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Thursday, September 29, 2005

XML Promises and Challenges

AlphaOne Technology Low Cost Web Hosting Services & Professional Web Design has found this great article by Ror Sabo to be useful. You can find this article, as well as over 900 other articles helpful to webmasters in our free webmaster tools area.


XML Born XML (Extensible Markup Language) 1.0 standard was published February 10, 1998.
XML was born from the shortcomings of SGML [Structured Generalized Markup Language] which was hugely complex, massively flexible and just plain hard to work with for many developers. XML has taken off because it has all the best of SGML without many of the weakness.

XML Goal
XML took us beyond mere presentation of information and into the realm of representation of information. This content is not just a mass of data to be rendered solely for viewing on a web browser. Now the content could be structured and the meaning attached to this structure could be transmitted as well.

HTML's difficulties:
1- HTML does not reveal anything about the information to which HTML tags are applied. HTML tag names don't describe what content is, they only imply how content appears. For example the html tag "Microsoft" appears on a web browser but HTML can not tell is it a computer corporation? A Software? A Brand name?
2- Web applications relied too much on scripts at the server to process the data. This makes the web slow and contributes to internet traffic.
3- You can't add new tags to HTML Language that are meaningful and useful.
4- HTML is a presentation technology only.

XML Success
The Java technology, enables browsers to function as generalized application platforms. The result is True platform independence. XML provides information rich in metadata specified in a standard format, XML and Java technology make it possible for more of an application's

work to be processed at a client side. This contrasts with the tendency of HTML pages to rely on a script back at the server. With XML and Java technology, more client-based application processing could reduce network and internet traffic, making the web faster.

XML challenges
Converting any information from a display format such as HTML, RTF, MIF, or PostScript to a structured format like XML will require that you understand what your information really contains. This requires a document analysis and the determination of information semantics on which different parts of your enterprise rely. Many enterprises in different business sectors have established industry standard information models that can be expressed in XML and, more importantly, can be shared.

Once the relevant information models and their expressions in XML are constructed, the effort to convert existing information into the XML format can proceed. It may or may not be painful, depending on the condition of the existing documents. These efforts can be done in house, or they can be completed with the help of qualified consultants.

XML Resources:
Easy XML is a simple XML editor that aids in the rapid building of XML applications.
Microsoft XML for SQL Web allows you to query database tables and receive the results as an XML document.

Microsoft XML Notepad is a simple HTML prototyping application for building and editing small sets of XML-based data.

Microsoft XML Validation Tool checks that an XML file is well formed.

XML Spy is a powerful XML editor.

XMetaL
is an advanced, simple-to-deploy XML authoring tool that delivers an unprecedented ease of use.

More XML Tools

XML Free Tutorial:
A lot of free tutorial can be found on Softlookup.com Free Online Tutorial
Click Here for Free XML Tutorial

1- Introduction to XML
What is XML, and how does it differ from HTML?
How XML can be used Some of the different ways XML can be used.

2-XML Syntax
The simple and very strict syntax rules of XML.

3-XML Elements
XML Elements, relationships, content and naming rules.

4-XML Attributes
How XML attributes can be used to describe elements, or to provide additional information about elements.

5-XML Validation
The difference between a well Formed and a Valid XML document and how a DTD is used to
define the XML document.

6-XML support in Netscape and Explorer
About the support for XML in the two most famous browsers.

7-Viewing XML in Internet Explorer
How to use Internet Explorer to view an XML file.

8-Displaying XML with CSS
How to use Internet Explorer and CSS to display an XML file.

9-Displaying XML with XSL
How to use Internet Explorer and XSL to display an XML file.

10-XML embedded in HTML
How to embed XML inside HTML documents.

11-The Microsoft XML Parser
How to use the Microsoft XML parser to open and manipulate XML documents.

12-XML in Real Life
This is where we take a look at some real life use of XML.

13-XML Namespaces
How to avoid element name conflicts using XML namespaces.

14-XML CDATA
How to tell an XML parser not to parse the text.

15-XML Encoding
How to encode your XML documents.

16-XML Server
How to generate XML on the server.

17-XML Applications
How you can use IE to navigate an XML file and how to create a complete XML application.

18-XML HTTP Requests
How to request XML from a server using HTTP.

19-Behaviors for HTML and XML
How the new CSS behavior selector can be used to create dynamic content.

20-XML Technologies
XML technologies that are important to the understanding and development of XML
applications.

About the author:
Softlookup.com Your free online Resources for software and Hardware Drivers in addition to Free online tutorial

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