Chapter 5. Application Developer XML Tools 87
Figure 5-6 Pop-up on schema file in the Outline view
Making changes and referential integrity
As a schema becomes bigger and more complex, there will be more type
definitions, and references to those types. So what happens after you have
defined a type, created ten references to that type, and you want to change the
name of the type? The XML Schema editor has a built-in referential integrity
mechanism that will propagate the changes automatically, freeing you from the
tedious and error-prone task of doing the manual updates.
Let us assume that in your xsd file, you have defined a simple type called
SimpleType1. There is a reference to this type in the complex type named
ComplexType1. Let us say we want to change the simple type name from
SimpleType1 to SimpleType2.The following illustrates how to do that:
򐂰Switch to the Design view.
򐂰Select the SimpleType1 in the Outline view. In the Design view, change it to
SimpleType2.
򐂰Now switch over to the Source view. Notice how all references to SimpleType1
change to SimpleType2 automatically.
The XML Schema editor's referential integrity mechanism is not limited only to
name change. The same rule applies when you delete a schema component. For
example, if you delete a type, all references to that type will automatically be
reset to the default string data type. Whenever such an automatic update occurs,
an information message will be displayed in the Task view. You can always invoke
the undo action if you want to change your mind.