XML Search

XML stand for Extensible Markup Language. It is a hierarchical representation of data. It is the most common way to transport data between programs.

XML is used in HTML documents, Microsoft Word documents, databases, and in just about any application that works with structured data. An XML document can be created in a basic text editor such as Notepad. The saved XML file will open in a web browser on your computer and present the information in a tree view.

Microsoft Word began allowing users to Read the rest of this post »

Whether you’ve got high-speed DSL internet or rural satellite service, Extensible Markup Language (XML) is critical in ensuring that web content is discoverable, searchable and accessible.

In the 1960s, three IBM employees (Charles Goldfarb, Ed Mosher and Ray Lorie) created Generalized Markup Language (GML), a way of marking documents with structural tags. The document could then be formatted for a number of devices by designating a profile for that device. Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) ultimately descended from GML as a tool to help organize the massive amount of data produced by IBM. SGML is not a document language in itself, but a description of how to specify one. It was adopted by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in 1986, becoming the standard for defining markup languages. It was also used to create HTML, and later, XML.

The development of XML began at Sun Microsystems in 1996 when engineer Jon Bosak began working on a project to modify SGML. There was a gap between the flexibility of SGML and rigidity of HTML, and XML was designed to fill in this gap. It’s also important to note the difference between HTML and XML. They are both markup languages, but they are not interchangeable. In terms of the Internet, HTML gives the page its structure while XML provides the content.

Today, XML is the most common tool used for data transmissions between all different types of applications.

Data type is the actual classification of data that is to be entered into a database. This classification usually follows one of a few forms; integer, floating-pint, or character. The integer is a whole number and has not fractional value. The floating-point is a number that has a decimal point. The character is just readable text.

Data binding is the operating technique that actually binds two data or information sources together. Binding is the idea of synchronizing. It is usually binding with Read the rest of this post »

When we open an XML file, we see human-readable text. Thanks to Unicode, a character set used to represent nearly every character written, XML can contain virtually everything. Don’t forget about special characters and control characters, however. Don’t enter them directly into XML. Forgetting about them can make your XML unusable or even make your application crash.

Special characters, such as less-than and greater-than signs (‘< ' and '>‘), need to be escaped. How do we escape a Read the rest of this post »

Abbreviations are all over the place when dealing with computers. You are probably wondering what XML, XSL, DTD and the rest of these abbreviations mean. Let’s have a quick rundown of some of them.

XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. It is a way of describing information in human-readable form. You can describe any information with it by use of tags. It is called a markup language because you wrap text (or other information) with keywords that computer applications interpret.

To make Read the rest of this post »

Many programmers take what they do very seriously. Many also enjoy what they do. But when it comes to programming for a living, nothing is more important than keeping everything clean and tidy. When most programmers do their job, the idea is to get as much work done as quickly as possible and as accurately as possible. However, what many do not realize when they work at such a quick pace is that sometimes mistakes can fall under the radar that can cause a Read the rest of this post »