Can I enforce the order of XML attributes using a schema?

Question

Our C++ application reads configuration data from XML files that look something like this:

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure there's no way to enforce attribute order in an XML document. I'm going to assume that you can insist on it via a business process or other human factors, such as a contract or other document.

What if you just assumed that the first attribute was "id", and tested the name to be sure? If yes, use the value, if not, then you can try to get the attribute by name or throw out the document.

While not as efficient as calling out the attribute by its ordinal, some non-zero number of times you'll be able to guess that your data providers have delivered XML to spec. The rest of the time, you can take other action.