Just XML

by Simpson, John E.

• ISBN13: 9780130185549
• ISBN10: 013018554X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Pearson P T R

Summary

XML offers Web developers an unprecedented opportunity to add meaning and flexibility to their sites. If you want to get results with XML fast, Just XML, Second Edition is the book to start with. This complete XML practitioner's guide has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest technologies and standards, in the context of building a real-world sample application -- the highly-praised online movie guide that helped the make the First Edition a best-seller! Throughout the book, concrete examples illuminate every key aspect of XML development. Once you thoroughly understand what can be achieved with XML, you'll walk step-by-step through the development of a comprehensive DTD that leverages XML's full power. You'll master all the fundamentals of creating and maintaining customizable XML applications, including XLinks, XPointers, and XPath; the Extensible Style Language Transformations (XSLT); XML-compatible Cascading Style Sheets, and more. Along the way, you'll learn all the theory you need -- but most important, you'll be using XMLhands-on from the very beginning. For all Web developers, HTML and SGML users who want to leverage the power of XML.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
Part 1 XML Basics	1	(78)
Markup Laid Down	3	(22)
Revealing Codes	3	(7)
Shades of meaning	4	(2)
Simplify, simplify, simplify	6	(2)
The rules of the markup game	8	(2)
The XML Difference	10	(7)
A markup cartoon	10	(1)
Meanwhile, back in the real world...	11	(6)
What XML Isn't	17	(1)
What XML Is	17	(2)
From the Sublime to the Ridiculous	19	(6)
Just FlixML	20	(1)
The nature of the beast	20	(5)
Breaking the Ice	25	(26)
How Valid Is It?	25	(5)
The DTD	27	(2)
XML parsers	29	(1)
Rules of Thumb	30	(5)
Tags	31	(1)
Case sensitivity	32	(1)
Whitespace handling	32	(3)
Anatomy of an XML Document	35	(10)
The prolog	36	(7)
The root element	43	(2)
The epilog	45	(1)
Summary	45	(6)
Terms defined in this chapter	47	(4)
Into the Root	51	(28)
Naming of Parts	51	(19)
Elements	52	(6)
Entities	58	(8)
Comments	66	(1)
Processing instructions (PIs)	67	(1)
Marked sections	68	(2)
Multimedia	70	(1)
Notations	70	(1)
Namespaces	71	(3)
Declaring the prefix	72	(1)
Using namespaces	73	(1)
Namespace controversy	74	(1)
Summary	74	(5)
XML markup covered in this chapter	74	(2)
Terms defined in this chapter	76	(3)
Part 2 XML Linking	79	(94)
Why XLink?	81	(14)
Linking Basics	82	(2)
A short (refresher) course in HTML linking	82	(2)
Trouble in Hyperlink Paradise	84	(5)
Each HTML link goes from one single point to a single other point on the Web	84	(1)
Each HTML hyperlink retrieves the entire document to which it links	85	(1)
What HTML has put asunder, HTML cannot (easily) join together	85	(1)
Only one thing can happen when you click on a bit of linked text...	85	(2)
Using fragment identifiers requires changes to the linked resource	87	(1)
An HTML hyperlink goes only in one direction	88	(1)
For any HTML hyperlink to work, its originator needs to know something specific about the target's content	88	(1)
XML Linking: the Back Story	89	(1)
All Aboard the Digression Express	90	(3)
Tracks, stations, tickets to nowhere, derailments	91	(1)
One-way tickets: HTML linking	91	(1)
Two-way, three-way, twenty-way tickets: XLinking	92	(1)
Summary	93	(2)
XLink: Getting from Here to There	95	(34)
Words, Words	96	(4)
Resources	96	(1)
Locators	97	(1)
Links	98	(1)
Traversal	99	(1)
Arcs	100	(1)
Anatomy of an XLink	100	(1)
XLinking with reserved attribute names	100	(1)
Simple XLinks	101	(5)
href=``url''	102	(1)
role=``value''	102	(1)
title=``value''	103	(1)
show=``value''	103	(1)
actuate=``value''	104	(2)
From the Ground Up (but not too far up)	106	(2)
Linking elements in valid XML documents	106	(1)
Linking elements in well-formed XML documents	107	(1)
Extending Links to a New Plane	108	(15)
Breaking the link	108	(1)
Attributes for extended links	109	(1)
to=``value''	110	(1)
from=``value''	110	(1)
In search of the lost arc	111	(1)
Coding extended XLinks	112	(4)
Ruffles and flourishes	116	(1)
Arcs	116	(4)
Titles	120	(1)
Out-of-line extended links	121	(2)
The Twilight Zone: External Linksets	123	(2)
How not to link to the whole XLink universe	124	(1)
Summary	125	(4)
Terms defined in this chapter	126	(3)
XPointers and XPath: The ``Where'' of XML	129	(44)
XPointing the Way	130	(8)
Why XPointers?	130	(1)
Using an XPointer	131	(5)
Making XPointers fail-safe	136	(2)
Getting around Downtown: XPath	138	(30)
A sample document	139	(3)
Words and concepts	142	(3)
Coming down to earth: XPath syntax	145	(9)
Location step shortcuts	154	(1)
Elaborations on a theme	155	(2)
Functions	157	(11)
XPointer Extensions to XPath	168	(2)
Points and ranges	168	(2)
One more extension...	170	(1)
Summary	170	(3)
