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XML and XSL

XML and XSL. Institutional Web Management 2001: Organising Chaos. Running order. Background All about XML All about XSL Hands-on XML and XSL Publishing engines Example applications Crystal balls. Background. Mark Ray and Andrew Savory Using XML since 1996

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XML and XSL

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  1. XML and XSL Institutional Web Management 2001: Organising Chaos

  2. Running order • Background • All about XML • All about XSL • Hands-on XML and XSL • Publishing engines • Example applications • Crystal balls

  3. Background • Mark Ray and Andrew Savory • Using XML since 1996 • Used a variety of tools and methods

  4. XML and XSL • W3C specifications • Separation of Concerns • Reuse of data • Multiple output formats • Styles tailored to reader / Standardised styles

  5. Applications of XML and XSL • Static information • Institutional web sites • Prospectuses • Course catalogues • Dynamic information • News or event information services • Course catalogues • Staff directories

  6. Benefits of XML and XSL • Standards-based, format-independent • Serve sites and formats based on user need • Text-based (text readers, slow links, low-tech) • Netscape / Internet Explorer specifc • TV, Phone, PDA • PDF, SVG, VRML, ... • Simplification of web site management...

  7. The management bit • Management • Decide what the site should contain, how it should behave and how it should appear • Content • Responsible for writing, owning, managing the site content

  8. The management bit • Logic • Responsible for integration with dynamic content generation • Style • Responsible for information presentation, look & feel, site graphics and maintenance

  9. What is XML? • eXtensible Markup Language • Not a fixed format • 'Metalanguage' • For describing information

  10. XML Design Goals • XML shall be straightforwardly usable over the Internet. • XML shall support a wide variety of applications. • XML shall be compatible with SGML. • It shall be easy to write programs which process XML documents. • The number of optional features in XML is to be kept to the absolute minimum, ideally zero.

  11. XML Design Goals • XML documents should be human-legible and reasonably clear. • The XML design should be prepared quickly. • The design of XML shall be formal and concise. • XML documents shall be easy to create. • Terseness is of minimal importance.

  12. Structure of an XML document <?xml version="1.0"?> <PARENT> <CHILD> This is content. </CHILD> <EMPTY/> </PARENT>

  13. A first XML document Construct a well-formed XML document using the following tags: • xml opening tag • page • title • content • para Don't forget to add the closing tags!

  14. Differences to HTML • Order: <tag1><tag2></tag1></tag2> WRONG <tag1><tag2></tag2></tag1> RIGHT • Balance <tag1><tag2></tag2> WRONG <tag1><tag2></tag2></tag1> RIGHT • Case <tag1><tag2></TAG2></TAG1> WRONG <tag1><tag2></tag2></tag1> RIGHT

  15. Differences to HTML • Attributes <tag1 class=wrong> WRONG <tag1 class="right"> RIGHT • Empty Tags <tag1 class="wrong"> WRONG <tag1 class="wrong" /> RIGHT • XML is stricter ...and therefore better!

  16. Well-formed vs. Valid • Exactly what they say: • Well-formed means it's written correctly • Valid means we can validate it

  17. A well-formed example <?xml version="1.0"?> <PARENT> <CHILD> <MARK NUMBER="1" LISTED="yes" TYPE="natural"/> <NAME> <LASTNAME>child</LASTNAME> <FIRSTNAME>second</FIRSTNAME> </NAME> </CHILD> </PARENT>

  18. A valid example <?xml version="1.0"?> <!DOCTYPE PARENT [ <!ELEMENT PARENT (CHILD*)> <!ELEMENT CHILD (MARK?,NAME+)> <!ELEMENT MARK EMPTY> <!ELEMENT NAME (LASTNAME+,FIRSTNAME+)*> <!ELEMENT LASTNAME (#PCDATA)> <!ELEMENT FIRSTNAME (#PCDATA)> <!ATTLIST MARK NUMBER ID #REQUIRED LISTED CDATA #FIXED "yes" TYPE (natural|adopted) "natural"> <!ENTITY STATEMENT "This is well-formed XML"> ]> <PARENT> &STATEMENT; <CHILD> <MARK NUMBER="1" LISTED="yes" TYPE="natural"/> <NAME> <LASTNAME>child</LASTNAME> <FIRSTNAME>second</FIRSTNAME> </NAME> </CHILD> </PARENT>

