XML For Dummies
4th Edition
Published on 20. May 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-7645-8845-7 (ISBN)
Description
See how XML works for business needs and RSS feeds
Create consistency on the Web, or tag your data for different purposes
Tag -- XML is it! XML tags let you share your format as well as your data, and this handy guide will show you how. You'll soon be using this markup language to create everything from Web sites to business forms, discovering schemas and DOCTYPES, wandering the Xpath, teaming up XML with Office 2003, and more.
Discover how to
* Make information portable
* Use XML with Word 2003
* Store different types of data
* Convert HTML documents to XHTML
* Add CSS to XML
* Understand and use DTDs
Create consistency on the Web, or tag your data for different purposes
Tag -- XML is it! XML tags let you share your format as well as your data, and this handy guide will show you how. You'll soon be using this markup language to create everything from Web sites to business forms, discovering schemas and DOCTYPES, wandering the Xpath, teaming up XML with Office 2003, and more.
Discover how to
* Make information portable
* Use XML with Word 2003
* Store different types of data
* Convert HTML documents to XHTML
* Add CSS to XML
* Understand and use DTDs
More details
Edition
4th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Screen captures: 30 B&W, 0 Color
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 191 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
719 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7645-8845-7 (9780764588457)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Lucinda Dykes | Ed Tittel
XML For Dummies
E-Book
05/2011
4th Edition
Wiley
€20.99
Available for download
Lucinda Dykes | Ed Tittel
XML For Dummies
E-Book
05/2005
4th Edition
Wiley
€20.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Ed Tittel | Tittel | Tittel
XML for Dummies
Book
06/2002
3rd Edition
Hungry Minds Inc,U.S.
€43.51
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
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.
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.
Content
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book Is Organized 4
Part I: XML Basics 4
Part II: XML and the Web 4
Part III: Building in Validation with DTDs and Schemas 5
Part IV: Transforming and Processing XML 6
Part V: XML Application Development 6
Part VI: The Part of Tens 7
Glossary 7
Icons Used in This Book 7
Where to Go from Here 8
Part I: XML Basics 9
Chapter 1: Getting to Know XML 11
XML (eXtreMely cooL) 12
Mocking up your own markup 12
Separating data and context 12
Making information portable 13
XML means business 13
Figuring Out What XML Is Good For 14
Classifying information 14
Enforcing rules on your data 15
Outputting information in a variety of ways 16
Using the same data across platforms 17
Beyond the Hype: What XML Isn't 18
It's not just for Web pages anymore 19
It's not a database 20
It's not a programming language 20
Building XML Documents 21
Chapter 2: Using XML for Many Purposes 23
Moving Legacy Data to XML 23
The Many Faces of XML 24
Creating XML-enabled Web pages 24
Print publishing with XML 25
Using XML for business forms 28
Incorporating XML into business processes 29
Serving up XML from a database 31
Alphabet Soup: Even More XML 31
Chapter 3: Slicing and Dicing Data Categories: The Art of Taxonomy 33
Taking Stock of Your Data 33
Looking at business practices and partners 34
Gathering some content 34
Checking whether a DTD or schema already exists 35
Searching for a schema repository 36
Breaking Down Data in Different Ways 37
Winnowing out the wheat from the chaff 38
Types of data that can be stored in XML 39
Developing Your Taxonomy 39
Testing Your Taxonomy 41
Using trial and error for the best fit 41
Testing your content analysis 42
Looking Ahead to Validation 43
Part II: XML and the Web 45
Chapter 4: Adding XHTML for the Web 47
HTML, XML, and XHTML 47
What HTML does best 48
The limits of HTML 49
Comparing XML and HTML 50
Using XML to describe data 51
The benefits of using HTML 53
The benefits of using XML 53
XHTML Makes the Move to XML Syntax 54
