How do XML namespaces work without a working network connection?

Answer 1

Try to ignore the fact that many namespace names look like URLs that you might type into your browser. They are just random strings of characters, they aren't addresses of resources on the web. The reason people adopt this convention is that it shows who "owns" the name - it's clearer what http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema refers to than if they had chosen "xsd1.0" as the namespace name, and it's less likely to conflict accidentally with a name chosen by someone else. Some people also like the fact that you can put documentation at the relevant location, but no XML software will go looking for the documentation automatically.