Topic: Oldschool Style vs XML

I'm used to plain jane HTML, CSS, and javascripts to create most of the pages I do. I just picked up a book on this XML stuff and from what I've read I've determined that XML allows me to create my own proprietary tags. This is good and all but I can't for the life of me figure out what I would ever need XML for.

I would like to hear from anyone here in the Asylum that uses XML currently and what you use it for.

Reading Material: http://www.xml.com/pub/a/98/10/guide0.html

before I begin to read all of that is XML cross browser compliant?

it validates, if I'm not mistaken...

but HTML deos too, know what I mean?


Code - CGI - links - DHTML - Javascript - Perl - programming - Magic - http://www.twistedport.com
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Generally speaking XML is not tied with web browsers. As its name says it's just an eXtensible Markup Language, which can be used for creating structured documents. One of its *derivates* is XHTML, which can be used for creating web pages...

I use PHP to write XML on the fly (formatting queries for example) for Flash. It's the only way to fly.

Boudga: XML isn't used for producing web pages (although as maX says XHTML is the application of XML pinciples to HTML) but it has many uses and applications. I'm sketching out an idea for an intro for the GN (for when the redeisng is done and I get some of the others I'm working on out of the way) and it will be title something like 'Lingua Franca: An introduction to XML'. The real power is that it can act as common language between different devices, platforms, applications, etc. - as Weadah says it is very useful for passing information between Flash and a server-side language like PHP. The power of XML feeds means that if you want to share information from your site with other people you don't need give them access to the database you can just pump out the details into a structured file (XML) and then other people can access that file and extract the information from it.

___________________
Emps

FAQs: Emperor

"It's the only way to fly."- hehehehehe


Code - CGI - links - DHTML - Javascript - Perl - programming - Magic - http://www.twistedport.com
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I didn't quite get it either until I read this: http://www.alistapart.com/stories/usingxml/


"the most incredible feats are often accomplished by
those who have had the most incredible challenges"

You can create web pages with XML (straight xml), but Mozilla can only render it with an attached xml-stylesheet done in CSS, while IE6 can only render it if you use XSL.

At least I've never gotten IE to render with just a CSS stylesheet anyway. Maybe there's a step i'm missing.

I've never really cared enough though what with XHTML rendering quite nicely.

xml (or so I've read) will be the future. The strength of xml allowing you to create your own tags makes searching relevancy more powerful and allowing for more specific and thourough searches. This will be big for archiving and storage and will also be more huge for wireless devices....I'm at work now, but I have my textbooks at home and elaborate a little more.

XML grows on you (at least it has me). I find myself using it more and more. I'm a VB developer. There has always been a missing link for passing variables/information/data from a VB Client to the server. With XML, I can generate complex data structures and send them on there way!

My favorite thing to note about XML: its widely supported. I can develop VB apps which utilize XML; server side ASP Scripts which send or receive it, and I can even send the client an XML document along with a style sheet and let them produce the result there.

Now, something I want to learn about is XML Data Islands!

Karl

Karl www.AZProGolf.com
karl@azprogolf.com

As far as I can see, a data island is just a section of xml within a (web) page - like having a script section, or a style section, instead of linking to a seperate file.