Assemble a Cross-Platform Firefox Extension

XUL is a surprisingly easy way to build cross-platform browser extensions or even stand-alone applications. Discover how to build powerful, flexible Mozilla browser extensions that go beyond the capabilities of other tools like embedded scripting languages or CGI--because they're built right into the user's browser.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>Web Browsers

Building the Semantic Web

In the information age it is widely understood that there is now too much information. Some of this newly created information will most certainly be valuable, but despite marked improvement in search tools, finding the valuable information is a slow panhandle. Perhaps in light of this situation, the W3C under the direction of Berners-Lee has begun to build the foundation for the next phase of the web. This phase, called the Semantic Web, will make information stored with this technology much more processible by machines.

Emonds-Banfield, Peter. Orange Journal, The (2002). Articles>Web Design>XML>Metadata

Calling a Web Service Using VB6 with SOAP 3.0

This article shows you how to create a client that calls a web service from Visual Basic 6 using SOAP 3.0. If you are still using Microsoft VB 6.0 or C++ and don't plan to move into VB.NET, you will find this method very useful.

Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. ASP Free (2006). Articles>Web Design>XML>SOAP

Convert Atom Documents to JSON

Converting an Atom document to JSON might, at first, appear to be a fairly straightforward task. Atom is, after all, just a bit of XML and XML-to-JSON conversion tools are widely available. However, the Atom format is more than just a set of XML elements and attributes. A number of subtle details can make proper handling of Atom difficult. This article describes those issues and demonstrates a mechanism implemented by the Apache Abdera project to convert Atom documents into JSON and produces a result that is readable, usable, and complete.

Snell, James. IBM (2008). Articles>Web Design>XML>Ajax

Deep XML

At the recent XML conference, Norm Walsh hosted a nocturne on Practical RDF, the highlight of which was his tour through thenorman.walsh.name setup. From the outside you may think this is a mere blog, but it’s actually a side-effect of a frighteningly gnarly confluence of metadata streams which are shaken and stirred to produce a sprawling network of resources a small part of which you might want to peruse for Norm’s news & views. I have a picture that made the audience at the session gasp in disbelief.

Bray, Tim. Deep XML (2003). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>XML

Firefox 2.0 and XML

Firefox 2.0 brought several important changes in its XML support. It's currently reaching its peak in user deployment. Learn about updated XML features in Firefox 2.0, including a controversial change to the handling of RSS Web feeds.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>Web Browsers

httplib2: HTTP Persistence and Authentication

In this latest Restful Web column, Joe Gregorio explains HTTP persistent connections, pipelining, and the sad state of HTTP authentication.

Gregorio, Joe. XML.com (2006). Articles>Web Design>XML>Security

Introduction to RSS

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML format for news headlines. With RSS-enabled feeds, other web sites can easily include your content in their sites. And other applications (besides web browsers) can be used to view your content.

Duffy, Scott. XGuru (2003). Articles>Web Design>XML>RSS

The Organized Web

This document discusses the evolution of the Internet from an unorganized collection of web pages to an organized collection of data. It outlines how XML is at the center of that transformation, and how organizations can take advantage of this evolution with the development of web based services.

Duffy, Scott. XGuru (2001). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>XML

RSS, Search Engine Visibility and Brand Perception

Branding has been called the most powerful idea in business, yet few companies consciously craft and promote their brand. Making a brand visible to an online audience can be an additional challenge. Studies show that searchers regard the companies that are placed on the first page of search engine results as the major players in the field. So how do you get the coveted page-one positioning? New technologies like RSS feeds are one way to accomplish this and make your brand more visible in the process.

Falkow, Sally. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Web Design>XML>Search Engine Optimization

Save Time and Code with XPath 2.0 and XSLT 2.0

Three interesting new features in XPath 2.0 and XSLT 2.0 are the item data type, the to operator, and the concept of sequences. Build a sample application that uses these features to generate a sophisticated HTML view of an XML document, and with the new features in XSLT 2.0, create shorter stylesheets that are easier to maintain. Along the way, spend a bit of time on data typing in XSLT 2.0, and learn to use the new element.

Tidwell, Doug. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>XML>XSL

Transformers: Using XSLT to Transform XML

XSLT, the Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation, can convert your XML data to HTML and other friendly formats. Introduce yourself to this snazzy technology.

Eisenberg, J. David. List Apart, A (2001). Articles>Web Design>XML

Up and Atom

Atom is really two different things, both related to syndication (blogs, newsfeeds, and other information which gets updated periodically). The Atom Syndication Format is an IETF standard for publishing entries (single topics or items) and feeds (collections of topics or items). The Atom Publication Protocol (sometimes called the Atom API or abbreviated APP) is a means for finding, listing, adding, editing, and removing content from an Atom repository. While Atom the Syndication Format has gone through the IETF process to become a standard, the standards committee is still at work on Atom the Publishing Protocol, although it seems likely that much of it has stabilized at this point.

