XML Programming

1- XML Fundamentals

• Using XML to Represent Structured Data
• XML as an International Standard
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Specifications
• Advantages of XML
• XML Applications and Use Cases
• Essential XML Syntax
• XML Document Structure
• Comments
• Elements, Attributes, Sub-Elements
• Entity References
• Special Characters, Entity References and CDATA Sections
• Processing Instructions
• XML Document Validation
• Writing Well-Formed Documents
• Ensuring Validity for a Specific Purpose
• Document Type Definitions and Schemas
• XML Namespaces
• Using Namespaces to Identify an XML Application
• Namespace Identifiers - URLs, URIs, and URNs
• Namespace Prefixes
• Using Multiple Namespaces

2- Reading, Writing and Modifying XML in Programs

• The W3c Document Object Model (DOM)
• The DOM Document Tree
• DOM Node Types and Properties
• Programming with the Node Interface
• DOM Language Mappings - Java, ECMAScript, etc.
• Node Collections - Nodelist and Namednodemap
• Specialized Interfaces and Text Nodes
• Navigating Through a Document
• Selecting Elements
• Handling Whitespace
• Handling Namespaces
• Using the ECMAScript (JavaScript) DOM Parser
• Using the Java API for XML Processing (JAXP)
• Reading XML Into a DOM Document
• Writing Out XML from a DOM Document
• Modifying and Adding Data to a Document
• Deleting Data from a Document
• Using HTML DOM Extensions

3- Designing XML to Model Application Data

• Using XML to Model Real-World Data and Processes
• XML and Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
• XML and Data Modeling
• Modeling Data with Elements and Attributes
• Modeling Relationships
• Containment, Composition and Subelements
• IDs and References
• Collections and Lists
• Modeling Activities
• Commands
• Loops
• Sequences
• Modeling Data Schemas
• Refactoring For Reuse - Element Groups and Data Types

4- Defining and Enforcing Correct XML Usage

• Defining An XML Application Dialect
• XML Validation
• Choosing When to Validate
• Choosing a Validation Technology
• Validating with a Document Type Definition (DTD)
• Using the Doctype Declaration
• Internal DTDs
• External DTDs and Identifiers
• DTD Treatment Of Namespaces
• Validating with an XML Schema
• Using a Schema Instance
• Schema Treatment of Namespaces
• Linking to Multiple Schemas
• Using DTDs and Schemas Together
• Using Validating Parsers
• Enabling Validation in ECMAScript, Java, .NET

5- Designing Document Type Definitions (DTDs)

• Essential DTD Markup
• Defining Content Models with ELEMENT Declarations
• Defining Attributes with ATTLIST Declarations
• Built-in Attribute Types - CDATA, NMTOKEN, Enumerated Values
• Defining References with ID and IDREF Attributes
• Grouping Elements for Reuse
• Using Entities to Reference External Data
• Using Entities in Attribute Lists
• Using Namespaces with DTDs
• Conditional Sections in DTDs
• Limitations of DTDs

6- Viewing and Styling XML in Browsers

• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• Styling XML with CSS
• Using the <?xml-stylesheet ?> Processing Instruction
• CSS Essential Syntax - Selectors, Classes, Styles
• CSS Style Attributes
• The CSS Box Layout Model
• Exploiting the Rules For Cascading Styles
• CSS Generated Content
• CSS "At-Rules"
• CSS Limitations

7- Designing XML Schemas I – Document Structure

• W3C XML Schemas
• Overcoming DTD Limitations with XML Schemas
• Essential Structural Elements
• schema
• element
• attribute
• simpleType
• complexType
• Built-in Data Types
• String, Numeric, Data/time, etc.
• Defining Simple and Complex Types
• Anonymous, Local and Global Types
• Factoring For Reuse
• Named Complex Types
• Groups
• Attribute Groups
• Combining Schemas with Include, Import and Redefine
• Handling Target Documents with No Declared Namespace
• Mixing DTDs and Schemas