Making the switch 55
Every element must be closed 56
Empty elements must be formatted correctly 56
Tags must be properly nested 57
Case makes a difference 57
Attribute values are in quotation marks 58
Converting a document from HTML to XHTML 59
The Role of DOCTYPE Declarations 62
Chapter 5: Putting Together an XML File 65
Anatomy of an XML File 65
The XML declaration 67
Marking up your content 68
Playing by the Rules: Well-Formed Documents 74
Adding Style for the Web 76
Seeking Validation with DTD and XML Schema 78
Why describe XML documents? 79
Choosing between DTD and XML Schema 80
Chapter 6: Adding Character(s) to XML 83
About Character Encodings 84
Introducing Unicode 85
Character Sets, Fonts, Scripts, and Glyphs 87
For Each Character, a Code 88
Key Character Sets 89
Using Unicode Characters 91
Finding Character Entity Information 93
Chapter 7: Handling Formatting with CSS 95
Viewing XML on the Web with CSS 96
Basic CSS Formatting: CSS1 97
The Icing on the Cake: CSS2 98
Building a CSS Stylesheet 98
Adding CSS to XML 99
A simple CSS stylesheet for XML 101
Dissecting a simple CSS stylesheet 102
Linking CSS and XML 106
Adding CSS to XSLT 107
Part III: Building In Validation with DTDs and Schemas 109
Chapter 8: Understanding and Using DTDs 111
What's a DTD? 112
When to use a DTD 113
When NOT to use a DTD 113
Inspecting the XML Prolog 114
Examining the XML declaration 115
Discovering the DOCTYPE 116
Understanding comments 116
Processing instructions 117
How about that white space? 117
Reading a DTD 118
Using Element Declarations 119
Using the EMPTY element type and the ANY element type 120
Adding mixed content 121
Using element content models 122
Declaring Attributes 123
Discovering Entities 125
General entities 126
Parameter entities 128
Understanding Notations 130
Calling a DTD 131
Internal DTDs 131
External DTDs 132
When to use an internal or external DTD 133
Chapter 9: Understanding and Using XML Schema 135
What's an XML Schema? 136
So Many Datatypes, So Little Time 138
XML Prolog 139
Document Structures 141
Element declarations 141
Attribute declarations 144
Attribute groups 144
What about that white space? 145
Datatype Declarations 148
Simple datatypes 148
Complex datatypes 149
Defining constraints and value checks 149
Dealing with Entities, Notations, and More 150
Annotations 151
Deciding When to Use a Schema 152
Referencing XML Schema Documents 153
The inside view: Referencing a schema in an XML document 153
Calling for outside support: Referencing external schemas in your schema 153
Double-Checking Your Schemas and Documents 155
Chapter 10: Building a Custom XML Schema 157
Doing the Validity Rag 157
Step 1: Understanding Your Data 159
Step 2: Being the Root of All Structure: Elements 159
Step 3: Building Content Models 161
Step 4: Using Attributes to Shed Light on Data Structure 163
Step 5: Using Datatype Declarations to Define What's What 164
Tricks of the Trade 167
Creating a Simple Schema 168
Using a Schema with an XML File in Word 2003 170
Chapter 11: Modifying an Existing Schema 173
Trading Control for Flexibility 174
Eliciting Markup from an XML Schema 174
Modifying a Schema 176
Using Datatypes Effectively 177
Using datatypes with data-intensive content 177
Using datatypes with text-intensive content 179
Making Elements Work Wisely and Well 180
Creating crafty content models 180
A matter of selection 181
Mixing up the order 183
Using Complex Datatypes 183
When XML Schemas Collide: Namespaces 185
Including External Data 188
Including/Excluding Document Content 188
Converting DTDs to Schemas 190
Part IV: Transforming and Processing XML 195
Chapter 12: Handling Transformations with XSL 197
The Two Faces of XSL 198
Xslt 198
Xsl-fo 200
XSL Stylesheets Are XML Documents 201
A Simple Transformation Using XSLT 202
An XSLT Stylesheet for Converting XML to HTML 202
The pieces of the stylesheet puzzle 205
Processing element content 207
Dealing with repeating elements 209
Creating an XSLT Stylesheet with XSLT Editors 210
Chapter 13: The XML Path Language 215
Why Do You Need Directions? 216
XPath document trees 217
Understanding XPath nodes 218
XPath Directions and Destinations 220
XPath Syntax 221
