Validating an XML File against a XSD Schema

XML Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟XSD (XML Schema Definition) Introduction

∟Validating an XML File against a XSD Schema

This section describes different ways to validate XML files against XSD schemas: using standalone XML validation tools, using on-line XML validators, and writing your own XML validation programs.

So far we learned how to use XSD statements to define a schema for an XML file. We also learned how to specify a schema defined by XSD statements to an XML file.

Now let's see how we can validate an XML file against the specified schema. In general, Web browsers like IE and Firefox can be used to browse XML files. But they can not be used to validate XML files. So we have to look for other ways to perform XML XSD validation:

1. Using XML XSD validation tools:

XML Spy is an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for XML documents produced by Altova. XML Spy can be used to validate XML files against XSD schemas. But it is not free to use.
XMLStarlet is an open source command line tool to manipulate XML files. XMLStarlet can be used to validate XML files against XSD schemas. And it is free to use. See http://xmlstar.sourceforge.net/ for more information.

2. Using XML XSD on-line validators:

Validome is a non-commercial XML validation software. They offer an on-line XML validator that supports XSD schemas. Go to http://www.validome.org/xml/ to try it out.