How to: Use the XML Schema Definition Tool to Generate Classes and XML Schema Documents
The XML Schema Definition tool (Xsd.exe) allows you to generate an XML schema that describes a class or to generate the class defined by an XML schema. The following procedures show how to perform these operations.
To generate classes that conform to a specific schema
Open a command prompt.
Pass the XML Schema as an argument to the XML Schema Definition tool, which creates a set of classes that are precisely matched to the XML Schema, for example:
xsd mySchema.xsdThe tool can only process schemas that reference the World Wide Web Consortium XML specification of March 16, 2001. In other words, the XML Schema namespace must be "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" as shown in the following example.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <xs:schema attributeFormDefault="qualified" elementFormDefault="qualified" targetNamespace="" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">Modify the classes with methods, properties, or fields, as necessary. For more information about modifying a class with attributes, see Controlling XML Serialization Using Attributes and Attributes That Control Encoded SOAP Serialization.
It is often useful to examine the schema of the XML stream that is generated when instances of a class (or classes) are serialized. For example, you might publish your schema for others to use, or you might compare it to a schema with which you are trying to achieve conformity.
To generate an XML Schema document from a set of classes
Compile the class or classes into a DLL.
Open a command prompt.
Pass the DLL as an argument to Xsd.exe, for example:
xsd MyFile.dllThe schema (or schemas) will be written, beginning with the name "schema0.xsd".
See Also
Tasks
How to: Serialize an Object
How to: Deserialize an Object
Reference
DataSet
XML Schema Definition Tool (Xsd.exe)
XmlSerializer
Concepts
The XML Schema Definition Tool and XML Serialization
Introducing XML Serialization