Some simple location paths 222
Adding expressions 223
Taking steps along the XPath 223
Looking at attributes 224
Going backward 224
Reversing direction 225
Null results 225
Getting back to your roots 226
XPath functions 226
Using XPath with XMLSpy 226
The Short Version 228
Child-axis abbreviations 229
Attribute-axis abbreviation 229
Predicate and expression abbreviations 229
Some more abbreviations 230
What's New in XPath 2.0? 231
Where to Now? 233
Chapter 14: Processing XML 235
Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a DOM 235
Keeping in touch with the family 238
Understanding DOM structure 238
What Goes In Must Come Out: Processing XML 240
So many processors, so little time 242
Which processor is right for you? 243
Part V: XML Application Development 245
Chapter 15: Using XML with Web Services 247
What's Up with Web Services? 248
A Web Services Architecture 251
Transport: Moving XML messages 252
Packaging/Extensions: Managing information exchange 253
Description: Specifying services and related components 254
Discovery: Finding what's available 255
Where Will Web Services Lead? 256
Chapter 16: XML and Forms 259
Collecting Information with Forms: The Basics 260
HTML Forms 260
XML Forms 261
XForms 261
InfoPath 267
Chapter 17: Serving Up the Data: XML and Databases 271
Using Databases with XML 272
Text-intensive XML 272
Data-intensive XML 273
Creating XML from Database Files 273
Using Word 2003 274
Using InfoPath 275
Using XMLSpy 278
Using XML with Access 2003 281
Chapter 18: XML and RSS 285
Introducing RSS 286
Sorting Out the Versions 286
RSS 0.9x 287
Rss 2.0/2.01 290
Rss 1.0 291
Validating an RSS Feed 295
Creating RSS Feeds 296
Get Syndicated! 297
Using an RSS Reader 298
Part VI: The Part of Tens 299
Chapter 19: XML Tools and Technologies 301
Creating Documents with Authoring Tools 301
Epic Editor 302
Turbo XML v2.4.1 303
XMetaL Author 4.5 303
XML Pro v2.0.1 303
XML Spy 2005 304
Checking Documents with Parser Tools 304
AElfred 305
expat 306
Lark 306
Viewing with XML Browsers 307
Amaya 307
Internet Explorer 6 307
Mozilla 308
Firefox 1.0 308
Opera 308
Using XML Parsers and Engines 309
XML C Library for Gnome 309
Java XML Pack 310
Xerces 310
Employing Conversion Tools 311
HTML Tidy 311
Extensible Programming Script (XPS) 311
The Ultimate XML Grab Bag and Goodie Box 312
Microsoft does XML, too! 312
webMethods automates XML excellence 312
Chapter 20: Ten Top XML Applications 313
Xhtml = Xml + Html 314
XML Style Is a Matter of Application 314
Wireless Markup Language (WML) 314
DocBook, Anyone? 315
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) 315
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 316
Resource Description Framework (RDF) 316
Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 317
Servin' Up Web Services 317
XQuery 318
Create XML Applications with Zope 319
Chapter 21: Ten Ultimate XML Resources 321
XML's Many and Marvelous Specs 321
An XML Nonpareil 322
XML in the Mail 323
Excellent XML Examples at zvon.org 323
XML News and Information 323
XML Training Options 324
Building a Bodacious XML Bookshelf 325
Studying XML for Certification 326
Serious Searches Lead to Success 327
Glossary 329
Index 347
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book Is Organized 4
Part I: XML Basics 4
Part II: XML and the Web 4
Part III: Building in Validation with DTDs and Schemas 5
Part IV: Transforming and Processing XML 6
Part V: XML Application Development 6
Part VI: The Part of Tens 7
Glossary 7
Icons Used in This Book 7
Where to Go from Here 8
Part I: XML Basics 9
Chapter 1: Getting to Know XML 11
XML (eXtreMely cooL) 12
Mocking up your own markup 12
Separating data and context 12
Making information portable 13
XML means business 13
Figuring Out What XML Is Good For 14
Classifying information 14
Enforcing rules on your data 15
Outputting information in a variety of ways 16
Using the same data across platforms 17
Beyond the Hype: What XML Isn't 18
It's not just for Web pages anymore 19
It's not a database 20
It's not a programming language 20
Building XML Documents 21
Chapter 2: Using XML for Many Purposes 23
Moving Legacy Data to XML 23
The Many Faces of XML 24
Creating XML-enabled Web pages 24