8- Designing XML Schemas II - Data Types

• Deriving Types with Extension and Restriction
• Deriving Complex Types with Inheritance
• Using Facets to Restrict Derived Types
• Validating with Patterns and Regular Expressions
• Substitution Groups
• Validating Key and Keyref Elements
• Validating Uniqueness
• Validating Required Fields
• Union and List Types

9- Transforming XML with XSL and XPath

• The eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL)
• XSL Components and Processors
• XSL Transforms (XSLT)
• XSLT Use Cases
• Transforming Business XML to Alternative Dialects
• Transforming XML to Display Languages
• Linking a Stylesheet to an XML Document
• Template Text and XSLT Output
• Rendering HTML Using XSLT and CSS
• Applying a Transform in a Web Browser
• Applying a Transform Programmatically
• Transforms in Java, ECMAscript, .NET
• Selecting Output Options (Text, Output Stream, File)
• Choosing Server-Side vs. Client-Side Transformation
• XPath Expressions
• The XPath Data XPath
• Essential XPath Syntax
• Paths, Axes, Node Tests, Functions and Operators
• XPath Predicates
• Using XPath Expressions to Select Data
• XPath in Programs and Stylesheets

10- Using XML As Web Content

• XML For Display Technologies
• XHTML - An Improved HTML For Browsers
• XHTML Mobile Profile (XHTML MP)
• Wireless Markup Language (WML) a Display Language For Wireless Devices
• Special-Purpose Display XML - SVG, SMIL, MathML and Others
• Browser Support For Rendering XML
• Including Raw XML Data in HTML
• Converting XML Data with the JavaScript DOM

The following topics may be included at the discretion of your instructor.

11- Defining XSL Transforms

• Defining An XSL Stylesheet
• Essential Stylesheet Elements
• template
• apply-templates
• value-of
• Built-in Templates
• Applying a Template to Selected Content
• Using XPath Expressions in "select" and "match" Attributes
• Sorting Selected Content
• Conditional Output with if, choose, when, otherwise
• Looping Through Content with for-each
• Creating Well-Formed Output Elements
• Copying Content from Source to Destination
• Modular Design Using Named Templates
• Calling Named Templates
• Exploiting Parameters, Variables and Generated Content
• Combining Stylesheets

12- Formatting XML Documents with XSL-FO

• XSL Formatting Objects (XSL-FO)
• Overcoming XSLT Limitations with XSL-FO
• Designing XSL-FO Stylesheets
• Inserting XSL-FO Tags with XSLT
• Using XSL-FO Processors to Produce PDF and Text Files

13- Storing and Mapping XML Databases

• Mapping XML to Database DDL
• Building XML from Query Results
• Storing XML in Databases
• XQuery
• Searching XML Data
• Querying XML Data
• XQuery Essential Syntax
• Expressions
• Queries
• Output

14- Using XML to Build Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA)

• Architecture of Web Services
• Web Service Use Cases
• Protocols and Message Payloads
• SOAP's Role
• Soap Namespaces and Schemas
• Elements Of a SOAP Message
• Sending and Receiving Soap Messages (SOAP Clients and Receivers)
• Handling SOAP Faults
• Web Services Description Language (WSDL)
• Deploying and Consuming Web Services
• WS-I Profile for Web Services
• Writing Web Services in .NET
• Writing Web Services in Java EE
• Deploying a Service
• Generating Code from WSDL
• Discovery Mechanisms For Web Services
• OASIS Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI)
• RESTful Web Services

15- Creating Rich Web Interfaces with AJAX

• Purpose and Architecture of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)
• AJAX Use Cases
• Designing Interactive Web Applications
• Using JavaScript Event Triggers
• Sending HTTP Requests with the XMLHttpRequest Object
• Processing Asynchronous Responses
• Incorporating Results into the Current Page
• AJAX with JSON
• Supporting Bookmarks and History Lists
• Fallback Support For Limited Browsers

16- Simple API For XML Parsing (SAX)

• SAX Purpose and Fundamental Architecture
• Event-Driven Parsing
• Building a SAX Handler
• Writing Namespace-Aware Code
• Choosing Between SAX and DOM Parsing
• Loading and Processing an XML File
• Using the SAX Parser in Java and .NET Applications