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| <h1 class="topictitle1">Document type definitions (DTDs) - overview</h1> |
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| <div><p>A document type definition (DTD) provides you with the means to |
| validate XML files against a set of rules. When you create a DTD file, you |
| can specify rules that control the structure of any XML files that reference |
| the DTD file.</p> |
| |
| <p>A DTD can contain declarations that define elements, attributes, notations, |
| and entities for any XML files that reference the DTD file. It also establishes |
| constraints for how each element, attribute, notation, and entity can be used |
| within any of the XML files that reference the DTD file.</p> |
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| <p>To be considered a valid XML file, the document must be accompanied by |
| a DTD (or an XML schema), and conform to all of the declarations in the DTD |
| (or XML schema).</p> |
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| <p>Certain XML parsers have the ability to read DTDs and check to see if the |
| XML file it is reading follows all of those rules. While the parser is reading |
| the XML file, it will check each line to be sure that it conforms to the rules |
| that are laid out in the DTD file. If there is a problem, the parser generates |
| an error and points to where the error occurs in the XML file. This kind of |
| parser is called a validating parser because it validates the content of the |
| XML file against the DTD.</p> |
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| <div class="parentlink"><strong>Parent topic:</strong> <a href="../topics/tcretdtd.html" title="A document type definition (DTD) contains a set of rules that can be used to validate an XML file. After you have created a DTD, you can edit it manually, adding declarations that define elements, attributes, entities, and notations, and how they can be used for any XML files that reference the DTD file.">Creating DTDs</a></div> |
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