An XML Tutorial for Everyone

So, your company has decided to implement XML. You are tasked with figuring out exactly how, when, and why. For starters, you should find out what XML is and what you can do with it. This tutorial serves to explain the basics of XML documents. Once you understand what they are, it can help you know the how, when, and why. XML fits into a lot of places. It can replace, or work with, other technologies. It can be used instead of, or to supplement, scripts. It can work with databases, or on its own to store readable content. Before you dive into what XML might do, it can help if you learn a little more about it.

Bright Path Solutions (2005). Articles>Information Design>XML

XMLIreland Special Interest Group

The Irish XML Special Interest Group, is an informal, not-for-profit trade association, whose members subscribe to an electronic forum and attend monthly events on topics surrounding XML.

XMLIreland. Organizations>Information Design>XML>Ireland

XQuery

XQuery speeds up the process of finding information contained in an XML document, which is very handy when dealing with long XML documents. This article, the first of two parts, will teach you how to write XQuery expressions.

Dev Articles (2006). Articles>Information Design>Databases>XML

XQuery, Concluded

XQuery speeds up the process of finding information contained in an XML document -- which is very handy when dealing with long XML documents. This article, the second of two parts, will teach you how to write XQuery expressions.

Dev Articles (2006). Articles>Information Design>Databases>XML

XQuery Your Office Documents

New office document standards like the OpenDocument Format(ODF) and Office Open XML (OOXML), however, are making office document integration in business processes a reality. A key benefit of ODF and OOXML for developers is the reuse of existing standards.

Van Cappellen, Marc. Dr. Dobb's Journal (2007). Design>Information Design>Software>XML

DITA Backlash?

I have seen a couple of blog postings lately that underscore the statement that DITA is not for everyone or for every situation.

Rockley Group, The (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA

Choosing an XML Schema

DocBook and DITA both have their places. They're both excellent for single sourcing. DocBook is better for what I call monolithic single sourcing, while DITA is better suited for discrete single sourcing.

Communications from DMN (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML

A Day at the DITA CIDM Conference

I went to the Content Management Strategies/DITA North America 2008 conference (put on by CIDM), which took place in Santa Clara last week. While I went to support our co-founder's speech on DocBook versus DITA, I also used this opportunity to catch up with software vendors and single-source users. Here's my top #10 take-away list.

Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA

Converting to XML: Some Point-Form Pros and Cons

I have recently converted some user documents from MS Word to XML for a medical device company with the intent that they would be looking at authoring their future end-user documentation (printed, embedded, and online) in XML. I want to share with you some of the triumphs and challenges we had met along the way.

Stuhlemmer, Barbara. ClearComm Information Design (2007). Articles>Information Design>XML>Case Studies

DITA: From the Perspective of Someone Actually Using It

In this podcast, Marlene Martineau of New Dawn Technologies explains why they adopted DITA, how they adopted it, the benefits they're experiencing, and the reasons why she'll never go back.

Martineau, Marlene. Tech Writer Voices (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA

Moving from Information Mapping to DITA    

Is your company making the move from Information Mapping to DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture)? The author compares and contrasts the two methods and shares insight on how to ease the pain of switching from one to the other.

Hughes, Michael A. Intercom (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>DITA