The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is an open, general-purpose specification for creating markup languages. Its primary purpose is to help information systems share structured data, particularly via the Internet, and it is used both to encode documents and to serialize data. It is used in a wide variety of technical communication document formats, including Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, XHTML, DITA, DocBook, and RSS, among others.
#29304
Opening Open Formats with XSLT
This month I'm taking a break from covering XSLT 2.0 to describe how the combination of XSLT 1.0 and an application with an open XML format solved a problem for me. I solved this problem so quickly and easily that it got me thinking about how the combination of XSLT 1.0 and the increasing amount of open XML formats are opening up a world of simple, valuable new applications and utilities for us to write.
DuCharme, Bob. OpenOffice.org (2004). Articles>Information Design>XML>XSL
#26103
OpenOffice.org XML File Format
All OpenOffice.org applications use XML-based file formats. All applications (except Math) use the same format as defined in the specification. The Math component uses the package structure and format, but uses MathML inside the package.
Cover Pages (2005). Articles>Word Processing>XML>OpenOffice
#29301
The OpenOffice.org XML Project
The OpenOffice.org XML project is the home of of XML related features of OpenOffice.org, like its OASIS OpenDocument/ISO/IEC 26300 file format implementation. It further provides some XML base implementations, like XML parser and printer components.
OpenOffice.org (2005). Organizations>Writing>XML>OpenOffice
#22646
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
#28069
Overcoming Objections to XML-Based Authoring Systems
During a recent development effort, one of our clients was alarmed at the conversion costs of the proposed XML-based content management system compared to the existing MS Word-based process. This was just one instance of an alarming trend of balking at XML-based systems in favor of using public web folders, indexed by some full-text search engine, as part of a local intranet. In the short run, these edit, drop, and index solutions have some appealing features, including low development and conversion costs. But they are short-lived systems that either wither from lack of functionality or rapidly outgrow their design.
Buehling, Brian. XML.com (2001). Articles>Information Design>Software>XML
#31742
Paradigm Shifts are Never Pretty: Advice on Making the Move to XML Authoring
Most people are risk-averse, and profound changes such as the move to structured authoring require new skills and workflows. To ensure a successful transition, XML implementers need to assess their team members, identify allies, and build their implementation strategy around the staff members who embrace change.
O'Keefe, Sarah S. Content Wrangler, The (2008). Articles>Content Management>Project Management>XML
#26452
The JAXP API allows Java programmers easy access to the power and flexibility of XML parsing and filtering and XSLT transformation. However, while many programmers utilize JAXP for simple XML parsing or single-shot XSLT transformation, going further to construct processing pipelines often proves difficult.
Nichols, Thomas. IDEAlliance (2005). Articles>Information Design>Programming>XML
#27038
Pretty-Print XML Using a Generic Identity Stylesheet and Xalan
Sometimes your XML output from various programs is less than attractive. Spruce it up in a hurry with Xalan C++ and an identity transform.
O'Reilly and Associates (2005). Articles>Information Design>Style Sheets>XML
#30062
The Problem of Ingesting and Delivering Complex Objects from Digital Repositories 
The recent emergence of online digital archives has brought educators a major step closer to bringing original, reusable digital objects into undergraduate classrooms. Yet having to search multiple archives through mind-numbing search-and-browse routines can make it extremely difficult for educators to use the repositories successfully in their curriculum. What educators need is a suite of tools that allow them to reduce the search for relevance, expand the metadata with user-specific annotation, and tie the digital libraries' content directly to course materials. The keys to creating these resources are to build distributed networks of users and repositories. Cost containment often severely limits the amount of descriptive metadata that can be catalogued. Students and instructors create topical annotated bibliographies or lists of media clips (or segments of media clips) and 'publish' these for class, work group, or more general use. Allowing teachers and students to annotate and segment media as well as build their own galleries greatly enhance the educational value of digital objects by augmenting the minimal descriptive metadata and facilitating the building of complex digital objects tailored to the needs of specific education standards and curricula. The project uses a METS XML schema that provides an encoding format for administrative, descriptive, and structural metadata that is fully compliant with OAIS, and open source applications to facilitate ingestion and delivery (as well as help to control costs).
Kornbluh, Mark, Jerry Goldman and Dean Rehberger. Michigan State University (2005). Articles>Information Design>Metadata>XML
#26040
Processing the Output Buffer with XSLT
This article shows an example of a technique mentioned in one of our recent articles. It uses the PHP output buffer in combination with XML as intermediate application layer. Ideally you should familiarize yourself with this concept first.
Opitz, Pascal. Content With Style (2005). Design>Web Design>XML>XSL
#21655
Programming Web Services with SOAP
The task of creating and deploying web services is really not all that difficult, nor is it all that different than what developers currently do in more traditional web applications. The tendency on all platforms is to automate more and more of the gory details and tedious work in creating web services. Most programmers don't need to know the exact details of encodings and envelopes; instead, they'll simply use a SOAP toolkit such as those described here.
