Global element declarations, global type definitions: These are element declarations/type definitions that are immediate children of Local element declarations, local type definitions: These are element declarations/type definitions that are nested within other elements/types.

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        So what if an element or type is global or local.  What practical impact does it have?
        Answer: only global elements/types can be referenced (i.e., reused).  Thus, if an element/type is local then it is effectively invisible to the rest of the schema (and to other schemas).