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The element '...' in namespace '...' has invalid child element, even though child element exists in schema

I have an xml schema file that describes an element called MessageProcessingResult that can have child elements 'MessageID' and 'Category'. My xml clearly has these elements yet when I validate the xml against the schema I get an error stating the 'Category' element is invalid:
The element 'MessageProcessingResult' in namespace
'http://test.com/MessageProcessing' has invalid child element
'Category' in namespace 'http://test.com/MessageProcessing'. List of
possible elements expected: 'Category, MessageID'.
I must be defining my schema incorrectly, but I don't know exactly what it is.
My schema, xml and validation code are as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns="http://test.com/MessageProcessing"
targetNamespace="http://test.com/MessageProcessing"
elementFormDefault="unqualified"
attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
<xs:element name="MessageProcessingResult">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:all>
<xs:element name="MessageID" type="xs:string" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1"/>
<xs:element name="Category">
<xs:simpleType>
<xs:restriction base="xs:string">
<xs:enumeration value="Success"/>
<xs:enumeration value="Problem"/>
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
</xs:element>
</xs:all>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:schema>
xml that looks like this:
<MessageProcessingResult xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns="http://test.com/MessageProcessing">
<Category>Success</Category>
<MessageID>id</MessageID>
</MessageProcessingResult>
I validate with this code:
public class XmlValidator
{
public void Validate(Stream strXml)
{
XmlReaderSettings settings = new XmlReaderSettings();
//settings.Schemas.Add(null, #"Schema\MessageProcessingResults.xsd");
settings.Schemas.Add(null, #"Schema\MessageProcessingResult.xsd");
settings.ValidationType = ValidationType.Schema;
settings.ValidationEventHandler += new ValidationEventHandler(XmlSchemaValidationEventHandler);
XmlReader xml = XmlReader.Create(strXml, settings);
this.Errors = new List<string>();
while (xml.Read()) { }
}
public List<string> Errors { get; set; }
private void XmlSchemaValidationEventHandler(object sender, ValidationEventArgs e)
{
this.Errors.Add($"{e.Severity} {e.Message}");
}
}

In your XSD, change
elementFormDefault="unqualified"
to
elementFormDefault="qualified"
Your explicit setting of elementFormDefault="unqualified" (which also happens to be the default setting) means that locally declared elements are in no namespace. This is undesired in your case (and rarely ever desired, in fact). For further details, see What does elementFormDefault do in XSD?

C# Deserializing, and validating an XML file against an XSD using XmlReader.Create isn't working

I am using Visual Studio 2015.
I apologize for the poorly named "firstName" element. It should have been "fullName", but since I already generated the class for the schema, and this is just for my own learning, I left it as is.
I have an XML schema here:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema id="address-schema"
targetNamespace="http://tempuri.org/address-schema.xsd"
elementFormDefault="qualified"
attributeFormDefault="qualified"
xmlns:addr="http://tempuri.org/address-schema.xsd"
xmlns:mstns="http://tempuri.org/address-schema.xsd"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
>
<xs:element name="address">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="firstName">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="first" type="addr:nameComponent"/>
<xs:element name="middle" type="addr:nameComponent" minOccurs="0"/>
<xs:element name="last" type="addr:nameComponent"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
<xs:complexType name="nameComponent">
<xs:simpleContent>
<xs:extension base="xs:string"/>
</xs:simpleContent>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
And an XML file that I think conforms to the schema:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<addr:address xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://tempuri.org/address-schema.xsd address-schema.xsd"
xmlns:addr="http://tempuri.org/address-schema.xsd">
<addr:firstName>
<addr:first>Some</addr:first>
<addr:middle>Bodys</addr:middle>
<addr:last>Name</addr:last>
</addr:firstName>
</addr:address>
And the code that is attempting to validate the XML is here (note that the "address" class that the XML file is getting deserialized into is an auto generated class from xsd.exe):
address address;
var xmlSchemaSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(XmlSchema));
var addressXmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(address));
var schemas = new XmlSchemaSet();
XmlSchema schema;
using (var xsdStream = File.OpenRead("address-schema.xsd"))
{
schema = (XmlSchema)xmlSchemaSerializer.Deserialize(xsdStream);
}
schemas.Add(schema);
var settings = new XmlReaderSettings
{
Schemas = schemas,
ValidationType = ValidationType.Schema,
ValidationFlags = XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ProcessIdentityConstraints | XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ReportValidationWarnings | XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ProcessInlineSchema | XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ProcessSchemaLocation
};
settings.ValidationEventHandler += (sender, arguments) =>
{
throw new XmlSchemaValidationException(arguments.Message);
};
using(Stream addressXmlStream = File.OpenRead("address-doc.xml"))
using (XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create(addressXmlStream, settings))
{
address = (address)addressXmlSerializer.Deserialize(reader);
}
Console.WriteLine(address.firstName.first.Value == "Some" ? "Success!" : "Fail");
Console.ReadKey();
The exception ('System.Xml.Schema.XmlSchemaValidationException'The global element 'http://tempuri.org/address-schema.xsd:address' has already been declared.) is thrown in the ValidationEventHandler.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The cause of your exception is that your document has a schema location hint that loads the schema, but you've already loaded it.
Either don't pre-load the schema or remove the xsi:schemaLocation attribute from your document.