  19. Document Type Definitions • First standard mechanism for XML validation • Define the role and structure of XML elements • Sufficient for simple XML schemas • Don't support namespaces • Use non-XML syntax

  20. XSchema • XML structural definition language of choice • Defines a class of XML document • Supports name spaces • More powerful

  21. Xschema example <?xml version="1.0"?> <xsd:schema xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> <xsd:annotation> <xsd:documentation xml:lang="en"> Example Schema for IWM workshop </xsd:documentation> </xsd:annotation> <xsd:element name="page" type="page"/> <xsd:complexType name="page"> <xsd:sequence> <xsd:element name="title" type="xsd:string"/> <xsd:element name="content" type="pageContent"/> </xsd:sequence> </xsd:complexType> <xsd:complexType name="pageContent"> <xsd:sequence> <xsd:element name="para" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0"/> </xsd:sequence> </xsd:complexType> </xsd:schema>

  22. What is XSL? • Preferred style sheet language of XML • a method for transforming XML documents • a method for defining XML parts and patterns • a method for formatting XML documents • An application of XML (same formatting rules)

  23. Hands-on XML • Create the following XML document: <?xml version="1.0"?> <page> <title>Hello</title> <content> <para>This is my first XML page!</para> </content> </page> • Save it as hello_world.xml

  24. Uploading the file • Navigate to the site provided • Click on "upload.html" • Beside the "file to upload" box, click on "choose" • Select the file you want to upload • Click on "upload"

  25. Viewing the file If you see the file you wanted to upload and receive a "File written successfully" message... • Click on "Content", then the name of the file

  26. Structure of an XSL stylesheet • Most templates have the following form: <xsl:template match="emphasis"> <i><xsl:apply-templates/></i> </xsl:template> • The whole <xsl:template> element is a template • The match pattern determines where this template applies

  27. Structure of an XSL stylesheet • Literal result element(s) come from non-XSL namespace(s) • XSLT elements come from the XSL namespace

  28. Hands-on XSL • Create the following XSL stylesheet: <?xml version="1.0"?> <xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"> <xsl:template match="page"> <html> <head> <title><xsl:value-of select="title"/></title> </head> <body bgcolor="white" alink="red" link="blue" vlink="blue"> <xsl:apply-templates/> </body> </html> </xsl:template> </xsl:stylesheet>

  29. Uploading the file • Navigate to the site provided • Click on "upload.html" • Beside the "file to upload" box, click on "choose" • Select the file you want to upload • Click on "upload"

  30. Publishing engines • Cocoon • Java-based • AxKit • Perl-based • 4Suite • Python • Others or roll your own

  31. Viewing the file If you see the file you wanted to upload and receive a "File written successfully" message... • Click on "View site in cocoon" • Select the file you uploaded and the stylesheet you want to view it in

  32. Hands-on XSL • Add the following to the XSL stylesheet: <xsl:template match="title"> <h2 style="color: navy; text-align: center"> <xsl:apply-templates/> </h2> </xsl:template> <xsl:template match="para"> <p align="left"> <i><xsl:apply-templates/></i> </p> </xsl:template>

  33. New platforms, new beginnings? • The old way of publishing • Repurposing • The new way of publishing • Target multiple platforms • Multiple stylesheets • Multiple formats

  34. Browser-specific content <map:select> <map:when test="lynx"> <map:transform src="stylesheets/simple-page2html-lynx.xsl"/> </map:when> <map:otherwise> <map:transform src="stylesheets/simple-page2html.xsl"/> </map:otherwise> </map:select>

  35. