XML Essential Training

Course details

Extensible Markup Language (XML) was designed to make information sharing and data interpretation easier. Having a solid grasp of what XML is and how to work with it is essential for any developer. In this course, Joe Marini takes you through the basic rules of XML, explains its syntax, and covers more advanced topics such as styling your XML with CSS and manipulating XML content using XPath and XSLT. From integrating XML into your site to using document type definitions and XML schema, this course covers what you need to know to not only get started with XML, but also master it.

Learning objectives
Explore XML.
Discover the advantages and drawbacks of XML.
Utilize proper XML syntax.
Work with XML namespaces.
Style and customize XML tags.
Discover and create document content.
Manipulate XML content using XPath and XSLT.
Understand document type definitions and XML schema.
Convert XML to and from JSON and CSV.

Concepts

Introduction

XML - Structured data in a chaotic world
How this course is organized and what you should know
Getting set up

XML Overview

What is XML
Review of various XML technologies
Describing data with XML
XML advantages and drawbacks
Real-world examples of XML

XML Content and Formatting

XML content types
Proper XML syntax
Valid XML documents
The XML namespace

Building XML Content

Creating an XML file
Example - Styling XML content with CSS
Advanced styling

Manipulating XML with the DOM

A quick introduction to the document object model
Inspecting document content
Creating document content
Loading XML from an external source
Building content from XML
Challenge - BusinessCard XML to HTML
Solution - BusinessCard XML to HTML

XML and Other Data Formats

XML vs. JSON and CSV
XML to JSON
Tools for working with XML

Querying XML with XPath

What is XPath
Experimenting with XPath
XPath in JavaScript
Challenge - BusinessCard XPath
Solution - BusinessCard XPath

Transforming XML with XSLT

What is XSLT
Defining XSLT style sheets
Simple XSLT
Repeating items
Conditional logic
Sorting data
XSLT in the browser
Challenge - BusinessCard XSLT
Solution - BusinessCard XSLT

Document Type Definitions

What is a DTD
Using DTDs
Declaring elements
Declaring attributes
Challenge - Building a DTD for BusinessCard
Solution - Building a DTD for BusinessCard

XML Schema

What is XML Schema
Anatomy of a schema
Declaring simple elements
Example - Simple elements
Declaring complex elements
Declaring attributes
Example - Complex elements
Challenge - Build a schema for BusinessCard
Solution - Build a schema for BusinessCard

Conclusion

Next steps