An any element declaration represents an XML element of any name and any type. HydraExpress can make no assumptions about the correct data binding for the contents of an any element. Therefore, HydraExpress maps an any declaration to the type mapped to xsd:string, typically std::string or RWCString. The unmarshal method of the class makes no attempt to interpret the content of the any element. The contents of that element are simply copied into the string. HydraExpress uses the name Any for an any element. The accessor for the element is named getAny and the mutator is named setAny.

If a complex type definition has an anyAttribute declaration, then any attributes that meet the specified criteria will be added to an attribute set. These attributes can be accessed and set using the getAnyAttribute() or setAnyAttribute() methods, respectively.