XML For Dummies

Lucinda Dykes started her career in a high-tech area of medicine, but left medicine to pursue her interests in technology and the Web. She has been writing code and developing Web sites since 1994, and also teaches and develops online courses — including the JavaScript courses for the International Webmasters Association/HTML Writers’ Guild at www.eclasses.org.Lucinda has authored, co-authored, edited, and been a contributing author to numerous computer books; the most recent include Dreamweaver MX 2004 Savvy (Sybex), XML for Dummies (3rd Edition, Wiley), Dreamweaver MX Fireworks MX Savvy (Sybex), XML Schemas (Sybex), and Mastering XHTML (Sybex). When she can manage to move herself away from her keyboard, other interests include holographic technologies, science fiction, and Bollywood movies. Ed Tittel is a 23-year veteran of the computing industry. After spending his first seven years in harness writing code, Ed switched to the softer side of the business as a trainer and talking head. A freelance writer since 1986, Ed has written hundreds of magazine and Web articles — and worked on over 100 computer books, including numerous For Dummies titles on topics that include several Windows versions, NetWare, HTML, XHTML, and XML.Ed is also Technology Editor for Certification Magazine, writes for numerous TechTarget Web sites, and writes a twice-monthly newsletter, “Must Know News,” for CramSession.com. In his spare time, Ed likes to shoot pool, cook, and spend time with his wife Dina and his son Gregory. He also likes to explore the world away from the keyboard with his trusty Labrador retriever, Blackie. Ed can be contacted at etittel@yahoo.com.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book Is Organized 4Part I: XML Basics 4Part II: XML and the Web 4Part III: Building in Validation with DTDs and Schemas 5Part IV: Transforming and Processing XML 6Part V: XML Application Development 6Part VI: The Part of Tens 7Glossary 7Icons Used in This Book 7Where to Go from Here 8Part I: XML Basics 9Chapter 1: Getting to Know XML 11XML (eXtreMely cooL) 12Mocking up your own markup 12Separating data and context 12Making information portable 13XML means business 13Figuring Out What XML Is Good For 14Classifying information 14Enforcing rules on your data 15Outputting information in a variety of ways 16Using the same data across platforms 17Beyond the Hype: What XML Isn’t 18It’s not just for Web pages anymore 19It’s not a database 20It’s not a programming language 20Building XML Documents 21Chapter 2: Using XML for Many Purposes 23Moving Legacy Data to XML 23The Many Faces of XML 24Creating XML-enabled Web pages 24Print publishing with XML 25Using XML for business forms 28Incorporating XML into business processes 29Serving up XML from a database 31Alphabet Soup: Even More XML 31Chapter 3: Slicing and Dicing Data Categories: The Art of Taxonomy 33Taking Stock of Your Data 33Looking at business practices and partners 34Gathering some content 34Checking whether a DTD or schema already exists 35Searching for a schema repository 36Breaking Down Data in Different Ways 37Winnowing out the wheat from the chaff 38Types of data that can be stored in XML 39Developing Your Taxonomy 39Testing Your Taxonomy 41Using trial and error for the best fit 41Testing your content analysis 42Looking Ahead to Validation 43Part II: XML and the Web 45Chapter 4: Adding XHTML for the Web 47HTML, XML, and XHTML 47What HTML does best 48The limits of HTML 49Comparing XML and HTML 50Using XML to describe data 51The benefits of using HTML 53The benefits of using XML 53XHTML Makes the Move to XML Syntax 54Making the switch 55Every element must be closed 56Empty elements must be formatted correctly 56Tags must be properly nested 57Case makes a difference 57Attribute values are in quotation marks 58Converting a document from HTML to XHTML 59The Role of DOCTYPE Declarations 62Chapter 5: Putting Together an XML File 65Anatomy of an XML File 65The XML declaration 67Marking up your content 68Playing by the Rules: Well-Formed Documents 74Adding Style for the Web 76Seeking Validation with DTD and XML Schema 78Why describe XML documents? 79Choosing between DTD and XML Schema 80Chapter 6: Adding Character(s) to XML 83About Character Encodings 84Introducing Unicode 85Character Sets, Fonts, Scripts, and Glyphs 87For Each Character, a Code 88Key Character Sets 89Using Unicode Characters 91Finding Character Entity Information 93Chapter 7: Handling Formatting with CSS 95Viewing XML on the Web with CSS 96Basic CSS Formatting: CSS1 97The Icing on the Cake: CSS2 98Building a CSS Stylesheet 98Adding CSS to XML 99A simple CSS stylesheet for XML 101Dissecting a simple CSS stylesheet 102Linking CSS and XML 106Adding CSS to XSLT 107Part III: Building In Validation with DTDs and Schemas 109Chapter 8: Understanding and Using DTDs 111What’s a DTD? 112When to use a DTD 113When NOT to use a DTD 113Inspecting the XML Prolog 114Examining the XML declaration 115Discovering the DOCTYPE 116Understanding comments 116Processing instructions 117How about that white space? 117Reading a DTD 118Using Element Declarations 119Using the EMPTY element type and the ANY element type 120Adding mixed content 121Using element content models 122Declaring Attributes 123Discovering Entities 125General entities 126Parameter entities 128Understanding Notations 130Calling a DTD 131Internal DTDs 131External DTDs 132When to use an internal or external DTD 133Chapter 9: Understanding and Using XML Schema 135What’s an XML Schema? 