---
title: "About the <code class=\"codeph\">subAttribute</code> element"
description: A subAttribute element has the following XML attributes:
component: pingdirectory
version: 10.1
page_id: pingdirectory:pingdirectory_server_administration_guide:pd_ds_subattribute_element
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/10.1/pingdirectory_server_administration_guide/pd_ds_subattribute_element.html
revdate: July 5, 2024
---

# About the `subAttribute` element

A `subAttribute` element has the following XML attributes:

* `name`: a required element specifying the name of the sub-attribute.

* `readOnly`: an optional attribute indicating whether the SCIM sub-attribute is not allowed to be updated by the SCIM service consumer. The default value is false.

* `required`: an optional attribute indicating whether the SCIM sub-attribute is required to be present in the SCIM attribute. The default value is false.

* `dataType`: a required attribute specifying the simple data type for the SCIM sub-attribute. The following values are permitted: binary, boolean, dateTime, integer, string.

* `caseExact`: an optional attribute that is only applicable for string data types. It indicates whether comparisons between two string values use a case-exact match or a case-ignore match. The default value is false.

A `subAttribute` element contains the following XML elements in sequence:

* `description`: a required element describing the sub-attribute.

* `mapping`: an optional element specifying a mapping between the SCIM sub-attribute and an LDAP attribute. This element is not applicable within the `complexMultiValued` element.