SUMMARY:   XML is the "Extensible Markup Language" (extensible because it is not a fixed format like HTML). It is designed to enable the use of SGML on the World Wide Web. XML itself is not a single markup language: it's a metalanguage to let you design your own markup language. A regular markup language defines a way to describe information in a certain class of documents (e.g. HTML). XML lets you define your own customized markup languages for many classes of documents. It can do this because it's written in SGML, the international standard metalanguage for markup languages. The course is divided into three days. The first day is an overview of XML and introduction to the syntax. Students try simple examples to strengthen theory. The second day is a hands-on day, where students run XML code examples in Internet Explorer 5 beta. The third day covers more features and includes more practical examples. PREREQUISITES:   A good knowledge of Windows 95/NT. DURATION:   3 Days APPROACH:   Class consists of classroom lecture and lab sessions. COURSE CONTENT:   INTRODUCTION TO XML History and development Markup languages   SGML HTML XML Applications/uses data transfer data storage XML tools XML viewers XML parsers XML editors Where to learn more - online references Parts of an XML document tags elements tag plus content end tags attributes tokens whitespace xml:space case sensitivity comments processing instructions Software for authoring XML documents installing and using XMLWriter Viewing XML documents using IE5 EXERCISE: Authoring and viewing simple XML documents THINKING ABOUT DOCUMENT STRUCTURE valid / well-formed structure analysis of several sample documents EXERCISE: Developing document models in plain English DTDS DTD definition internal external elements definition occurrence indicators content models attributes required elements default values specific set of options entities internal external conditional elements EXERCISE: Convert the document model into a DTD EXERCISE: Validate the documents we created against the DTD SCHEMAS Schema definition elements definition occurrence indicators content models attributes entities EXERCISE: Convert the document model into a schema EXERCISE: Validate the documents we created against the schema STYLE SHEETS: CSS What is CSS? CSS stylesheets options EXERCISE: Develop stylesheets for the documents ADDITIONAL XML CONCEPTS XML namespaces XML pointers XML links notation graphics data islands XSL Introduction Syntax and rules EXERCISE: Extracting information from XML documents EXERCISE: Translating one DTD to another EXERCISE: Creating HTML from XML DOM Introduction Navigation Using the DOM with JavaScript JavaScript syntax Accessing DOM data via JavaScript EXERCISE: using document data and user input Using the DOM with perl perl tools for DOM access EXERCISE: develop CGI/perl processes for handling XML