Elza, Dethe and David Mertz. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>XML>RSS

Visual Authoring With XML Data

Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 supports two workflows when authoring with XML: client-side authoring with complete XSLT template pages and server-side with XSLT fragments. The client-side option is available from the Start page.

Adobe (2005). Articles>Web Design>XML>Dreamweaver

The Wisdom of Crowds Meets the Wisdom of Authors: How XML Enables the Semantic Web

Combining semantic markup with a granular authoring approach like DITA holds a lot of promise for content creators and consumers alike. Content becomes easy to define and even easier to discover. The combination also holds a lot of promise for the future of the Semantic Web itself. In fact, creating the Semantic Web might be as easy as authoring content in DITA.

Wlodarczyk, Paul. XML.org (2008). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>XML

XML Data Binding

XML became an integral part of Microsoft's strategy around the time of Internet Explorer 4. IE4 was an XML-aware browser. As well as displaying HTML documents, it could also display XML documents through an inbuilt XML parser. Another part of IE4 was something known as the XML DSO (Data Source Object). The XML DSO allows you to manipulate primitive XML 'data islands' by binding (or attaching) the XML data to HTML presentation elements. The XML elements within Internet Explorer continue to be improved and added to with every new IE release.

Self, Tony. HyperWrite (2006). Articles>Information Design>XML>Web Browsers

XML in Firefox 1.5, Part 1: Overview of XML Features

The open source Firefox Web browser continues to grow in popularity. Users like the security and convenience features it offers. Developers like the Firefox attention to standards compliance, inherited from its Mozilla roots. The most recent version, Firefox 1.5, comes with many features for XML developers, including XML parsing, XHTML, CSS, XSLT, SVG, XML Events in JavaScriptâ„¢, and XForms. Additional third-party extensions provide even more XML support. In this article, Uche Ogbuji provides an overview of XML features in Firefox 1.5.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2006). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>XML

XML in Firefox 1.5, Part 2: Basic XML Processing

This second article in the series, "XML in Firefox 1.5," focuses on basic XML processing. Firefox supports XML parsing, Cascading Stylesheets (CSS), and XSLT stylesheets.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2006). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>XML

XML Processing in Ajax, Part 1: Four Approaches

Any programming problem can be solved in multiple right ways. This series looks at four approaches for creating an Asynchronous JavaScript + XML (Ajax) weather badge, a small reusable widget that's easily embedded on any Web page. This first article lays the foundation and examines the first approach--walking the DOM tree.

Pruett, Mark. IBM (2008). Articles>Web Design>XML>Ajax

XML: One Input, Many Outputs  

Hillesund (2002) argues that XML does not and cannot fulfil the often touted benefit that it allows authors and publishers to create documents that can be effectively presented in a variety of formats; that the 'doctrine of 'one input â*” many outputs' ... is basically wrong.' This Letter defends the position that XML is an effective technology, in fact the most effective technology in widespread use, for producing multiple output formats from a single input document.

Walsh, Norman. Journal of Digital Information (2003). Articles>Web Design>XML

An Introduction to RELAX NG

RELAX NG is not a capitalized misspelling of something you probably get to do all too rarely as a busy programmer and web designer. If you use XML to any great degree, you'll want to take a close look at it. It can help make your life as a web developer easier, allowing you to relax a little more.

McCullough, Peyton. Dev Articles (2008). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>XML

Providing Options in RELAX NG

XML schemas don't have to be rigid. Sometimes, it's best to provide flexibility and allow the author of XML documents to make choices. In this second part of a three-part article, we'll make some modifications to the schema we created in the first part, and learn how to make some things optional.

McCullough, Peyton. Dev Articles (2008). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>XML

Datatypes and More in RELAX NG

Welcome to the third part of a three-part series on RELAX NG. In this part, we will discuss datatypes, the grammar element, and creating named patterns.

McCullough, Peyton. Dev Articles (2008). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>XML

jQuery and XML Revisited

In releasing jQuery v.1.2, a decision was made by the development team to drop XPath support from the core. Instead, an officially released XPath jQuery plugin is now available, which provides deprecated functionality. Although initially disappointed by this decision, I was happy to discover that alternative methods for obtaining data from an XML file are still available without the plugin.

Reindel, Brian. d'bug (2008). Articles>Web Design>XML>Ajax

Microformat Encoding and Visualization

So you have heard about microformats, read the introductory articles, and even bought the book. But now you are probably thinking "great - I have done my part to make the web a better place by adding microformats; what's next? What can people do with my data besides add it to their address book or calendar?" The intent of this article is to get you to think about microformats in different ways, and to demonstrate some interesting visualizations and mash-ups of microformatted content.

Suda, Brian. Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>XML>Metadata