Week Ten:

REQUIRED READING NOTES

An Introduction to the Extensible Markup Language (XML)
by Martin Bryan
http://www.is-thought.co.uk/xmlintro.htm

• This site explains XML as a subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) defined in ISO standard.
• it makes it easy to interchange structured documents over the Internet.
• XML always clearly mark where the start and the end of a logical part [element] of an interchanged document occurs.
• XML defines how the Internet Uniform Resource Locators can be used to identify component parts of the XML data streams.
• This definition allows a Document Type Definition (DTD) to be defined in a formal model.
• Users can check each component of document occurrances in a valid place within the interchanged data stream.
•  Unlike SGML, XML doesn't require the presence of the DTD.
• XML allows users to bring multiple files together to form compound documents. It also:
• indentifies the location for illustrations to be incorporated into text files.
• provide processing control info for supporting programs
• add editorial comments to a file
• XML is not a predefined set of tags and is not a standardized template for production of particular types of documents.
• Basic components of XML include objects, elements, and attributes. the term XML refers to a documents composed of entities, so it differs from other markup languages in that it does not simply indicate where a change occurs.
• Systems that understand XML allow users to provide a list of elements that are valid at each point in the document. 
• elements and their attributes are entered between matched pairs of angled brackets, while entity references starts with an ampersand and end with semicolon.
•  Definition of personal tag sets and attributes of elements are described - with examples of the markup text.
• XML is capable of providing techniques for handling non-standard document elements. the coding of a scheme such as an illustration is different from the normal text contents.
• Data stored using non-XML notations need appropriate application software to process it, however the XML-coded file will correctly identify where each piece of data belongs in the completed document and where it has been stored to use previously.

Extending you Markup: a XML tutorial
by Andre Bergholz
http://xml.coverpages.org/BergholzTutorial.pdf

• This is an introduction to XML written for more general audiences rather than Bryan's article, which was geared towards an individual with a base knowledge.
• Bergholz offers a simple way of remembering DTD, XSL, RDF, and DOM when considering XML markup. 
• A well-formed XML document begins with a prolog and ends with one element.
• Stylesheets, XML Schema, and namespaces are examined and exemplified throughout the PDF.
• DTD's define the structure of xml documents - it allows users to specify the set of tags, the order of tags, and the attributes of each. ---> well formed is called valid.
• elements are either nonterminal or terminal in DTD. 
• terminal elements are declared as parsed character data or EMPTY.
• nonterminal contain sublements, grouped as sequences or choice. 
• sequence defines the order in which the subelements must appear.
• Explanation of the terms SGML and HTML to understand the influence and develpoment of XML - a semantic language that allows meaningful annotation of text.
• meaningful annotation is the essence of XML 

"XML Schema Tutorial"
http://www.w3schools.com/Schema/default.asp

• This tutorial, like the one on CSS and HTML, offers definitions, examples, quiz, and information on the XML markup in a web document.
• The introduction offers what it is, how it works, and a basic understanding refresher of HTML and DTD.
• There are examples and definitions of complex types, simple types, and data types for a user to better understand the components of XML.

Thoughts 

As I have stated previously, the W3schools tutorials do a good job of explaining each term, showing examples, and highlight key parts to each concept for people like me who have had little to none experience on the subject. Each topic has a variety of information and ways to practice, something I take into consideration when completing the assignments/labs. I have referred to these websites for information outside of these blog posts, I'm thankful they exist!