document
85 types. See @url{http://relaxng.org/} for more information on RELAX NG@.
86 You can use the @samp{Trang} program from
87 @url{http://www.thaiopensource.com/relaxng/trang.html} to
88 automatically create RNC schemas. This program can:
92 infer an RNC schema from an instance document;
94 convert a DTD to an RNC schema;
96 convert a RELAX NG XML syntax schema to an RNC schema.
99 @noindent To convert a RELAX NG XML syntax (@samp{.rng}) schema to a RNC
100 one, you can also use the XSLT stylesheet from
101 @url{https://github.com/oleg-pavliv/emacs/tree/master/xsl}.
103 @c Original location, now defunct.
104 @url{http://www.pantor.com/download.html}.
107 To convert a W3C XML Schema to an RNC schema, you need first to convert it
108 to RELAX NG XML syntax using the RELAX NG converter tool @code{rngconv}
109 (built on top of MSV). See @url{https://github.com/kohsuke/msv}
110 and @url{https://msv.dev.java.net/}.
112 For historical discussions only, see the mailing list archives at
113 @url{http://groups.yahoo.com/group/emacs-nxml-mode/}. Please make all new
114 discussions on the @samp{help-gnu-emacs} and @samp{emacs-devel} mailing
115 lists. Report any bugs with @kbd{M-x report-emacs-bug}.
121 Apart from real-time validation, the most important feature that nXML
122 mode provides for assisting in document creation is "completion".
123 Completion assists the user in inserting characters at point, based on
124 knowledge of the schema and on the contents of the buffer before
127 nXML mode adapts the standard GNU Emacs command for completion in a
128 buffer: @code{completion-at-point}, which is bound to @kbd{C-M-i} and
129 @kbd{M-@key{TAB}}. Note that many window systems and window managers
130 use @kbd{M-@key{TAB}} themselves (typically for switching between
131 windows) and do not pass it to applications. In that case, you should
132 type @kbd{C-M-i} or @kbd{@key{ESC} @key{TAB}} for completion, or bind
133 @code{completion-at-point} to a key that is convenient for you. In
134 the following, I will assume that you type @kbd{C-M-i}.
136 nXML mode completion works by examining the symbol preceding point.
137 This is the symbol to be completed. The symbol to be completed may be
138 the empty. Completion considers what symbols starting with the symbol
139 to be completed would be valid replacements for the symbol to be
140 completed, given the schema and the contents of the buffer before
141 point. These symbols are the possible completions. An example may
142 make this clearer. Suppose the buffer looks like this (where @point{}
146 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
151 and the schema is XHTML@. In this context, the symbol to be completed
152 is @samp{h}. The possible completions consist of just
153 @samp{head}. Another example, is
156 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
162 In this case, the symbol to be completed is empty, and the possible
163 completions are @samp{base}, @samp{isindex},
164 @samp{link}, @samp{meta}, @samp{script},
165 @samp{style}, @samp{title}. Another example is:
168 <html xmlns="@point{}
172 In this case, the symbol to be completed is empty, and the possible
173 completions are just @samp{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}.
175 When you type @kbd{C-M-i}, what happens depends
176 on what the set of possible completions are.
180 If the set of completions is empty, nothing
183 If there is one possible completion, then that completion is
184 inserted, together with any following characters that are
185 required. For example, in this case:
188 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
193 @kbd{C-M-i} will yield
196 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
200 If there is more than one possible completion, but all
201 possible completions share a common non-empty prefix, then that prefix
202 is inserted. For example, suppose the buffer is:
209 The symbol to be completed is @samp{x}. The possible completions are
210 @samp{xmlns} and @samp{xml:lang}. These share a common prefix of
211 @samp{xml}. Thus, @kbd{C-M-i} will yield:
218 Typically, you would do @kbd{C-M-i} again, which would have the result
219 described in the next item.
221 If there is more than one possible completion, but the
222 possible completions do not share a non-empty prefix, then Emacs will
223 prompt you to input the symbol in the minibuffer, initializing the
224 minibuffer with the symbol to be completed, and popping up a buffer
225 showing the possible completions. You can now input the symbol to be
226 inserted. The symbol you input will be inserted in the buffer instead
227 of the symbol to be completed. Emacs will then insert any required
228 characters after the symbol. For example, if it contains:
235 Emacs will prompt you in the minibuffer with
238 Attribute: xml@point{}
242 and the buffer showing possible completions will contain
245 Possible completions are:
250 If you input @kbd{xmlns}, the result will be:
253 <html xmlns="@point{}
257 (If you do @kbd{C-M-i} again, the namespace URI will be
258 inserted. Should that happen automatically?)
