XML Schema Date/Time Datatypes

XSD Date and Time Data Types

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Date and time data types are used for values that contain date and time.

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Date Data Type

The date data type is used to specify a date.

The date is specified in the following form "YYYY-MM-DD" where:

• YYYY indicates the year
• MM indicates the month
• DD indicates the day

Note: All components are required!

The following is an example of a date declaration in a schema:

<xs:element name="start" type="xs:date"/>

An element in your document might look like this:

<start>2002-09-24</start>

Time Zones

To specify a time zone, you can either enter a date in UTC time by adding a "Z" behind the date - like this:

<start>2002-09-24Z</start>

or you can specify an offset from the UTC time by adding a positive or negative time behind the date - like this:

<start>2002-09-24-06:00</start>

or

<start>2002-09-24+06:00</start>

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Time Data Type

The time data type is used to specify a time.

The time is specified in the following form "hh:mm:ss" where:

• hh indicates the hour
• mm indicates the minute
• ss indicates the second

Note: All components are required!

The following is an example of a time declaration in a schema:

<xs:element name="start" type="xs:time"/>

An element in your document might look like this:

<start>09:00:00</start>

Or it might look like this:

<start>09:30:10.5</start>

Time Zones

To specify a time zone, you can either enter a time in UTC time by adding a "Z" behind the time - like this:

<start>09:30:10Z</start>

or you can specify an offset from the UTC time by adding a positive or negative time behind the time - like this:

<start>09:30:10-06:00</start>

or

<start>09:30:10+06:00</start>

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DateTime Data Type

The dateTime data type is used to specify a date and a time.

The dateTime is specified in the following form "YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss" where:

• YYYY indicates the year
• MM indicates the month
• DD indicates the day
• T indicates the start of the required time section
• hh indicates the hour
• mm indicates the minute
• ss indicates the second

Note: All components are required!

The following is an example of a dateTime declaration in a schema:

<xs:element name="startdate" type="xs:dateTime"/>

An element in your document might look like this:

<startdate>2002-05-30T09:00:00</startdate>

Or it might look like this:

<startdate>2002-05-30T09:30:10.5</startdate>

Time Zones

To specify a time zone, you can either enter a dateTime in UTC time by adding a "Z" behind the time - like this:

<startdate>2002-05-30T09:30:10Z</startdate>

or you can specify an offset from the UTC time by adding a positive or negative time behind the time - like this:

<startdate>2002-05-30T09:30:10-06:00</startdate>

or

<startdate>2002-05-30T09:30:10+06:00</startdate>

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Duration Data Type

The duration data type is used to specify a time interval.

The time interval is specified in the following form "PnYnMnDTnHnMnS" where:

• P indicates the period (required)
• nY indicates the number of years
• nM indicates the number of months
• nD indicates the number of days
• T indicates the start of a time section (required if you are going to specify hours, minutes, or seconds)
• nH indicates the number of hours
• nM indicates the number of minutes
• nS indicates the number of seconds

The following is an example of a duration declaration in a schema:

<xs:element name="period" type="xs:duration"/>

An element in your document might look like this:

<period>P5Y</period>

The example above indicates a period of five years.

Or it might look like this:

<period>P5Y2M10D</period>

The example above indicates a period of five years, two months, and 10 days.

Or it might look like this:

<period>P5Y2M10DT15H</period>

The example above indicates a period of five years, two months, 10 days, and 15 hours.

Or it might look like this:

<period>PT15H</period>

The example above indicates a period of 15 hours.

Negative Duration

To specify a negative duration, enter a minus sign before the P:

<period>-P10D</period>

The example above indicates a period of minus 10 days.

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Date and Time Data Types

Name	Description
date	Defines a date value
dateTime	Defines a date and time value
duration	Defines a time interval
gDay	Defines a part of a date - the day (DD)
gMonth	Defines a part of a date - the month (MM)
gMonthDay	Defines a part of a date - the month and day (MM-DD)
gYear	Defines a part of a date - the year (YYYY)
gYearMonth	Defines a part of a date - the year and month (YYYY-MM)
time	Defines a time value

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Restrictions on Date Data Types

Restrictions that can be used with Date data types:

• enumeration
• maxExclusive
• maxInclusive
• minExclusive
• minInclusive
• pattern
• whiteSpace

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