RE: What comes first, the schema or the document

> 
> The question is, when you are 'designing' a new xml 
> document/schema which do you do first ?
> 

I think it's very common for people to start with a sample instance and then
create a schema for it. In fact, the sample instance is often a better way
of communicating the structure than the schema itself.

Of course, with some structures, particularly recursive structures, you need
a set of examples showing different aspects of the model, you can't capture
everything in one instance. But examples are always easier to understand
than the formal rules, which means that instances are easier to understand
than schemas.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/