Unit 9: Reading notes

Introduction to XML, by Martin Bryan

• XML = eXtensible Markup Language
• start and end of elements in documents are clearly marked
• XML is not a predefined set of tags like HTML
• flexible enough to use for any logical text structure
• "XML differs from other markup languages in that it does not simply indicate where a change of appearance occurs, or where a new element starts. XML sets out to clearly identify the boundaries of every part of a document, whether it be a new chapter, a piece of boilerplate text, or a reference to another publication."

Uche Ogbuji. A survey of XML standards: Part 1. January 2004

• "All the technologies I present here are standards, although that word is itself a bit slippery. Standards come in all forms, and multiple standards often compete in the same space. I follow the practical approach of defining a standard as any specification that is significantly adopted by a diversity of vendors, or is recommended by a respectable, vendor-neutral organization."
• This article was a bit over my head, but it would be a good resource to come back to if I was confronted with an XML standard I didn't know much about.
• This article is also a good source for tutorials and additional resources on XML

Extending your Markup: a XML tutorial by Andre Bergholz

• "Both SGML and HTML heavily influenced the development of the Extensible Markup Language (XML), a semantic language that lets you meaningfully annotate text. Meaningful annotation is, in essence, what XML is all about." This puts XML in context better than the previous articles.
• DTD = document type definition
• example of a prologue:
• These examples more clearly illustrate the functions of XML

XML Schema Tutorial

• "The purpose of an XML Schema is to define the legal building blocks of an XML document, just like a DTD."
• XML Schemas are written in XML and secure data communication by standardizing elements
• Must conform to XML syntax rules
• Schema element: