getLocalName vs. getNodeName

Is it correct to assume that the getLocalName method will return null  
on a DOMElement object unless a Schema has been specified?  For a very  
simple XML test file, getNodeName returns what it should, however  
getLocalName returns null.  Testing with an XML file for which the  
Schema is supplied, getLocalName works fine.

Otherwise, is there any other reason why this might be happening?

thanks!
-lev