261 @node Inserting end-tags
262 @chapter Inserting end-tags
264 The main redundancy in XML syntax is end-tags. nXML mode provides
265 several ways to make it easier to enter end-tags. You can use all of
266 these without a schema.
268 You can use @kbd{C-M-i} after @samp{</} to complete the rest of the
271 @kbd{C-c C-f} inserts an end-tag for the element containing
272 point. This command is useful when you want to input the start-tag,
273 then input the content and finally input the end-tag. The @samp{f}
274 is mnemonic for finish.
276 If you want to keep tags balanced and input the end-tag at the
277 same time as the start-tag, before inputting the content, then you can
278 use @kbd{C-c C-i}. This inserts a @samp{>}, then inserts
279 the end-tag and leaves point before the end-tag. @kbd{C-c C-b}
280 is similar but more convenient for block-level elements: it puts the
281 start-tag, point and the end-tag on successive lines, appropriately
282 indented. The @samp{i} is mnemonic for inline and the
283 @samp{b} is mnemonic for block.
285 Finally, you can customize nXML mode so that @kbd{/} automatically
286 inserts the rest of the end-tag when it occurs after @samp{<}, by
290 @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET} nxml-slash-auto-complete-flag @key{RET}}
294 and then following the instructions in the displayed buffer.
299 Emacs has several commands that operate on paragraphs, most
300 notably @kbd{M-q}. nXML mode redefines these to work in a way
301 that is useful for XML@. The exact rules that are used to find the
302 beginning and end of a paragraph are complicated; they are designed
303 mainly to ensure that @kbd{M-q} does the right thing.
305 A paragraph consists of one or more complete, consecutive lines.
306 A group of lines is not considered a paragraph unless it contains some
307 non-whitespace characters between tags or inside comments. A blank
308 line separates paragraphs. A single tag on a line by itself also
309 separates paragraphs. More precisely, if one tag together with any
310 leading and trailing whitespace completely occupy one or more lines,
311 then those lines will not be included in any paragraph.
313 A start-tag at the beginning of the line (possibly indented) may
314 be treated as starting a paragraph. Similarly, an end-tag at the end
315 of the line may be treated as ending a paragraph. The following rules
316 are used to determine whether such a tag is in fact treated as a
321 If the schema does not allow text at that point, then it
322 is a paragraph boundary.
324 If the end-tag corresponding to the start-tag is not at
325 the end of its line, or the start-tag corresponding to the end-tag is
326 not at the beginning of its line, then it is not a paragraph
327 boundary. For example, in
330 <p>This is a paragraph with an
331 <emph>emphasized</emph> phrase.
335 the @samp{<emph>} start-tag would not be considered as
336 starting a paragraph, because its corresponding end-tag is not at the
339 If there is text that is a sibling in element tree, then
340 it is not a paragraph boundary. For example, in
343 <p>This is a paragraph with an
344 <emph>emphasized phrase that takes one source line</emph>
348 the @samp{<emph>} start-tag would not be considered as
349 starting a paragraph, even though its end-tag is at the end of its
350 line, because there the text @samp{This is a paragraph with an}
351 is a sibling of the @samp{emph} element.
353 Otherwise, it is a paragraph boundary.
359 nXML mode allows you to display all or part of a buffer as an
360 outline, in a similar way to Emacs's outline mode. An outline in nXML
361 mode is based on recognizing two kinds of element: sections and
362 headings. There is one heading for every section and one section for
363 every heading. A section contains its heading as or within its first
364 child element. A section also contains its subordinate sections (its
365 subsections). The text content of a section consists of anything in a
366 section that is neither a subsection nor a heading.
368 Note that this is a different model from that used by XHTML@.
369 nXML mode's outline support will not be useful for XHTML unless you
370 adopt a convention of adding a @code{div} to enclose each
371 section, rather than having sections implicitly delimited by different
372 @code{h@var{n}} elements. This limitation may be removed
375 The variable @code{nxml-section-element-name-regexp} gives
376 a regexp for the local names (i.e., the part of the name following any
377 prefix) of section elements. The variable
378 @code{nxml-heading-element-name-regexp} gives a regexp for the
379 local names of heading elements. For an element to be recognized
384 its start-tag must occur at the beginning of a line
387 its local name must match
388 @code{nxml-section-element-name-regexp};
390 either its first child element or a descendant of that
391 first child element must have a local name that matches
392 @code{nxml-heading-element-name-regexp}; the first such element
393 is treated as the section's heading.
