In this course, you'll get an in-depth look at the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and discover why it is so dominant in modern applications. You will learn how to create and parse XML documents, validate documents with Document Type Definitions (DTDs), and transform documents using the eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

What You'll Learn

• Role of XML in modern applications
• Create well-formed XML documents
• Create internal and external DTDs
• Master the XML Schema syntax
• Create both CSS and XSL stylesheets
• XML name spaces
• Build data-driven XML applications

Who Needs to Attend

Web development professionals who would like to learn how to program using XML.

Prerequisites

• XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets
• Introduction to JavaScript: DOM Scripting

Follow-On Courses

There are no follow-ons for this course.

Course Outline

1. Introduction to XML

• Overview
• The development of XML
• Why XML?

2. XML and Browser Compatibility

• Microsoft and XML extensions
• Why use a browser to display XML?

3. Examining an XML Application

• The components of an XML application
• Completing an HTML "wrapper"

4. XML Syntax

• XML logical structure
• XML physical structure
• XML logic: Designing datasheets
• Building a well-formed XML document from text data
• XML attributes revisited
• Why use attributes?
• An introduction to our demo application
• Adding attributes to your XML datasheet

5. Document Type Definitions (DTDs)

• Example: A basic DTD
• Validating against your DTDs
• Adding an internal DTD to your XML datasheet
• External DTDs
• Public vs. system DTDs
• Creating an external DTD and linking it to your XML datasheet

6. XML Namespaces and XML Schemas

• Referencing an XML schema
• The "xsi" namespace
• An XML schema document
• Beginning a schema document
• Mixed content
• Validating against a schema
• Beginning an XML schema document
• Declaring attributes
• Adding attributes to your schema
• Using references to simplify your schema
• Restricting content with schemas
• Specifying default values
• Restricting the content of elements and attributes

7. Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to Present XML Data

• A brief review of CSS rules
• Displaying XML data with a CSS style sheet

8. Extensible Style Sheet Language (XSL)

• XSL, XSLT, and XSLFO
• XSL basics: Linking to an XSL style sheet
• Examining an XSL style sheet
• Beginning an XSL style sheet
• xsl:apply-templates and iterative content
• XPath: XSL node matching syntax
• Displaying iterative data with your XSL style sheet
• Using xsl:sort to re-sort your display
• Adding a sort order to your XSL
• Generating hyperlinks with XSL
• Loops with XSL
• Adding an xsl:for-each loop to your style sheet

9. Displaying Complex Structures with XSL

• Building an HTML table with XSL

10. Conditional Logic in XSL

• xsl:if for conditional output
• Multi-option branching with xsl:choose, xsl:when, and xsl:otherwise
• Conditional operators in XSL
• Using XSL conditionals to identify Oscar winners

11. XPath Expressions and XSL Functions

• XPath expressions and filters
• Using XPath filtering expressions
• Aggregate functions
• Adding aggregate functions to your style sheet
• Data conversion, calculations, and variables
• Variables in XSL and the xsl:variable tag
• Translating meters to feet using XSL
• Calculations and number formatting functions
• Using XSL calculations to produce feet and inches

12. Building the HTML Front End to XML Data

• Data islands and the HTML <XML> tag
• Creating an HTML wrapper for your movie list application

13. Dynamic XSL Changes

• Using XSL updating to re-sort XML data

14. Using XSL to Produce New XML

• Producing a datasheet organized by film rather than by actor

15. Incorporating CSS with XSL; The XML DOM

• Partial searches with JavaScript
• Accessing the XML DOM tree with JavaScript
• Building a tree display of your XML content