XML namespace missing for parser

I have to parse a XML where the xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" namespace is missing, so the xml looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<program>
<scriptList>
<script type="StartScript">
<isUserScript>false</isUserScript>
</script>
</scriptList>
</program>
but should look like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<program xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" >
<scriptList>
<script xsi:type="StartScript">
<isUserScript>false</isUserScript>
</script>
</scriptList>
</program>
The type attribute ensures the correct subclass e.g.
class StartScript : script
{...}
The parser is auto generated from an handwritten xsd via $> xsd.exe a.xsd /classes (.Net).
Here is the xsd:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="qualified">
<!-- Main element -->
<xs:element name="program">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="scriptList">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="script" type="script" maxOccurs="unbounded"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
<xs:complexType name="script" />
<xs:complexType name="StartScript">
<xs:complexContent>
<xs:extension base="script">
<xs:all>
<xs:element name="isUserScript" type="xs:boolean"></xs:element>
</xs:all>
</xs:extension>
</xs:complexContent>
</xs:complexType>
A simple solution is to run a string-replace (" type=\"" to " xsi:type=\"") on the input XML but this is pretty ugly.
Is there a better solution?

You can load your XML into an intermediate LINQ to XML XDocument, fix the attribute namespaces on the <script> elements, then deserialize directly to your final class:
// Load to intermediate XDocument
XDocument xDoc;
using (var reader = XmlReader.Create(f))
xDoc = XDocument.Load(reader);
// Fix namespace of "type" attributes
XNamespace xsi = "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance";
foreach (var element in xDoc.Descendants("script"))
{
var attr = element.Attribute("type");
if (attr == null)
continue;
var newAttr = new XAttribute(xsi + attr.Name.LocalName, attr.Value);
attr.Remove();
element.Add(newAttr);
}
// Deserialize directly to final class.
var program = xDoc.Deserialize<program>();
Using the extension method:
public static class XObjectExtensions
{
public static T Deserialize<T>(this XContainer element, XmlSerializer serializer = null)
{
if (element == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
using (var reader = element.CreateReader())
return (T)(serializer ?? new XmlSerializer(typeof(T))).Deserialize(reader);
}
}

XML Validation error: The element is not declared

I am building a web service in .NET that will pass data back and forth via XML. I would like to validate the XML in the incoming requests using an XSD that I have defined.
Here is the XSD:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:complexType name="POSearch">
<xs:sequence minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="10">
<xs:element name="POID" type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
Here is the XML:
<POSearch>
<POID>1</POID>
<POID>2</POID>
</POSearch>
Here is the validation code in C#:
static void Main(string[] args){
XmlSchemaSet iSchemas = new XmlSchemaSet();
iSchemas.Add(string.Empty, #"...xsd file location");
XmlReaderSettings settings = new XmlReaderSettings();
settings.ValidationType = ValidationType.Schema;
settings.ValidationFlags |= XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ProcessInlineSchema;
settings.ValidationFlags |= XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ProcessSchemaLocation;
settings.ValidationFlags |= XmlSchemaValidationFlags.ReportValidationWarnings;
settings.ValidationEventHandler += new ValidationEventHandler(ValidationCallBack);
settings.Schemas.Add(iSchemas);
XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create(#"...xml file location", settings);
try {
while(reader.Read())
;
}
catch(Exception ex) {
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
private static void ValidationCallBack(object sender, ValidationEventArgs args) {
if(args.Severity == XmlSeverityType.Warning)
Console.WriteLine("\tWarning: Matching schema not found. No validation occurred." + args.Message);
else
Console.WriteLine("\tValidation error: " + args.Message);
}
I feel like I had this working before and I'm not completely sure why this isn't working now. Whenever I run this I get the following Exception Message:
Validation error: The 'POSearch' element is not declared.
Have I defined my XSD wrong? Is my validation code wrong? The elements are all clearly there. Any help pointing me in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

You have the type declared but no element declared of that type.
Add an element declaration:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:element name="POSearch" type="POSearch"/>
<xs:complexType name="POSearch">
<xs:sequence minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="10">
<xs:element name="POID" type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>

