Element cannot have character [children], because the type's content type is element-only

Question

I tried validating my XML file with a XSD file but I get the following error message:

[Error]: cvc-complex-type.2.3: Element \'paragraph\' cannot ha

Answer 1

This is precisely the purpose of mixed content:

    <xs:element name="paragraph" maxOccurs="unbounded">
      <xs:complexType mixed="true">

And:

    <xs:element name="definition" maxOccurs="unbounded">
      <xs:complexType mixed="true">

Note that you also probably want paragraph and definition to be in a xs:choice macOccurs="unbounded" given your XML.

Here's your XSD updated with all changes needed so that your XML will be valid:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <xs:element name="biography">
    <xs:complexType>
      <xs:choice maxOccurs="unbounded">
        <xs:element name="paragraph">
          <xs:complexType mixed="true">
            <xs:sequence>
              <xs:element name="name">
                <xs:complexType>
                  <xs:sequence>
                    <xs:element name="first_name" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"></xs:element>
                    <xs:element name="last_name" type="xs:string"></xs:element>
                  </xs:sequence>
                </xs:complexType>
              </xs:element>
              <xs:element name="emphasize" maxOccurs="unbounded" minOccurs="0" type="xs:string"></xs:element>
              <xs:element name="profession" maxOccurs="unbounded" minOccurs="0" type="xs:string"></xs:element>
              <xs:element name="date" minOccurs="0">
                <xs:complexType mixed="true">
                  <xs:sequence>
                    <xs:element name="month" type="xs:string"></xs:element>
                    <xs:element name="day" type="xs:int"></xs:element>
                    <xs:element name="year" type="xs:int"></xs:element>
                  </xs:sequence>
                </xs:complexType>
              </xs:element>
            </xs:sequence>
          </xs:complexType>
        </xs:element>
        <xs:element name="definition">
          <xs:complexType mixed="true">
            <xs:sequence>
              <xs:element name="term" type="xs:string"></xs:element>
            </xs:sequence>
          </xs:complexType>
        </xs:element>
      </xs:choice>
    </xs:complexType>
  </xs:element>
</xs:schema>

Answer 2

For me This error happen because of the strange character in the xml When I compared two files with similar data in "BeyondCompare" tool I found unknown character which is not visible. Open faulty file in "Visual Studio Code" it showed me some special characters.

When I copy pasted the string in online tools to find special characters, I found that is a special character  (&#65279).

Because of this character, I got above error. It took two weeks to find solution.