XML Programming

THE COURSE
The course takes the delegate from XML at introductionary level through validating XML and manipulation of XML data up to transformation of XML data into various data presentation formats, focusing less on the appearance and structure of XML but more on how and why it is used.

All the key areas of XML are covered, with plenty of hands-on opportunities to create functional XML documents, working schemas, DOM manipulation via scripting methods and creation of custom XSLT stylesheets to format and present data as an XHTML document.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Programmers and developers who need to understand the fundamentals of XML and how this technology integrates into the IT environment, including those working in data exchange, B2B communication, information publishing, and the Internet. Web developers seeking to maximise benefits of application interoperability via XML.

PRE-REQUISITES
Delegates should have a strong grounding in HTML or SGML, for example from attending our HTML Foundation course. CSS and client-side scripting languages (javascript/VBscript) are used briefly on the course - familiarity with these is an advantage, but not assumed.

Delegates should also feel confident in a web development environment, being familiar with browsers and basic editors.

COURSE TOPICS
INTRODUCTION TO XML
Introduction
Historical Background
XML Concepts
Benefits of XML
XML alongside HTML
The XML Environment

XML DOCUMENT SYNTAX
Writing XML
XML Document Structure
Elements, Tags and Content
Elements, Attributes and Values
Character Data
Processing Instructions
Comments
Well-Formed XML
XHTML Syntax

VALIDATION AND DTDS
Validating Documents
Document Type Definitions
DTD Elements
DTD Attributes
Conditional Sections
The HTML DTD

STYLING AND CSS
Styling XML Documents
CSS - Cascading Stylesheets
Styling and XHTML

SCHEMAS AND NAMESPACES
Data Structuring with Schemas
XML Namespaces
Namespace Declarations
Using Namespaces
XML SCHEMA AND XSD
Introduction to XML Schemas
XSD Elements
XSD Data Types
Facets - Constraining Values
XSD Attributes
Working with Data Types
The Schema Element

DATA BINDING
Client-Side XML
Using Data Source Objects
Data Binding

APIs AND THE DOM
Scripting
Using the DOM
Working with the DOM
Modifying the DOM

PATHS AND LINKS
Finding Your Way
XPath - Location Paths
XPointer and XLink

XSL AND TRANSFORMATIONS
XSL Technology
XSLT Stylesheets
XSL Templates
XPath - in XSLT
XSLT and the DOM

XML-BASED SERVICES
Server-Side Architectures
Database Access
Web Services