Using XML/XSL for Web Publication

In this article, we look at the problem of Web publication, a process which concerns all enterprises having to send and receive information. What makes XML the technical solution to content syndication? How can the XML/XSL couple facilitate multi-channel publication? We will illustrate this last point using an example near and dear to our hearts, the publication of TrendMarkers e-newsletter.

Gallard, Samuel. Intranet Journal. Design>Web Design>XML

Using XSL in Internet Explorer 5  

Dann explains the workings of a simple Extensible Style Language (XSL) stylesheet capable of displaying an Extensible Markup Language (XML) user procedure in Internet Explorer 5.

Dann, Peter. Intercom (2001). Design>Web Design>XML>XSL

Validating XML: A Pretty Complete Primer

XML does not come with a spell checker, and will not work if written improperly. Eisenberg teaches you two nifty ways to validate your XML.

Eisenberg, J. David. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Web Design>XML

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

What the Hell is XML?

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is the Eurodollar of web development. Both XML and the Euro bring order to chaos; both offer undeniable, wide-ranging benefits; both are poised, in 2002, to change the way we do things. Frankly, both scare the crap out of people. For web developers, 2002 is a time to conquer fears and take their first hands-on approach to XML. It's time to examine XML and realize the practical benefits that it can provide to web projects today. The bankers can fend for themselves.

Janisch, Troy. List Apart, A (2002). Design>Web Design>Information Design>XML

The Why and How of XML Data Islands

This article explains a useful way to embed data in an HTML document, and store it on the client, using XML. With XML becoming ever more pervasive and the client side implementation gaining a lot of ground, you will probably find yourself using this technique in many projects.

Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. Dev Articles (2006). Design>Web Design>Information Design>XML

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

X Marks the Spot

An explanation of how one writer is using XML to produce documentation and why it's such a great idea.

Skeet, Michael. IRTC (2001). Design>Web Design>XML

XML 1.1 and Namespaces 1.1 Revealed

Explains what XML 1.1 and Namespaces 1.1 are about, what changes they bring, and how they affect other specs and users.

Le Hors, Arnaud. IBM (1999). Design>Web Design>XML

XML Accessibility Guidelines

This document provides guidelines for designing Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications that lower barriers to Web accessibility for people with disabilities (visual, hearing, physical, cognitive, and neurological). XML, used to design applications such as XHTML, SMIL, and SVG, provides no intrinsic guarantee of the accessibility of those applications. This document explains how to include features in XML applications that promote accessibility.

W3C (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>XML

XML and Accessibility

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a meta-syntax, used to create new languages. It can be seen as a simplification of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), designed to promote a wider acceptance in Web markets, but serving the same functionality of extensibility and new language design. XML is therefore not to be seen as a replacement of HTML, but as a new building layer, usage examples of which are: XHTML (for general HyperText content). Furthermore, it is important to understand that XML is not only a User Interface technology (like HTML), but can and is often used in protocol communication, to serialize and encode data to be sent from one machine to another.

Franklin, Tom. TechDis (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>XML

XML and Browsers

Now you should know what XML is for and how to write a basic XML document. In this part I will show you how to create a full XML document and load it in a browser, as well and the different ways it can be displayed.

Gowans, David. Free Webmaster Help (2001). Design>Web Design>XML>Web Browsers

XML as Intermediate Application Layer

In this article I want to share my thoughts on techniques for keeping our code XML-based - so there's no need to get your hands dirty in your application code to change the markup that is rendered afterwards.

Opitz, Pascal. Content with Style (2005). Design>Web Design>Server Side Includes>XML

XML Basics and FAQ  

The World Wide Web Consortium, the standards body for all web technologies, describes XML as a “method for putting structured data in a text file” (See www.w3.org/XML/1999/XML-in-10-points.) That’s accurate, but doesn’t really describe what XML is. This session will attempt to cover the basics of what XML is and answer the questions most frequently asked by technical writers.

Manning, Steve. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>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 Brief

XML is the acronym for the extensible markup language. According to the W3C, it is 'the universal format for structured documents and data on the Web'. The following list explains what XML is and what it is not.

Helo, Julia and Betsy Kent. Carolina Communique (1999). Design>Web Design>Standards>XML

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 Structures for Existing Databases

Relational databases are a mature technology, which, as they have evolved, have enabled users to model complex relationships between data that they need to store. In this chapter, we will see how to model some of the complex data structures that are stored in relational databases in XML documents. To do this, we will be looking at some database structures, and then creating content models using XML DTDs. We will also show some sample content for the data in XML to illustrate this. In the process, we will come up with a set of guidelines that will prove helpful when creating XML models for relational data.

Williams, Kevin, Michael Brundage, Patrick Dengler, Jeff Gabriel, Andy Hoskinson, Michael Kay, Thomas Maxwell, Marcelo Ochoa, Johnny Papa and Mohan Vanman. VBXML (2002). Design>Information Design>XML>Web Design

XML Tips

Extensible Markup Language, or XML, is currently the most promising language for storing and exchanging information on the World Wide Web. Although Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is presently the most common language used to create Web pages, HTML has a limited capacity for storing information. In contrast, because XML allows you to create your own elements, attributes, and document structure, you can use it to describe virtually any kind of information—from a simple recipe to a complex database. And an XML document—in conjunction with a style sheet or a conventional HTML page—can be easily displayed in a Web browser.

Young, Michael J. mjy Online. Design>Web Design>Standards>XML

XML Topic Maps By the Book

Topic Maps provide a system for organizing information, and XML Topic Maps bring this system to the world of XML. In this article, Uche Ogbuji examines XML Topic Maps, introducing the technology in the course of reviewing a key book on the topic.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>XML

XML Transformations with CSS and DOM

Mozilla permits XML to be rendered in the browser with CSS, and manipulated with the DOM. This is a real boon to those of us eager to experiment with XML transformations (both visual and structural) without having to delve into unfamiliar technologies such as XPath, the verbose traversal language of XSLT. If you’re already familiar with CSS and DOM, you’re more than halfway to achieving XML transformations in Mozilla.

Apple Inc. (2006). Design>Web Design>XML>CSS

XML: Better Grist from a Better Mill?

In a world of documentation acronyms — ASCII, ANSI, SGML, HTML, DTD, FOSI — I have recently been exposed to the current newcomer on the scene: Extensible Markup Language (XML). For the first time, I'm seriously impressed with the possibility of a true breakthrough documentation solution. I'm particularly impressed that, at last, the industry is thinking of documentation in a way that promises to be practical and useful to us all.

Vasdi, Peter. Writer's Block (1998). Design>Web Design>XML

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