397 You can customize these variables using @kbd{M-x
400 There are three possible outline states for a section:
404 normal, showing everything, including its heading, text
405 content and subsections; each subsection is displayed according to the
406 state of that subsection;
408 showing just its heading, with both its text content and
409 its subsections hidden; all subsections are hidden regardless of their
412 showing its heading and its subsections, with its text
413 content hidden; each subsection is displayed according to the state of
417 In the last two states, where the text content is hidden, the
418 heading is displayed specially, in an abbreviated form. An element
424 <para>There are many kinds of food.</para>
429 would be displayed on a single line like this:
436 If there are hidden subsections, then a @code{+} will be used
437 instead of a @code{-} like this:
444 If there are non-hidden subsections, then the section will instead be
449 <-section>Delicious Food...</>
450 <-section>Distasteful Food...</>
455 The heading is always displayed with an indent that corresponds to its
456 depth in the outline, even it is not actually indented in the buffer.
457 The variable @code{nxml-outline-child-indent} controls how much
458 a subheading is indented with respect to its parent heading when the
459 heading is being displayed specially.
461 Commands to change the outline state of sections are bound to
462 key sequences that start with @kbd{C-c C-o} (@kbd{o} is
463 mnemonic for outline). The third and final key has been chosen to be
464 consistent with outline mode. In the following descriptions
465 current section means the section containing point, or, more precisely,
466 the innermost section containing the character immediately following
471 @kbd{C-c C-o C-a} shows all sections in the buffer
474 @kbd{C-c C-o C-t} hides the text content
475 of all sections in the buffer.
477 @kbd{C-c C-o C-c} hides the text content
478 of the current section.
480 @kbd{C-c C-o C-e} shows the text content
481 of the current section.
483 @kbd{C-c C-o C-d} hides the text content
484 and subsections of the current section.
486 @kbd{C-c C-o C-s} shows the current section
487 and all its direct and indirect subsections normally.
489 @kbd{C-c C-o C-k} shows the headings of the
490 direct and indirect subsections of the current section.
492 @kbd{C-c C-o C-l} hides the text content of the
493 current section and of its direct and indirect
496 @kbd{C-c C-o C-i} shows the headings of the
497 direct subsections of the current section.
499 @kbd{C-c C-o C-o} hides as much as possible without
500 hiding the current section's text content; the headings of ancestor
501 sections of the current section and their child section sections will
505 When a heading is displayed specially, you can use
506 @key{RET} in that heading to show the text content of the section
507 in the same way as @kbd{C-c C-o C-e}.
509 You can also use the mouse to change the outline state:
510 @kbd{S-mouse-2} hides the text content of a section in the same
511 way as@kbd{C-c C-o C-c}; @kbd{mouse-2} on a specially
512 displayed heading shows the text content of the section in the same
513 way as @kbd{C-c C-o C-e}; @kbd{mouse-1} on a specially
514 displayed start-tag toggles the display of subheadings on and
517 The outline state for each section is stored with the first
518 character of the section (as a text property). Every command that
519 changes the outline state of any section updates the display of the
520 buffer so that each section is displayed correctly according to its
521 outline state. If the section structure is subsequently changed, then
522 it is possible for the display to no longer correctly reflect the
523 stored outline state. @kbd{C-c C-o C-r} can be used to refresh
524 the display so it is correct again.
526 @node Locating a schema
527 @chapter Locating a schema
529 nXML mode has a configurable set of rules to locate a schema for
530 the file being edited. The rules are contained in one or more schema
531 locating files, which are XML documents.
