Web Publishing with XML in Six Easy Steps

Anyone creating content for the Web and looking for the easiest way to learn Extended Markup Language (XML) won't find a better source than this book. Readers get a solid grounding in XML in six easy steps. The first step discusses the shortcomings of HTML and introduces XML, with plenty of real-world example. In step two, Web authors learn how to determine which tags they need to add in order to capture the data they are representing. Step three covers how to add tag definitions without writing a Document Type Definition (DTD) and how to use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to format new tags. The fourth step introduces the concept of XML DTDs by showing readers how to take advantage of existing DTDs, including Microsoft's Channel Definition Format (CDF). Fifth is how to write a custom DTD; and finally, the sixth step teaches readers how to implement Java-based querying of data structures using LiveAgent Pro, a Java application that incorporates sophisticated XML querying capabilities without requiring users to learn any programming whatsoever.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Part One Understanding Document Structure; 1 Discovering Document Structure; Word Processing Makes Paper, Not Data; The Hidden Costs of Word Processing; Report Card: ""Not Performing Up To Potential""; What about Database Software?; The Hidden Structure of Everyday Documents; It's Flexible -- That's Why We Love It; Seeing the Trees (Forget the Forest); Poets Do It (You Can Too); So What's the Big Deal?; My Structure, Your Structure; Introducing Descriptive (Structural) Markup; What is Descriptive Markup Good For?; Procedural Markup Considered Harmful; Structure at Your Fingertips; From Here; 2 Getting a Handle on SGML; In the Beginning (GML); What GML Didn't Do; Enter SGML; What's So Special about SGML?; The Three Components of SGML Markup; SGML Software; ""Sounds Great, Maybe Later""; From Here; Part Two Appreciating the Need for XML; 3 The Lessons of HTML; HTML: Simplicity Is the Key; Creeping Presentationalism; The Standardization Process (Such as It Is); Putting Presentation in Its Place (Style Sheets); Getting Long in the Tooth?; From Here; 4 XML to the Rescue; Defining XML; XML's Origin; The XML Working Group's 10 Goals; Introducing the XML Language Specification; Introducing XML Linking; Introducing XSL; From Here; 5 XML Questions and Answers; When Will XML Hit the Web?; What Does ""Extensible"" Mean?; Why Is XML Important?; What Is a Document Type Definition (DTD)?; Must I Write My Own DTD?; Will HTML Go Away?; How Can I Incorporate XML into HTML?; Where Will XML Make Its Greatest Impact?; Do We Really Need All Those Fancy XML Links?; But Isn't XML Difficult to Learn?; Is XML Compatible with SGML?; From Here; Part Three Writing Well-Formed XML; 6 Understanding the Rules for Well-Formed Documents; Well-Formed vs. Valid Documents in XML; Rules for Well-Formed XML Documents; Understanding XML Document Structure; A Well-Formed Document: An Example; From Here;; 7 Linking with XLink and XPointer; What's Wrong with HTML Linking?; Writing Simple HTML-Like Links; Specifying Link Behaviors; Creating Extended Links; Specifying Link Content with XPointer; From Here;; 8 Well-Formed XML in Action: An Example; HTML's Shortcomings for Site Design; Combining HTML and XML; Planning the Site; Analyzing Your Data; Creating Supporting Documents; Testing Your Work; From Here; 9 Using an XML Editor; Introducing XML Pro; Exploring the XML Window; The XML Toolbar; Creating a New XML Document; Creating Elements; Inserting Elements; Adding Attributes; Adding Content to an Element; Adding Text to Your Document; Additional XML Features; Checking Your XML Syntax; From Here; Part Four Creating Document Type Definitions (DTDs); 1 10 Introducing Document Type Definitions (DTDs); Using an Existing DTD; Finding DTDs; Working with an Existing DTD; Why Create a DTD?; DTD Locations; Document Type Declarations; DTD Components; Understanding Validation; From Here; 1; 11 Creating Element Type Definitions; Planning Your Document's Tree Structure; Understanding Content Models; Content Model Examples; Empty Elements; The ANY Content Model; Defining the Root Element; Including XLinks; An Example; What's Missing?; From Here; 1 12 Creating Attribute Lists; Looking at Attribute List Declaration; Attribute Types; Specifying Default Values; Preserving White Space; Specifying a Language; Creating Attributes for XLinking; Creating the Attribute List; From Here; 1 13 Declaring Entities and Notations; Where to Declare Entities and Notations; Creating an Internal DTD Subset; Declaring Internal Entities; Declaring External Entities; Declaring Notations; Creating Parameter Entities; Creating Logical Documents; From Here; ; 1 14 Designing Useful DTDs; Framing Your Objectives; Understanding DTD Design Trade-offs; Making Your DTD User-Friendly; Organizing Your DTD; Including Conditional Sections; From Here; 1 15 Using Elements from To or More DTDs; Understanding the Need for Namespace Mechanism; Introducing the XML Namespace Mechanism; Using Qualified Names in Your XML Documents; Understanding Universal Names; From Here; Part Five Assigning Styles to XML Elements; 1 16 Introducing Cascading Style Sheets (CSS); Understanding the Need for Style Sheets; Introducing CSS; Linking XML Documents to Style Sheets; Understanding CSS Syntax; Understanding Inheritance; Grouping Selectors; Using Advanced Selectors; Defining Block and Inline Elements; From Here; 1 17 Assigning CSS Styles to XML Elements; Defining Root Element Styles; Using Fonts; Character Styles for Inline or Block Elements; Getting Control of Block Element Layout; Understanding the Box Formatting Model; CSS Box Formatting Model: Rules; CSS Box Properties: Padding; CSS Box Properties: Margins; CSS Box Properties: Controlling Element Size; CSS Horizons; From Here; 1 18 Advanced Style Sheets with XSL; What's Wrong with CSS?; What's So Great about XSL?; Who's Working on XSL?; XSL and DSSL; Essentials of XSL; From Here; Part Six Exploring XML Vocabularies; 1 19 Channel Definition Format (CDF); Introducing CDF; Assessing CDF; Creating a CDF Channel; Specifying the Schedule with CDF; Creating Subpages with CDF; From Here; 2 20 Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL); Start with a SMILe; How SMIL Documents Are Organized; Go to the of the Class; Building a; Controlling Timing; Nesting and Elements; Making Objects Repeat; Controlling Layout; Creating Alternative Presentations; Adding Hyperlinks; SMIL Horizons; From Here; 2 21 More XML Vocabularies; Astronomical Markup Language (AML); Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language (BSML); Chemical Markup Language (CML); GedML; Information and Content Exchange (ICE); Mathematical Markup Language (MathML); Precision Graphics Markup Language (PGML); Resource Description Framework (RDF); Ontology Markup Language (ML); Outbreak Markup Language (OML); Signed Document Markup Language (SDML); XML/EDI; From Here

About the Author :
By Bryan Pfaffenberger