XML attribute vs XML element

Question

At work we are being asked to create XML files to pass data to another offline application that will then create a second XML file to pass back in order to update some of ou

Answer 1

XML Element vs XML Attribute

XML is all about agreement. First defer to any existing XML schemas or established conventions within your community or industry.

If you are truly in a situation to define your schema from the ground up, here are some general considerations that should inform the element vs attribute decision:

  
    Content
  
  
    
      Hierarchical
    
  
  
    

      
Has
      
order
    
  
  
    Can reference to re-use
  
  
    For humans
  
  
    Extreme use leads to document bloat
  
  
    Unique or non-unique names
  
  
    SAX parse: read later
  
  
    DTD: no default value