533 The variable @samp{rng-schema-locating-files} specifies
534 the list of the file-names of schema locating files that nXML mode
535 should use. The order of the list is significant: when file
536 @var{x} occurs in the list before file @var{y} then rules
537 from file @var{x} have precedence over rules from file
538 @var{y}. A filename specified in
539 @samp{rng-schema-locating-files} may be relative. If so, it will
540 be resolved relative to the document for which a schema is being
541 located. It is not an error if relative file-names in
542 @samp{rng-schema-locating-files} do not exist. You can use
543 @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET} rng-schema-locating-files
544 @key{RET}} to customize the list of schema locating
547 By default, @samp{rng-schema-locating-files} list has two
548 members: @samp{schemas.xml}, and
549 @samp{@var{dist-dir}/schema/schemas.xml} where
550 @samp{@var{dist-dir}} is the directory containing the nXML
551 distribution. The first member will cause nXML mode to use a file
552 @samp{schemas.xml} in the same directory as the document being
553 edited if such a file exist. The second member contains rules for the
554 schemas that are included with the nXML distribution.
557 * Commands for locating a schema::
558 * Schema locating files::
561 @node Commands for locating a schema
562 @section Commands for locating a schema
564 The command @kbd{C-c C-s C-w} will tell you what schema
565 is currently being used.
567 The rules for locating a schema are applied automatically when
568 you visit a file in nXML mode. However, if you have just created a new
569 file and the schema cannot be inferred from the file-name, then this
570 will not locate the right schema. In this case, you should insert the
571 start-tag of the root element and then use the command @kbd{C-c C-s
572 C-a}, which reapplies the rules based on the current content of
573 the document. It is usually not necessary to insert the complete
574 start-tag; often just @samp{<@var{name}} is
577 If you want to use a schema that has not yet been added to the
578 schema locating files, you can use the command @kbd{C-c C-s C-f}
579 to manually select the file containing the schema for the document in
580 current buffer. Emacs will read the file-name of the schema from the
581 minibuffer. After reading the file-name, Emacs will ask whether you
582 wish to add a rule to a schema locating file that persistently
583 associates the document with the selected schema. The rule will be
584 added to the first file in the list specified
585 @samp{rng-schema-locating-files}; it will create the file if
586 necessary, but will not create a directory. If the variable
587 @samp{rng-schema-locating-files} has not been customized, this
588 means that the rule will be added to the file @samp{schemas.xml}
589 in the same directory as the document being edited.
591 The command @kbd{C-c C-s C-t} allows you to select a schema by
592 specifying an identifier for the type of the document. The schema
593 locating files determine the available type identifiers and what
594 schema is used for each type identifier. This is useful when it is
595 impossible to infer the right schema from either the file-name or the
596 content of the document, even though the schema is already in the
597 schema locating file. A situation in which this can occur is when
598 there are multiple variants of a schema where all valid documents have
599 the same document element. For example, XHTML has Strict and
600 Transitional variants. In a situation like this, a schema locating file
601 can define a type identifier for each variant. As with @kbd{C-c
602 C-s C-f}, Emacs will ask whether you wish to add a rule to a schema
603 locating file that persistently associates the document with the
604 specified type identifier.
606 The command @kbd{C-c C-s C-l} adds a rule to a schema
607 locating file that persistently associates the document with
608 the schema that is currently being used.
610 @node Schema locating files
611 @section Schema locating files
613 Each schema locating file specifies a list of rules. The rules
614 from each file are appended in order. To locate a schema each rule is
615 applied in turn until a rule matches. The first matching rule is then
616 used to determine the schema.
618 Schema locating files are designed to be useful for other
619 applications that need to locate a schema for a document. In fact,
620 there is nothing specific to locating schemas in the design; it could
621 equally well be used for locating a stylesheet.
624 * Schema locating file syntax basics::
625 * Using the document's URI to locate a schema::
626 * Using the document element to locate a schema::
627 * Using type identifiers in schema locating files::
628 * Using multiple schema locating files::
631 @node Schema locating file syntax basics
632 @subsection Schema locating file syntax basics
634 There is a schema for schema locating files in the file
635 @samp{locate.rnc} in the schema directory. Schema locating
636 files must be valid with respect to this schema.
638 The document element of a schema locating file must be
639 @samp{locatingRules} and the namespace URI must be
640 @samp{http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0}. The
641 children of the document element specify rules. The order of the
642 children is the same as the order of the rules. Here's a complete
643 example of a schema locating file:
646 <?xml version="1.0"?>
647 <locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
648 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" uri="xhtml.rnc"/>
649 <documentElement localName="book" uri="docbook.rnc"/>
654 This says to use the schema @samp{xhtml.rnc} for a document with
655 namespace @samp{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}, and to use the
656 schema @samp{docbook.rnc} for a document whose local name is
657 @samp{book}. If the document element had both a namespace URI
658 of @samp{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml} and a local name of
659 @samp{book}, then the matching rule that comes first will be
660 used and so the schema @samp{xhtml.rnc} would be used. There is
661 no precedence between different types of rule; the first matching rule
664 As usual with XML-related technologies, resources are identified
665 by URIs. The @samp{uri} attribute identifies the schema by
666 specifying the URI@. The URI may be relative. If so, it is resolved
667 relative to the URI of the schema locating file that contains
668 attribute. This means that if the value of @samp{uri} attribute
669 does not contain a @samp{/}, then it will refer to a filename in
670 the same directory as the schema locating file.
