designer lost in XML world - anyone got a map? — OZONE Asylum, home of the Mad Scientists

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designer lost in XML world - anyone got a map?

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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	Here's the deal. I've got my webmaster degree, but my specialty in school was really design. However, I wouldn't mind a job on the developer end of the scale, either, and I have an opportunity for a job, but they're going to want me to learn XML. I've been reading about XML at [url=http://www.w3cschools.com]www.w3cschools.com[/url] , but it's not so helpful from a practical point of view. XML is being described to great detail, but I'm not learning anything useful. And here's what I'm worried about; I had no problem with programming in school, took Java and Javascript classes, but never did anything that I found overwhelmingly useful. In Javascript, I felt like making "Hello World!" alerts and little clocks that tell you the time and say "good morning!" or "good evening!" depending on the time of day weren't exactly the meat of Javascript. Meanwhile, I learned basic sytax (you know, to close all of my open brackets), but felt more like I was copying code as instructed instead of really "learning" this language. Part of the problem was the way my classes were taught, but another part of the problem was the way the books are written; they don't teach you much. I did okay, but mostly because my background in grammar made me thorough enough to find my syntax errors quickly and correct them in that code I copied straight from the book. I'm afraid of the same thing happening with XML. I want a good working knowledge, so that I can actually do something useful with it, and thereby understand better why XML is useful. And if I'm missing the boat, if I'm not really meant to "get it" but just copy code, then I want to copy code that actually does useful stuff, and just get past the Hello World B.S. My problem is that it's really hard to find a good instructional book. Local bookstores only touch the surface of programming books that are available, so skimming at the bookstore does me little good (I've tried, believe me). Web sites either give you detailed tutorials that show no examples of application, or scripts so that you don't learn any details. So I'd like some recommendations and advice. Am I missing the boat: is this foot-dragging method the only way to learn a language? If so, how do you ever actually start understanding it? Are there any good XML books out there you can recommend for a beginner with a designer's brain? Thanks, and sorry this post is so long. Loading...
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