XML Training Course

The Fundamentals of XML is an introductory course in the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) technology.

The course will introduce participants to the fundamentals of XML for use in content management, web development, and data processing. Its hands-on approach will cover relevant XML tools and technologies such as XML Schema (XSD), DTD, XPath, XQuery, and DOM, and will show how to apply these techniques to real world applications.

Through completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Critically evaluate SGML, HTML, XHTML, and XML
• Recognize specific benefits of using XML
• Create XML documents manually or through an XML editor
• Access elements of XML files manually or through XQuery and XPath
• Validate structure and syntax of XML documents
• Create Document Type Definitions (DTD)
• Build and deploy XML Schema Definitions (XSD)
• Display XML in a browser using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• Use DOM to programmatically parse XML documents

This course is intended for web developers, application programmers, technical writers, development managers, business managers, and others who wish to acquire or upgrade their XML skills in the context of software and content development.

Introduction and Overview

• Why XML?
• Extending and Adopting Markup Languages
• From SGML to XML and XHTML
• Benefits and Drawbacks of XML
• Introducing the eXtensible Markup Language (XML)
• Notation and Metalanguage

XML Fundamentals

• Creating an XML Document
• Defining Structure
• Rules for Well-Formed and Valid XML
• Changing XML Documents

XML Syntax

• Tag Attributes and Naming Rules
• Empty and Non-Empty Elements
• Processing Instructions for XML
• Accessing Data from XML Elements

XML Document Type Definition (DTD)

• XML DTD as an XML Schema
• Creating a DTD
• Element Conditions and Quantifiers
• Referencing DTD Declarations
• Validating DTD Compliance

XML Schema Definition (XSD)

• Element and Attribute Declarations
• Simple, Complex, and Built-in Types
• Named and Anonymous Types
• Associating XML with a Schema
• Validating XSD Compliance

Publishing XML

• Stylesheet Languages
• Using Style Sheets with XML
• Page Layout with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• CSS Syntax and Classes

Applying XML

• XML and Web Services
• HTML with XML
• XML and eCommerce
• Storing Binary Data in XML

Parsing XML in Java (can be customized for other programming languages)

• What is a parser?
• Using an XML parser
• Parsers and XML Generators
• Accessing the Document Object Model (DOM)