Print publishing with XML 25
Using XML for business forms 28
Incorporating XML into business processes 29
Serving up XML from a database 31
Alphabet Soup: Even More XML 31
Chapter 3: Slicing and Dicing Data Categories: The Art of Taxonomy 33
Taking Stock of Your Data 33
Looking at business practices and partners 34
Gathering some content 34
Checking whether a DTD or schema already exists 35
Searching for a schema repository 36
Breaking Down Data in Different Ways 37
Winnowing out the wheat from the chaff 38
Types of data that can be stored in XML 39
Developing Your Taxonomy 39
Testing Your Taxonomy 41
Using trial and error for the best fit 41
Testing your content analysis 42
Looking Ahead to Validation 43
Part II: XML and the Web 45
Chapter 4: Adding XHTML for the Web 47
HTML, XML, and XHTML 47
What HTML does best 48
The limits of HTML 49
Comparing XML and HTML 50
Using XML to describe data 51
The benefits of using HTML 53
The benefits of using XML 53
XHTML Makes the Move to XML Syntax 54
Making the switch 55
Every element must be closed 56
Empty elements must be formatted correctly 56
Tags must be properly nested 57
Case makes a difference 57
Attribute values are in quotation marks 58
Converting a document from HTML to XHTML 59
The Role of DOCTYPE Declarations 62
Chapter 5: Putting Together an XML File 65
Anatomy of an XML File 65
The XML declaration 67
Marking up your content 68
Playing by the Rules: Well-Formed Documents 74
Adding Style for the Web 76
Seeking Validation with DTD and XML Schema 78
Why describe XML documents? 79
Choosing between DTD and XML Schema 80
Chapter 6: Adding Character(s) to XML 83
About Character Encodings 84
Introducing Unicode 85
Character Sets, Fonts, Scripts, and Glyphs 87
For Each Character, a Code 88
Key Character Sets 89
Using Unicode Characters 91
Finding Character Entity Information 93
Chapter 7: Handling Formatting with CSS 95
Viewing XML on the Web with CSS 96
Basic CSS Formatting: CSS1 97
The Icing on the Cake: CSS2 98
Building a CSS Stylesheet 98
Adding CSS to XML 99
A simple CSS stylesheet for XML 101
Dissecting a simple CSS stylesheet 102
Linking CSS and XML 106
Adding CSS to XSLT 107
Part III: Building In Validation with DTDs and Schemas 109
Chapter 8: Understanding and Using DTDs 111
What's a DTD? 112
When to use a DTD 113
When NOT to use a DTD 113
Inspecting the XML Prolog 114
Examining the XML declaration 115
Discovering the DOCTYPE 116
Understanding comments 116
Processing instructions 117
How about that white space? 117
Reading a DTD 118
Using Element Declarations 119
Using the EMPTY element type and the ANY element type 120
Adding mixed content 121
Using element content models 122
Declaring Attributes 123
Discovering Entities 125
General entities 126
Parameter entities 128
Understanding Notations 130
Calling a DTD 131
Internal DTDs 131
External DTDs 132
When to use an internal or external DTD 133
Chapter 9: Understanding and Using XML Schema 135
What's an XML Schema? 136
So Many Datatypes, So Little Time 138
XML Prolog 139
Document Structures 141
Element declarations 141
Attribute declarations 144
Attribute groups 144
What about that white space? 145
Datatype Declarations 148
Simple datatypes 148
Complex datatypes 149
Defining constraints and value checks 149
Dealing with Entities, Notations, and More 150
Annotations 151
Deciding When to Use a Schema 152
Referencing XML Schema Documents 153
The inside view: Referencing a schema in an XML document 153
Calling for outside support: Referencing external schemas in your schema 153
Double-Checking Your Schemas and Documents 155
Chapter 10: Building a Custom XML Schema 157
Doing the Validity Rag 157
Step 1: Understanding Your Data 159
Step 2: Being the Root of All Structure: Elements 159
Step 3: Building Content Models 161
Step 4: Using Attributes to Shed Light on Data Structure 163
Step 5: Using Datatype Declarations to Define What's What 164
Tricks of the Trade 167
Creating a Simple Schema 168
Using a Schema with an XML File in Word 2003 170
Chapter 11: Modifying an Existing Schema 173
Trading Control for Flexibility 174
Eliciting Markup from an XML Schema 174
Modifying a Schema 176
Using Datatypes Effectively 177
