Besides collection of child elements each XML-item may contain any set of attributes. Each attribute is a name-value pair. XML attributes should be located inside the openning mark-up of the element, just between element-name and '>' symbol. The usage of attributes may lead the element to be empty, e.g has no children. XML-document below is utilizing attributes.

<!-- file: sample.xml -->
<?xml version="1.0"?>

Attribute are convenient when it is necessary to set some primitive (non-complex) value.

<purchase-order date="2005-10-31" number="12345">

	<purchased-by name="My name">
		<!--
			since address may be too complex for attribute
			value, we place it to a dedicated element
		-->
		<address>My address</address>
	</purchased-by>

	<order-items>
		<!--
			here is an example of empty element
			i.e. containing no nested elements
		-->
		<item code="687" type="CD" label="Some music" />
		<item code="129851" type="DVD" label="Some video"/>
	</order-items>

</purchase-order>

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