How to exclude root elements in an XSD?

Question

I have several elements defined in my XSD file that I use as references later on in the document. I do want any of these "reference" elements to constitute a valid xml file.

For example I have

<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
    <xs:element name="Section">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element ref="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
            </xs:sequence>
            <xs:attribute name="code"/>
            <xs:attribute name="url"/>
            <xs:attribute name="isLegacy"/>
            <xs:attribute name="name"/>
            <xs:attribute name="helpFileName"/>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
    <xs:element name="Sections">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element ref="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
            </xs:sequence>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
</xs:schema>

I don't want the following xml to validate (if this is the only line in the file)

<Section code="" url="" isLegacy="" name="" helpFileName="" />

Removing the "Section" node from the global prevents me from referencing it for recursion

Answer 1

If you want that, don't declare these elements as global, instead, base your schema design on complex types and declare only the element you want as a root global. Nobody forces you to make every element global.

For example, your sample can be refactored as follows:

<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
    <xs:complexType name="Section">
        <xs:sequence>
            <xs:element name="Section" type="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
        </xs:sequence>
        <xs:attribute name="code"/>
        <xs:attribute name="url"/>
        <xs:attribute name="isLegacy"/>
        <xs:attribute name="name"/>
        <xs:attribute name="helpFileName"/>
    </xs:complexType>
    <xs:element name="Sections">
        <xs:complexType>
            <xs:sequence>
                <xs:element name="Section" type="Section" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
            </xs:sequence>
        </xs:complexType>
    </xs:element>
</xs:schema>