Try this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:complexType name="POSearch">
<xs:sequence minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="10">
<xs:element name="POID" type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:element name="POSearch" type="POSearch"/>
</xs:schema>

How to parse xs:annotation from the xs:choice using the System.Xml.Schema

I'm trying to add the annotation element inside the xs:choice. According to the xs:choice syntax, this could be possible. I could not find the sample of choice with annotation inside BTW. My current version of xsd file contains an element:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema targetNamespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple"
elementFormDefault="qualified"
xmlns="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple"
xmlns:mstns="http://tempuri.org/XMLSchema.xsd"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:flex="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase">
<xs:import namespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase" />
<xs:element name="ESS3754">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:choice>
<xs:annotation>
<xs:appinfo>
<flex:ControlHeadline>Headline_VVVVV</flex:ControlHeadline>
<flex:helpText>HelpText_VVVVV</flex:helpText>
</xs:appinfo>
</xs:annotation>
<xs:element name="String1" type="xs:string" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1"/>
</xs:choice>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:schema>
However, while parsing the xsd file, the Annotation of the object System.Xml.Schema.XmlSchemaChoice is always null.
The code part:
public List<FSBaseItem> Parse( XmlTextReader xsdReader )
{
try
{
// prepare schema set for schema validation and raw template xsd "enrichment"
XmlSchemaSet schemaSet = new XmlSchemaSet();
schemaSet.ValidationEventHandler += ValidationCallbackOne;
// include base schema
XmlSchema baseXsd = FlexXmlSchemaReader.ReadBase();
schemaSet.Add( baseXsd );
// The Read method will throw errors encountered on parsing the schema
XmlSchema xsd = XmlSchema.Read( xsdReader, ValidationCallbackOne );
schemaSet.Add( xsd );
// The Compile method will throw errors encountered on compiling the schema
schemaSet.Compile();
// create root
FSElement rootElement = new FSElement( this.GetNewId() );
// traverse body
this.TraverseSOM( xsd, rootElement );
// validate
this.ValidateFSItems( rootElement.Items );
// init lists containers with minimum elements
InitEmptyFEListItems( rootElement );
return rootElement.Items;
}
finally
{
xsdReader.Close();
}
}
Already in the beginning the choice element annotation is null. Could somebody give some working sample or add some hints?