Using datatypes with data-intensive content 177
Using datatypes with text-intensive content 179
Making Elements Work Wisely and Well 180
Creating crafty content models 180
A matter of selection 181
Mixing up the order 183
Using Complex Datatypes 183
When XML Schemas Collide: Namespaces 185
Including External Data 188
Including/Excluding Document Content 188
Converting DTDs to Schemas 190
Part IV: Transforming and Processing XML 195
Chapter 12: Handling Transformations with XSL 197
The Two Faces of XSL 198
Xslt 198
Xsl-fo 200
XSL Stylesheets Are XML Documents 201
A Simple Transformation Using XSLT 202
An XSLT Stylesheet for Converting XML to HTML 202
The pieces of the stylesheet puzzle 205
Processing element content 207
Dealing with repeating elements 209
Creating an XSLT Stylesheet with XSLT Editors 210
Chapter 13: The XML Path Language 215
Why Do You Need Directions? 216
XPath document trees 217
Understanding XPath nodes 218
XPath Directions and Destinations 220
XPath Syntax 221
Some simple location paths 222
Adding expressions 223
Taking steps along the XPath 223
Looking at attributes 224
Going backward 224
Reversing direction 225
Null results 225
Getting back to your roots 226
XPath functions 226
Using XPath with XMLSpy 226
The Short Version 228
Child-axis abbreviations 229
Attribute-axis abbreviation 229
Predicate and expression abbreviations 229
Some more abbreviations 230
What's New in XPath 2.0? 231
Where to Now? 233
Chapter 14: Processing XML 235
Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a DOM 235
Keeping in touch with the family 238
Understanding DOM structure 238
What Goes In Must Come Out: Processing XML 240
So many processors, so little time 242
Which processor is right for you? 243
Part V: XML Application Development 245
Chapter 15: Using XML with Web Services 247
What's Up with Web Services? 248
A Web Services Architecture 251
Transport: Moving XML messages 252
Packaging/Extensions: Managing information exchange 253
Description: Specifying services and related components 254
Discovery: Finding what's available 255
Where Will Web Services Lead? 256
Chapter 16: XML and Forms 259
Collecting Information with Forms: The Basics 260
HTML Forms 260
XML Forms 261
XForms 261
InfoPath 267
Chapter 17: Serving Up the Data: XML and Databases 271
Using Databases with XML 272
Text-intensive XML 272
Data-intensive XML 273
Creating XML from Database Files 273
Using Word 2003 274
Using InfoPath 275
Using XMLSpy 278
Using XML with Access 2003 281
Chapter 18: XML and RSS 285
Introducing RSS 286
Sorting Out the Versions 286
RSS 0.9x 287
Rss 2.0/2.01 290
Rss 1.0 291
Validating an RSS Feed 295
Creating RSS Feeds 296
Get Syndicated! 297
Using an RSS Reader 298
Part VI: The Part of Tens 299
Chapter 19: XML Tools and Technologies 301
Creating Documents with Authoring Tools 301
Epic Editor 302
Turbo XML v2.4.1 303
XMetaL Author 4.5 303
XML Pro v2.0.1 303
XML Spy 2005 304
Checking Documents with Parser Tools 304
AElfred 305
expat 306
Lark 306
Viewing with XML Browsers 307
Amaya 307
Internet Explorer 6 307
Mozilla 308
Firefox 1.0 308
Opera 308
Using XML Parsers and Engines 309
XML C Library for Gnome 309
Java XML Pack 310
Xerces 310
Employing Conversion Tools 311
HTML Tidy 311
Extensible Programming Script (XPS) 311
The Ultimate XML Grab Bag and Goodie Box 312
Microsoft does XML, too! 312
webMethods automates XML excellence 312
Chapter 20: Ten Top XML Applications 313
Xhtml = Xml + Html 314
XML Style Is a Matter of Application 314
Wireless Markup Language (WML) 314
DocBook, Anyone? 315
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) 315
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 316
Resource Description Framework (RDF) 316
Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 317
Servin' Up Web Services 317
XQuery 318
Create XML Applications with Zope 319
Chapter 21: Ten Ultimate XML Resources 321
XML's Many and Marvelous Specs 321
An XML Nonpareil 322
XML in the Mail 323
Excellent XML Examples at zvon.org 323
XML News and Information 323
XML Training Options 324
Building a Bodacious XML Bookshelf 325
Studying XML for Certification 326
Serious Searches Lead to Success 327
Glossary 329
Index 347