Terms defined in this chapter	172	(1)
Part 3 XML: Doing It in Style	173	(90)
XML and Cascading Style Sheets	175	(24)
The Style Problem	176	(4)
And now along comes XML...	177	(3)
The Style Sheet Solution	180	(4)
Cascading style sheets	181	(1)
About that ``cascading''...	182	(2)
Declaring a CSS for XML Documents	184	(1)
Basic CSS Syntax	184	(3)
An example	186	(1)
More Advanced CSS2 Syntax	187	(7)
Attribute-specific selectors	188	(1)
``Generating'' content for non-content elements	189	(2)
Hiding element content	191	(1)
User interface controls	191	(1)
Aural style sheets	192	(2)
CSS2 Shortcuts	194	(2)
The universal selector	194	(1)
Shorthand properties	194	(1)
Multiple selectors, same properties	195	(1)
Elements within elements	195	(1)
Summary	196	(3)
Terms defined in this chapter	197	(2)
Transforming XML with Style: XSL	199	(64)
Why XSL (T)?	199	(3)
Style by transforming	200	(1)
Separate transforming and display standards	201	(1)
Syntax	202	(1)
Differences between CSS2 and XSL	202	(3)
Lineage	202	(1)
Structure-awareness	203	(1)
Structure-reordering	203	(1)
Sophisticated, quasi-programming features	204	(1)
Support for multiple media types	204	(1)
Other Key XSL(T) Concepts	205	(1)
Relationship to XPath: nodes	205	(1)
Source and result trees	206	(1)
Linking to an XSLT Style Sheet	206	(1)
Anatomy of an XSL Style Sheet	207	(4)
XSLT and Namespaces	208	(2)
The XSLT element hierarchy	210	(1)
HTML Recap	211	(3)
Template Rules	214	(7)
Conflict resolution	217	(2)
Built-in template rules	219	(2)
XSLT Stylesheet Syntax	221	(23)
A big example	223	(4)
Templates from the ground up	227	(3)
Adding specific template rules	230	(14)
Little Funny Bits: ``Special'' Text	244	(3)
Using xsl:text to output text	244	(2)
Controlling the overall form with xsl:output	246	(1)
Whitespace behavior with xsl:strip- and xsl:preserve-space	247	(1)
Making Life Easier	247	(7)
Named attribute sets	247	(2)
Named templates	249	(2)
Variables and parameters	251	(3)
External Resources	254	(3)
Importing and including other stylesheets	255	(1)
Accessing multiple source trees	256	(1)
Summary	257	(6)
Terms defined in this chapter	260	(3)
Part 4 Rolling Your Own XML Application	263	(54)
The XML DTD	265	(52)
Why a DTD?	266	(2)
Consistency	266	(1)
Rigor	267	(1)
XML features requiring a DTD	267	(1)
Getting Started	268	(6)
Is there already a DTD you can use?	268	(1)
Your information's structure	269	(3)
Ease of use	272	(1)
Complete, but not too complete	273	(1)
Types of XML Document Content	274	(1)
Parsed character data	274	(1)
Nonparsed character data	274	(1)
``Empty data''	275	(1)
Back to the Road Map	275	(2)
Boxes at the bottom: EMPTY or #PCDATA?	275	(1)
All other boxes	276	(1)
A complete (more or less) road map	276	(1)
Anatomy of a DTD	277	(3)
Structure	277	(2)
Appearance	279	(1)
DTD Syntax	280	(1)
Comments	280	(1)
Elements	281	(11)
The content model	281	(11)
Attributes	292	(13)
Attribute values and constraints	292	(1)
Attribute types	293	(8)
Attribute default specification	301	(3)
Multiple attribute declarations for an element	304	(1)
Entities	305	(7)
General entities	305	(1)
Character entities	306	(1)
Parameter entities	307	(3)
Unparased (binary or otherwise) entities	310	(2)
Notations	312	(2)
Summary	314	(3)
Terms defined in this chapter	315	(2)
Part 5 XML Directions	317	(54)
XML Software	319	(42)
State of the Art	319	(4)
Sample XML code	320	(2)
XML software categories	322	(1)
Parsers	323	(8)
Jeremie Miller's XParse	324	(2)
SAX	326	(1)
Aelfred	327	(4)
Document Editors	331	(8)
WordPerfect	331	(4)
Xeena	335	(4)
DTD Editors/Generators	339	(7)
XML Spy	339	(2)
DTDGenerator	341	(5)
Style Sheet Tools	346	(4)
HomeSite Style Editor	346	(2)
Excelon Stylus	348	(2)
Stylesheet Processors	350	(3)
XT	351	(1)
Saxon	352	(1)
XML-ized Generic Web Browsers	353	(7)
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 (IE5)	353	(4)
Mozilla/Netscape 5	357	(3)
Summary	360	(1)
Whither XML?	361	(10)
Upcoming XML Specifications	361	(3)
Core XML Working Group	361	(2)
XML Linking: XLink/XPointer	363	(1)
XML Query	363	(1)
XML Schema	363	(1)
XSL Formatting Objects	364	(1)
Document Object Model (DOM)	364	(1)
XML and Data	364	(2)
RDF	365	(1)
XML Vocabularies	366	(2)
SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics	366	(1)
XBEL: XML Bookmark Exchange Language	367	(1)
Whither You?	368	(3)
Where to go from here	368	(3)
Appendices	371	(36)
Appendix A The FlixML Files	373	(28)
The FlixML DTD (Version 3.0)	373	(10)
Sample FlixML Review	383	(1)
carnival_of_souls.xml	384	(3)
detour.xml	387	(3)
XSLT Stylesheet	390	(1)
flixml.xsl	391	(7)
CSS2 Stylesheet	398	(1)
flixml_in_html.css	398	(3)
Appendix B Other Resources	401	(6)
XML-related W3C Specifications/Proposals	401	(1)
Other Web resources	402	(1)
Mailing lists and newsgroups	403	(1)
B movie information	403	(1)
Web resources	403	(1)
Books	404	(1)
Videotape/DVD distributors	404	(3)
Index	407