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XML..... what?
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2002 9:51 pm
by Sevengraff
Um, so is XML the next HTML, or is that XHTML? Is there a difference?
Can someone point me to a FAQ or some site that answers these questions, because I've heard that XML is the next HTML, but it can connect to a database, so thats way more advanced than HTML
XML vs. HTML, etc.
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2002 4:35 am
by Brian
Actually, XML is not the next HTML. Here is a good simple description of the difference from
http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp:
XML was designed to describe data, and to focus on what data is.
HTML was designed to display data, and to focus on how data looks.
Here is a good description of XHTML from
http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/xhtml_intro.asp:
XHTML stands for EXtensible HyperText Markup Language
XHTML is aimed to replace HTML
XHTML is almost identical to HTML 4.01
XHTML is a stricter and cleaner version of HTML
XHTML is HTML defined as an XML application
XML does not need to connect to a database because XML
is a database... sort of. More accurately, it is a data description language. Anything you store in XML format is really just in a text file.
Here is a good site to learn some of the basics of XML:
http://www.w3schools.com/xml/
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2002 5:16 pm
by Sevengraff
Thanks, I'll check those sites out!
Posted: Fri May 10, 2002 9:22 pm
by Yaa 101
XML is the modern strict version of SGML.
Both are what we call META Languages, that is a language to describe other languages.
You can compare this very loose with a Compiler-Compiler.
Why xml?
To be able to use a language decribed with XML as a programming language.
You expect from C or C++ or PHP or whatever language that it behaves always same, that is if you make a programming error then things don't work.
That is the main reason XML came to existence.
SGML is primarily used for markup and not to do programming jobs.
SGML is not well formed and leaves a lot of holes for a author to code sloppy.
Anyone saying that there is not use in replacing HTML4 with XHTML1.0, which is mere a transition from SGML to XML, is in fact trying to mask they don't understand the concept of XML and the languages that are formed from it, they want to keep things the old way with 1001 propriarity techniques.
Why all these XML Languages?
Simply because you only have to learn one concept instead of 1001 different ways to glue code of different languages.
You see the following Languages emerge
XML-RAW for data storage.
RDF-RSS for news aggregation storage.
XBEL for bookmarks storage.
XPointer, XPath for linking and including.
XSLT and FO for XML stylesheet templates (templates on steroids, xsl is a real computer language in the way that it can do recursion).
XML-Shema and Schematron for validating (will replace DTD used with SGML).
MathML for mathequation markup tightly coupled with SVG that is Scalable Vector Graphics and XHTML (that will be generated from a xsl template).
and on...
More and more is discovered what you can make and define with XML.
You have to lean 1 thing with XML that is simple put:
<tag></tag>
<tag />
All the formats described above use this basic structure.
Oh yes, ALL important companies agree and continues work on the standards...
XML is important because it's a standard endorsed by all players with influence on this network.
Oh yes... this one is personal: PHP RULES!!! lol...
Posted: Fri May 10, 2002 9:33 pm
by Yaa 101
I forgot to mention...
The utmost importance of XML is the fact you don't need somebodies expensive closed propriarity editor-compiler environment to exchange something that is yours, that is information.
You can read the files and can change them in the most simple editor around.
This also gives beginners a chance to hop on the band wagon without that they have to loan a big amount of money for licencing and training a technique soon surpassed by any other.
These tactics of putting higher the prices are only ment to shield off the market for newcommers, and we know what the lack of good programmer did with internet, only blah blah people with the NNth version of crappy dreamweaver or other <span style='color:blue' title='I'm naughty, are you naughty?'>smurf</span>. (you know... these sites with white stripes in between their pictures because they are too stupid to make a small style correction...)
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2002 8:53 pm
by ajaypatil
I agree with popularity of XML and that all big players are supporting
it. But I dont think many people really know how to use it in
their applications and whether it really makes sense to use it.
Database is the best way for most of the web applications, and most
of the attempts to use simply XML can only be labelled as "bright".
I have yet to see a practical application of MathML. I personally think
all those XML-derived languages (XPointer, XLink etc) have become
way too complicated.
The basics of software development are still the same. i.e define
a good information model and a good interaction model.
XML can provide a lot of flexibility but in places where:
- The hierarchical information is important.
- Relations are not so important.
- The XML file represents an independent set of information
in your application.
Anyway, these are my views. and OFCOURSE PHP RULES !!
There is nothing like PHP.
Ajay