Rules in an xml schema

Question

Hello BizTalkers,
I have a requirement regarding the xml schema which needs to be created with the following rule.
ContactInformation
ContactType (Required, can have two values "BusinessEntity"/"Person")
FirstName (optional if ContactType is BusinessEntity, required if ContactType is Person)
LastName (optional if ContactType is BusinessEntity, required if ContactType is Person)
I am aware about restrictions/enumerations etc. But I am not sure if these kind of rules can be implemented in an xml schema. I am stating the above one which is a simple one, I have these kind of 120 other rules to be implemented which need the dependencies
between one or more nodes and their values. What is the best way to tackle this requirement?
Regards

Answer 1

Hi 00ps, the way to do this with XSD schemas is to use a "choice" node, where you can select either BusinessEntity or Person.  Each of these nodes can then have different elements (inherited from a common source if you desire).
Whilst doing all this is entirely possible with the BizTalk schema editor, it is far, far easier to use a specialist tool such as
XMLSpy, which makes defining complex relationships an easy task.  For example, here is a similar sort of restriction I have in place on a schema:
The "party" element is used in multiple schemas through the use of an import.  You can either use
organisation or individual, they both use a common element called
contact which contains address information etc which would be the same for both, but allow for different structures for party types.
As you can see from the screen-shot, it's a lot easier to visualise with XML Spy.  The XSD notation is:
<xs:choice>
<xs:element name="organisation">
...blah...
</xs:element>
<xs:element name="individual">
...blah...
</xs:element>
</xs:choice>
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