136So Many Datatypes, So Little Time 138XML Prolog 139Document Structures 141Element declarations 141Attribute declarations 144Attribute groups 144What about that white space? 145Datatype Declarations 148Simple datatypes 148Complex datatypes 149Defining constraints and value checks 149Dealing with Entities, Notations, and More 150Annotations 151Deciding When to Use a Schema 152Referencing XML Schema Documents 153The inside view: Referencing a schema in an XML document 153Calling for outside support: Referencing external schemas in your schema 153Double-Checking Your Schemas and Documents 155Chapter 10: Building a Custom XML Schema 157Doing the Validity Rag 157Step 1: Understanding Your Data 159Step 2: Being the Root of All Structure: Elements 159Step 3: Building Content Models 161Step 4: Using Attributes to Shed Light on Data Structure 163Step 5: Using Datatype Declarations to Define What’s What 164Tricks of the Trade 167Creating a Simple Schema 168Using a Schema with an XML File in Word 2003 170Chapter 11: Modifying an Existing Schema 173Trading Control for Flexibility 174Eliciting Markup from an XML Schema 174Modifying a Schema 176Using Datatypes Effectively 177Using datatypes with data-intensive content 177Using datatypes with text-intensive content 179Making Elements Work Wisely and Well 180Creating crafty content models 180A matter of selection 181Mixing up the order 183Using Complex Datatypes 183When XML Schemas Collide: Namespaces 185Including External Data 188Including/Excluding Document Content 188Converting DTDs to Schemas 190Part IV: Transforming and Processing XML 195Chapter 12: Handling Transformations with XSL 197The Two Faces of XSL 198Xslt 198Xsl-fo 200XSL Stylesheets Are XML Documents 201A Simple Transformation Using XSLT 202An XSLT Stylesheet for Converting XML to HTML 202The pieces of the stylesheet puzzle 205Processing element content 207Dealing with repeating elements 209Creating an XSLT Stylesheet with XSLT Editors 210Chapter 13: The XML Path Language 215Why Do You Need Directions? 216XPath document trees 217Understanding XPath nodes 218XPath Directions and Destinations 220XPath Syntax 221Some simple location paths 222Adding expressions 223Taking steps along the XPath 223Looking at attributes 224Going backward 224Reversing direction 225Null results 225Getting back to your roots 226XPath functions 226Using XPath with XMLSpy 226The Short Version 228Child-axis abbreviations 229Attribute-axis abbreviation 229Predicate and expression abbreviations 229Some more abbreviations 230What’s New in XPath 2.0? 231Where to Now? 233Chapter 14: Processing XML 235Frankly, My Dear, I Don’t Give a DOM 235Keeping in touch with the family 238Understanding DOM structure 238What Goes In Must Come Out: Processing XML 240So many processors, so little time 242Which processor is right for you? 243Part V: XML Application Development 245Chapter 15: Using XML with Web Services 247What’s Up with Web Services? 248A Web Services Architecture 251Transport: Moving XML messages 252Packaging/Extensions: Managing information exchange 253Description: Specifying services and related components 254Discovery: Finding what’s available 255Where Will Web Services Lead? 256Chapter 16: XML and Forms 259Collecting Information with Forms: The Basics 260HTML Forms 260XML Forms 261XForms 261InfoPath 267Chapter 17: Serving Up the Data: XML and Databases 271Using Databases with XML 272Text-intensive XML 272Data-intensive XML 273Creating XML from Database Files 273Using Word 2003 274Using InfoPath 275Using XMLSpy 278Using XML with Access 2003 281Chapter 18: XML and RSS 285Introducing RSS 286Sorting Out the Versions 286RSS 0.9x 287Rss 2.0/2.01 290Rss 1.0 291Validating an RSS Feed 295Creating RSS Feeds 296Get Syndicated! 297Using an RSS Reader 298Part VI: The Part of Tens 299Chapter 19: XML Tools and Technologies 301Creating Documents with Authoring Tools 301Epic Editor 302Turbo XML v2.4.1 303XMetaL Author 4.5 303XML Pro v2.0.1 303XML Spy 2005 304Checking Documents with Parser Tools 304Ælfred 305expat 306Lark 306Viewing with XML Browsers 307Amaya 307Internet Explorer 6 307Mozilla 308Firefox 1.0 308Opera 308Using XML Parsers and Engines 309XML C Library for Gnome 309Java XML Pack 310Xerces 310Employing Conversion Tools 311HTML Tidy 311Extensible Programming Script (XPS) 311The Ultimate XML Grab Bag and Goodie Box 312Microsoft does XML, too! 312webMethods automates XML excellence 312Chapter 20: Ten Top XML Applications 313Xhtml = Xml + Html 314XML Style Is a Matter of Application 314Wireless Markup Language (WML) 314DocBook, Anyone? 315Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) 315Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 316Resource Description Framework (RDF) 316Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 317Servin’ Up Web Services 317XQuery 318Create XML Applications with Zope 319Chapter 21: Ten Ultimate XML Resources 321XML’s Many and Marvelous Specs 321An XML Nonpareil 322XML in the Mail 323Excellent XML Examples at zvon.org 323XML News and Information 323XML Training Options 324Building a Bodacious XML Bookshelf 325Studying XML for Certification 326Serious Searches Lead to Success 327Glossary 329Index 347