672 @node Using the document's URI to locate a schema
673 @subsection Using the document's URI to locate a schema
675 A @samp{uri} rule locates a schema based on the URI of the
676 document. The @samp{uri} attribute specifies the URI of the
677 schema. The @samp{resource} attribute can be used to specify
678 the schema for a particular document. For example,
681 <uri resource="spec.xml" uri="docbook.rnc"/>
685 specifies that the schema for @samp{spec.xml} is
688 The @samp{pattern} attribute can be used instead of the
689 @samp{resource} attribute to specify the schema for any document
690 whose URI matches a pattern. The pattern has the same syntax as an
691 absolute or relative URI except that the path component of the URI can
692 use a @samp{*} character to stand for zero or more characters
693 within a path segment (i.e., any character other @samp{/}).
694 Typically, the URI pattern looks like a relative URI, but, whereas a
695 relative URI in the @samp{resource} attribute is resolved into a
696 particular absolute URI using the base URI of the schema locating
697 file, a relative URI pattern matches if it matches some number of
698 complete path segments of the document's URI ending with the last path
699 segment of the document's URI@. For example,
702 <uri pattern="*.xsl" uri="xslt.rnc"/>
706 specifies that the schema for documents with a URI whose path ends
707 with @samp{.xsl} is @samp{xslt.rnc}.
709 A @samp{transformURI} rule locates a schema by
710 transforming the URI of the document. The @samp{fromPattern}
711 attribute specifies a URI pattern with the same meaning as the
712 @samp{pattern} attribute of the @samp{uri} element. The
713 @samp{toPattern} attribute is a URI pattern that is used to
714 generate the URI of the schema. Each @samp{*} in the
715 @samp{toPattern} is replaced by the string that matched the
716 corresponding @samp{*} in the @samp{fromPattern}. The
717 resulting string is appended to the initial part of the document's URI
718 that was not explicitly matched by the @samp{fromPattern}. The
719 rule matches only if the transformed URI identifies an existing
720 resource. For example, the rule
723 <transformURI fromPattern="*.xml" toPattern="*.rnc"/>
727 would transform the URI @samp{file:///home/jjc/docs/spec.xml}
728 into the URI @samp{file:///home/jjc/docs/spec.rnc}. Thus, this
729 rule specifies that to locate a schema for a document
730 @samp{@var{foo}.xml}, Emacs should test whether a file
731 @samp{@var{foo}.rnc} exists in the same directory as
732 @samp{@var{foo}.xml}, and, if so, should use it as the
735 @node Using the document element to locate a schema
736 @subsection Using the document element to locate a schema
738 A @samp{documentElement} rule locates a schema based on
739 the local name and prefix of the document element. For example, a rule
742 <documentElement prefix="xsl" localName="stylesheet" uri="xslt.rnc"/>
746 specifies that when the name of the document element is
747 @samp{xsl:stylesheet}, then @samp{xslt.rnc} should be used
748 as the schema. Either the @samp{prefix} or
749 @samp{localName} attribute may be omitted to allow any prefix or
752 A @samp{namespace} rule locates a schema based on the
753 namespace URI of the document element. For example, a rule
756 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" uri="xslt.rnc"/>
760 specifies that when the namespace URI of the document is
761 @samp{http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform}, then
762 @samp{xslt.rnc} should be used as the schema.
764 @node Using type identifiers in schema locating files
765 @subsection Using type identifiers in schema locating files
767 Type identifiers allow a level of indirection in locating the
768 schema for a document. Instead of associating the document directly
769 with a schema URI, the document is associated with a type identifier,
770 which is in turn associated with a schema URI@. nXML mode does not
771 constrain the format of type identifiers. They can be simply strings
772 without any formal structure or they can be public identifiers or
773 URIs. Note that these type identifiers have nothing to do with the
774 DOCTYPE declaration. When comparing type identifiers, whitespace is
775 normalized in the same way as with the @samp{xsd:token}
776 datatype: leading and trailing whitespace is stripped; other sequences
777 of whitespace are normalized to a single space character.