Snell, James, Doug Tidwell and Pavel Kulchenko. O'Reilly and Associates (2001). Design>Web Design>Programming>XML
#30784
Publishing XML Content with XSL 
How do you convert your application-neutral, vendor-neutral, unformatted XML content into paginated content (such as PDF) or HTML? O'Keefe introduces one solution: the Extensible Stylesheet Language, a programming language for processing XML.
O'Keefe, Sarah S. Intercom (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML>XSL
#21656
Python and XML are two very different animals, each with a rich history. Python is a full-scale programming language that has grown from scripting world roots in a very organic way, through the vision and guidance of Python's inventor, Guido van Rossum. Guido continues to take into account the needs of Python developers as Python matures. XML, on the other hand, though strongly impacted by the ideas of a small cadre of visionaries, has grown from standards-committee roots. It has seen both quiet adoption and wrenching battles over its future. Why bother putting the two technologies together?
Jones, Christopher A. and Fred L. Drake. O'Reilly and Associates (2001). Articles>Information Design>Programming>XML
#20263
The W3C’s XHTML language is intended to bridge the web’s past (HTML) and future (XML). Shall we cross this bridge, now that we’ve come to it? Or is XHTML more trouble than it’s worth? Peter-Paul Koch puts forth the pros and cons.
Koch, Peter-Paul. List Apart, A (2000). Design>Web Design>XML>XHTML
#25849
RELAX NG is a simple schema language for XML, based on RELAX and TREX. A RELAX NG schema specifies a pattern for the structure and content of an XML document. A RELAX NG schema thus identifies a class of XML documents consisting of those documents that match the pattern. A RELAX NG schema is itself an XML document.
RELAX NG (1997). Articles>Information Design>Standards>XML
#24091
One of the key differentiations between compositors and simple patterns is that compositors are patterns that don’t directly map to any individual element withinthe schema. I emphasize this distinction because it can be easy to forget when focusing on a schema instead of the instance document.
van der Vlist, Eric. O'Reilly and Associates (2003). Articles>Information Design>XML
#21000
Resource Description Framework (RDF)
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) integrates a variety of applications from library catalogs and world-wide directories to syndication and aggregation of news, software, and content to personal collections of music, photos, and events using XML as an interchange syntax. The RDF specifications provide a lightweight ontology system to support the exchange of knowledge on the Web.
W3C (2003). Resources>Information Design>Standards>XML
#27672
Review: Review of Cladonia Exchanger XML Editor
This article is a review of the Exchanger XML Editor version 3.2 from the Cladonia company. Being such a broad field, the XML Editor category is necessarily far-reaching, and can cover both database management systems and authoring tools. For this reason, this review narrows the scope by looking at the suitability of Exchanger for use by technical communicators and Help authors to create and edit manuals, user guides and Help systems. Much of the focus of this article is therefore on the software's suitability for DocBook or DITA authoring, and its appropriateness for users without coding skills.
#21089
A directory of more than 100 online resources about RSS (Really Simple Syndication).
#20735
RSS Primer for Knowledge Base Publishers
RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is an XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Print and Web publishers such as BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, and ZDNet use it to distribute stock tickers, sport scores, weather reports, news headlines and other information.
Montague Institute Review (2003). Articles>Information Design>XML>RSS
#31396
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
#29961
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
Tidwell, Doug. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>XML>XSL
#21626
XML syntax is just the foundation for data interoperability. The next step is semantic transparency. Some groups are working to address this by defining entire document formats to be adopted wholesale, while other groups are working on ways to express common terminology and concepts at a more granular level. In this installment, Uche Ogbuji looks at XML Topic Maps Published Subjects and Universal Data Element Framework (UDEF), two ideas that take the granular approach by seeking to provide anchors in the semantic stream.
Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2003). Design>Information Design>XML>Metadata
#21003
This document is not intended to teach you RDF via my own words, but rather to hand-hold you through the 'good' parts of the same journey I took. If it looks like a big link-list with menial comments from the peanut gallery, then you're not far off the mark of my intent. This is by no means definitive, nor was that the goal.
Disobey.com (2003). Articles>Information Design>Metadata>XML
#28070
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Made Simple
Even if you're wrapping a legacy application, you'll need a service description that other web services applications can use. Of course, there are many data-binding tools available that are, for example, capable of turning a Java class into an XML Schema or a Windows-compatible wizard with a "generate WSDL" button. But even then, you'll have to give those descriptions to others, the tools may have bugs (surprising, I know, but it's been known to happen), or you'll need to hand-tweak the generated files because a particular customer "just wants the namespace or URL changed." At that point, you don't want to have to burn the midnight oil with a copy of the WSDL and Schema specs in hand and the generated WSDL file on your screen.
Salz, Rich. XML.com (2005). Articles>Information Design>XML
