I am starting to learn XML (just finished Chapter 2 of Beginning XML), so I apologize for the basic question.


Is it possible to start a name with a dash when naming elements?


I was doing the Exercise Questions and I noticed that starting a name with a dash is not valid; however, the text (Beginning XML) stated that "names can start with letters (including non-Latin characters) or the dash (-) character, but not numbers or other punctuation characters."

Just curious.

Thanks.

They can start with an underscore (_) but not a dash (-), see http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/REC-xml-20...sec-common-syn

--

Joe (Microsoft MVP - XML)

An XML name can start with the Unicode character 5F (_) (commonly called Underscore, more correctly "Low line"). It cannot start with 2D (-) (correctly called "hyphen-minus"). There are various characters called Dash in Unicode including Figure Dash (2012), En Dash (2013), Em dash (2014), Swung dash (2053), and Wave dash (301C). As far as I can see all these are classified as punctuation, which means they cannot be used in names.

If Beginning XML refers to either of the hyphen-minus character or the low line character as a "dash" then I think you should send in a bug report.

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
Author, XSLT Programmer's Reference and XPath 2.0 Programmer's Reference

Thanks! I found those answers helpful.

mhkay: Good idea. I just submitted in an Errata Form. I linked back to this thread, because of the helpful answers.