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Is there a term which refers to XML parsers that do not parse unrestricted XML, but instead a specific XML format as specified by a DTD?

I take it that "XML parser" is usually understood to be a parser which can take in any XML document, such as normal DOM or SAX parsers. What is a good way to call a parser which accepts only a well-defined subset (without referring to a specific such subset)?

Felix Dombek
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There is no term for an XML parser that's restricted to a single schema because there's no reason for such a parser to exist. A nonentity needs no name.

To ask such a question indicates, perhaps, a lack of understanding of the difference between what's required to parse well-formed versus valid XML:

  • An XML parser reads arbitrary XML and will report any errors that prevent the document from being well-formed.
  • A validating XML parser goes one step further and will report any errors that prevent the document from being valid against a given schema (DTD, XSD, RelaxNG, etc).

You may find additional checks being performed beyond what's expressed by a schema, but you won't find dedicated parsers being written to validate XML against a single, specific schema because the general case is already handled very well in both programming library and end-user application forms.

See also Well-formed vs Valid XML.

kjhughes
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