Annotations certainly can be put inside xs:choice. Look at the following xsd taken from Inline Annotated Schema
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:jaxb="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/jaxb"
xmlns:xjc="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/jaxb/xjc"
jaxb:version="1.0" jaxb:extensionBindingPrefixes="xjc">
<xs:annotation>
<xs:appinfo>
<jaxb:globalBindings>
<xjc:superClass name="com.syh.Shape"/>
</jaxb:globalBindings>
</xs:appinfo>
</xs:annotation>
<xs:element name="Widgets">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:choice minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
<xs:annotation>
<xs:appinfo>
<jaxb:property name="Shapes"/>
</xs:appinfo>
</xs:annotation>
<xs:element name="Rectangle" type="Rectangle"/>
<xs:element name="Square" type="Square"/>
<xs:element name="Circle" type="Circle"/>
</xs:choice>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
<xs:complexType name="Rectangle">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Width" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="Height" type="xs:integer"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="Square">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Length" type="xs:integer"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="Circle">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Radius" type="xs:integer"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
Adapting similar strategy to your xsd yields something like the following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema targetNamespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple"
elementFormDefault="qualified"
xmlns="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple"
xmlns:mstns="http://tempuri.org/XMLSchema.xsd"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:flex="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase">
<xs:import namespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase" />
<xs:element name="ESS3754">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:choice minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
<xs:annotation>
<xs:appinfo>
<flex:ControlHeadline>Headline_VVVVV</flex:ControlHeadline>
<flex:helpText>HelpText_VVVVV</flex:helpText>
</xs:appinfo>
</xs:annotation>
<xs:element name="String1" type="xs:string" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="10"/>
<xs:element name="NewlyAdded" type="Coordinate" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="10"/>
</xs:choice>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
<xs:complexType name="Coordinate">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="LocationX" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="LocationY" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="LocationZ" type="xs:integer"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
and the xsd is perfectly valid and looks like the following in Visual Studio [XSD] Desginer:
Update 1
I agree on the fact that debugger shows item annotation as null [I could not find it either but I should] and it is quite frustrating. I reconstructed the document using the code and you can annotate your element using the following workaround:
Consider the following XSD which does not have any XmlSchemaChoice and is saved as stack-problem2.xsd
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema targetNamespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple"
elementFormDefault="qualified"
xmlns="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple"
xmlns:mstns="http://tempuri.org/XMLSchema.xsd"
xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
xmlns:flex="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase">
<xs:import namespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase" />
<xs:complexType name="Coordinate">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="LocationX" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="LocationY" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="LocationZ" type="xs:integer"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
Now you can load this into memory and add annotations programmatically to the XmlSchemaChoice element:
public void Parse()
{
try
{
XmlTextReader reader2 = new XmlTextReader(#"stack-problem2.xsd");
XmlSchema myschema2 = XmlSchema.Read(reader2, ValidationCallback);
var simpleAnotation = new XmlSchemaAnnotation();
simpleAnotation.Id = "Lost Anotation";
// <xs:complexType name="ESS3754">
XmlSchemaComplexType complexType = new XmlSchemaComplexType();
myschema2.Items.Add(complexType);
complexType.Name = "ESS3754";
// <xs:choice minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">
XmlSchemaChoice choice = new XmlSchemaChoice();
complexType.Particle = choice;
choice.MinOccurs = 1;
choice.MaxOccurs = 1;
XmlSchemaElement elementSelected = new XmlSchemaElement();
choice.Items.Add(elementSelected);
elementSelected.Name = "String1";
AnnonateMyComplexType(choice);
FileStream file = new FileStream(#"satck-solution.xsd", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.ReadWrite);
XmlTextWriter xwriter = new XmlTextWriter(file, new UTF8Encoding());
xwriter.Formatting = Formatting.Indented;
myschema2.Write(xwriter);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e);
}
}
public static void AnnonateMyComplexType(XmlSchemaChoice xmlSchemaComplexType)
{
XmlSchemaAnnotation myCustomAnnotation = new XmlSchemaAnnotation();
xmlSchemaComplexType.Annotation = myCustomAnnotation;
// <xs:documentation>State Name</xs:documentation>
XmlSchemaDocumentation schemaDocumentation = new XmlSchemaDocumentation();
myCustomAnnotation.Items.Add(schemaDocumentation);
schemaDocumentation.Markup = TextToNodeArray("Headline_VVVVV");
// <xs:appInfo>Application Information</xs:appInfo>
XmlSchemaAppInfo appInfo = new XmlSchemaAppInfo();
myCustomAnnotation.Items.Add(appInfo);
appInfo.Markup = TextToNodeArray("Headline_VVVVV");
}
static void ValidationCallback(object sender, ValidationEventArgs args)
{
if (args.Severity == XmlSeverityType.Warning)
Console.Write("WARNING: ");
else if (args.Severity == XmlSeverityType.Error)
Console.Write("ERROR: ");
Console.WriteLine(args.Message);
}
Running above will return the following XSD file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple" xmlns:flex="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase" xmlns:mstns="http://tempuri.org/XMLSchema.xsd" elementFormDefault="qualified" targetNamespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/simple" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:import namespace="http://www.es.de/es3/flex/flexBase" />
<xs:complexType name="Coordinate">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="LocationX" type="xs:integer" />
<xs:element name="LocationY" type="xs:integer" />
<xs:element name="LocationZ" type="xs:integer" />
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="ESS3754">
<xs:choice minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">
<xs:annotation>
<xs:documentation>Headline_VVVVV</xs:documentation>
<xs:appinfo>Headline_VVVVV</xs:appinfo>
</xs:annotation>
<xs:element name="String1" />
</xs:choice>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
So to answer your first question: Yes, Annotation can be definitely put inside XmlSchemaChoice elements (Both through code and directly) [Not necessarily outside xmlSchemaChoice as the top element based on your experiment] and to address your second problem: [I had similar experience as of yours! It shows the annotation as null although it is not]

For anyone else running into this issue, I have found by reflecting the classes of the System.Xml.Schema namespace that, upon compiling a schemaset, the annotations of elements are copied to their children.
So Vytas999 should be able (as I have been able) to find his missing annotation by inspecting the XmlSchemaParticle objects in the XmlSchemaChoice.Items property.

I ran into the same problem - I needed to process an XSD provided by external entity and the Annotation of XmlSchemaChoice was always null.
Elaborating on #Adrian's answers the code I successfully use is below. In my case I traverse the schema from the root down, when I hit XmlSchemaSequence I itereate over its Items collection:
var index = 0;
foreach (var childObject in sequence.Items)
{
ExtractElement(childObject, index);
++index ;
}
When childObject is of type XmlSchemaChoice (assuming it is in variable xmlSchemaChoice, then instead of
// DOES NOT WORK - always null
var choiceAnnotation = xmlSchemaChoice.Annotation
I access the Annotation like this:
((xmlSchemaChoice.Parent as XmlSchemaSequence)?.Items[index] as XmlSchemaChoice)?.Annotation
Would you expect the same result? Well, it is not..
This code is just sample snippet describing accessing the Annotation via Parent's Items, it is NOT general purpose code and might need some adaptation to your exact case.