XML Articles and Papers

The following list of articles and papers on XML represents a mixed collection of references: articles in professional journals, slide sets from presentations, press releases, articles in trade magazines, Usenet News postings, etc. Some are from experts and some are not; some are refereed and others are not; some are semi-technical and others are popular; some contain errors and others don't. Discretion is strongly advised. The articles are listed approximately in the reverse chronological order of their appearance. Publications covering specific XML applications may be referenced in the dedicated sections rather than in the following listing.

Cover, Robin. Cover Pages. Design>Information Design>XML

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 Authoring: Coming to a Desktop Near You

XML for use in technical publications is growing in popularity. As the author explains, technical writers are likely to become more and more involved in XML document production in the future. This article looks at the many benefits of XML authoring and the trend that's moving technical publications toward structured content.

Abel, Scott. Writing Assistance (2007). Articles>Content Management>XML>Technical Writing

XML Basics

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. XML is used to aid the exchange of data. The language makes it possible to define data in a structured way. XML tags are not predefined like HTML. XML lets you create your own unique tags that are meaningful for your data, hence the use of the term 'extensible.'

Zaman, Mamun. Dev Articles (2007). Articles>Information Design>Standards>XML

The XML Basics

XML was designed to be multi-lingual. Therefore, one is not restricted to only 7-bit ASCII characters when creating XML documents. Document authors can use the 16-bit+ Unicode 2.1 standard as well. As long as a mapping exists between the various DTDs for a particular international data file, one application could process data from many different languages at once.

Duffy, Scott. XGuru (2003). Design>Information Design>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.

Manning, Steve. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Information Design>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 Basics for Technical Communicators  

What is XML? Cross-platform, software and hardware independent tool for storing information. A subset of SGML. Its goal is to enable generic SGML to be served and processed on the Web in a way that is now possible with HTML. XML has been designed for ease of implementation and for interoperability with both SGML and HTML.

Pujar, Amit. STC India (2003). Presentations>Information Design>TC>XML

XML Basics: Reading and Writing

This chapter covers the two most important tasks in working with XML: reading it into memory and writing it out again. XML is a structured, predictable, and standard data storage format, and as such carries a price.

Ray, Erik T. and Jason McIntosh. O'Reilly and Associates (2002). Design>Information Design>Programming>XML

The XML Book Business

After spending a week of toil and labor in the Semantic Web mines, I've returned to the surface, to the sweetness and light of the XML developer community. And what do I find but a crisis about the XML part of the technical book publishing industry, as well as a monster thread about character entity names.

Clark, Kendall Grant. XML.com (2003). Articles>Publishing>Information Design>XML

XML Can Go to H***: One Designer's Experience with the "Future of Publishing"

Ask any guru about the next frontier in publishing and you'll hear the snazzy-sounding letters 'XML.' But according to Susan Glinert, who bears XML battle scars, the future is not bright. It boggles the mind that anyone bothered to invent a publishing solution that plunges both right- and left-brained people into absolute chaos.

Glinert, Susan. Creative Pro (2004). Articles>Information Design>XML

The XML Checklist  

Yates provides a checklist of requirements that managers can use to determine if XML is an appropriate technology for their technical writing departments.

Yates, Valerie I. Intercom (2002). Design>Information 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 Development Resources

XML will change the way you develop and integrate your databases.

Trytten, Chris. FileMaker Advisor (2002). Articles>Information Design>Databases>XML

XML Documentation: The Missing Link (1)

Technical documentation is a prime beneficiary of XML technology, with standards such as DocBook and DITA. However, while XML revolutionized the way technical documentation is written, it did nothing to help documentation teams improve the collaboration process with the SMEs and other invested parties. In some cases, things got worse, with another layer of complexity added between the documentation team and the documentation stakeholders. Where is the missing link?

Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Articles>Documentation>Software>XML

XML Documentation: The Missing Link (2)

Sharing XML documents during the writing and review process is a missing link in the XML publication chain. While Office or PDF applications help, they also add another extra-layer of complexity and lose the 'XML awareness' of our initial document. That's where LiveTechDocs comes into play.

Talbot, Fabrice. LiveTechDocs (2008). Articles>Documentation>Software>XML

XML Editors for Technical Documentation

Looking through my Programs folder, I see many programs I use to work with XML documentation. Which one is my favorite? Well, that depends on the size of my project, the size of my budget, and the file I am working on.

Mulvihill, Teresa. LiveTechDocs (2008). Articles>Documentation>Software>XML

XML Fever    

Don't let expectations or excitement about XML develop into a virulent strain of XML fever.

Wilde, Erik and Robert J. Glushko. Communications of the ACM (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML

XML Holds Potential to Transform Data Transport  

XML is a language for creating data-description languages.

Jorda, Craig. STC Four Lakes (2000). Presentations>Information Design>XML

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 in Motion: The Scalable Vector Graphic  

Introduces scalable vector graphic (SVG) format, a new, XML-based graphics format for the Web.

Altom, Timothy H. Intercom (2003). Design>Graphic Design>Software>XML

XML Internationalization and Localization FAQ

You will find here answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about XML internationalization and localization (including XSL, CSS, and other XML-related technologies).

OpenTag. Resources>Language>Localization>XML

XML is Like...

Maybe XML is more like a carcinogen. We don't notice it's there, but we're still getting exposed to it. In ever-increasing doses. But unlike a carcinogen, XML is not bad for our health; in fact, it has many life-enhancing properties. Well, work-enhancing properties.

HyperWrite (2006). Articles>Information Design>Standards>XML