779 Each of the rules described in previous sections that uses a
780 @samp{uri} attribute to specify a schema, can instead use a
781 @samp{typeId} attribute to specify a type identifier. The type
782 identifier can be associated with a URI using a @samp{typeId}
783 element. For example,
786 <locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
787 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" typeId="XHTML"/>
788 <typeId id="XHTML" typeId="XHTML Strict"/>
789 <typeId id="XHTML Strict" uri="xhtml-strict.rnc"/>
790 <typeId id="XHTML Transitional" uri="xhtml-transitional.rnc"/>
795 declares three type identifiers @samp{XHTML} (representing the
796 default variant of XHTML to be used), @samp{XHTML Strict} and
797 @samp{XHTML Transitional}. Such a schema locating file would
798 use @samp{xhtml-strict.rnc} for a document whose namespace is
799 @samp{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}. But it is considerably
800 more flexible than a schema locating file that simply specified
803 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" uri="xhtml-strict.rnc"/>
807 A user can easily use @kbd{C-c C-s C-t} to select between XHTML
808 Strict and XHTML Transitional. Also, a user can easily add a catalog
811 <locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
812 <typeId id="XHTML" typeId="XHTML Transitional"/>
817 that makes the default variant of XHTML be XHTML Transitional.
819 @node Using multiple schema locating files
820 @subsection Using multiple schema locating files
822 The @samp{include} element includes rules from another
823 schema locating file. The behavior is exactly as if the rules from
824 that file were included in place of the @samp{include} element.
825 Relative URIs are resolved into absolute URIs before the inclusion is
826 performed. For example,
829 <include rules="../rules.xml"/>
833 includes the rules from @samp{rules.xml}.
835 The process of locating a schema takes as input a list of schema
836 locating files. The rules in all these files and in the files they
837 include are resolved into a single list of rules, which are applied
838 strictly in order. Sometimes this order is not what is needed.
839 For example, suppose you have two schema locating files, a private
843 <locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
844 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" uri="xhtml.rnc"/>
849 followed by a public file
852 <locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
853 <transformURI pathSuffix=".xml" replacePathSuffix=".rnc"/>
854 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" typeId="XSLT"/>
859 The effect of these two files is that the XHTML @samp{namespace}
860 rule takes precedence over the @samp{transformURI} rule, which
861 is almost certainly not what is needed. This can be solved by adding
862 an @samp{applyFollowingRules} to the private file.
865 <locatingRules xmlns="http://thaiopensource.com/ns/locating-rules/1.0">
866 <applyFollowingRules ruleType="transformURI"/>
867 <namespace ns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" uri="xhtml.rnc"/>
874 nXML mode is designed to support the creation of standalone XML
875 documents that do not depend on a DTD@. Although it is common practice
876 to insert a DOCTYPE declaration referencing an external DTD, this has
877 undesirable side-effects. It means that the document is no longer
878 self-contained. It also means that different XML parsers may interpret
879 the document in different ways, since the XML Recommendation does not
880 require XML parsers to read the DTD@. With DTDs, it was impractical to
881 get validation without using an external DTD or reference to an
882 parameter entity. With RELAX NG and other schema languages, you can
883 simultaneously get the benefits of validation and standalone XML
884 documents. Therefore, I recommend that you do not reference an
885 external DOCTYPE in your XML documents.
887 One problem is entities for characters. Typically, as well as
888 providing validation, DTDs also provide a set of character entities
889 for documents to use. Schemas cannot provide this functionality,
890 because schema validation happens after XML parsing. The recommended
891 solution is to either use the Unicode characters directly, or, if this
892 is impractical, use character references. nXML mode supports this by
893 providing commands for entering characters and character references
894 using the Unicode names, and can display the glyph corresponding to a
900 nXML mode has some limitations:
904 DTD support is limited. Internal parsed general entities declared
905 in the internal subset are supported provided they do not contain
906 elements. Other usage of DTDs is ignored.
908 The restrictions on RELAX NG schemas in section 7 of the RELAX NG
909 specification are not enforced.
912 @node GNU Free Documentation License
913 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
914 @include doclicense.texi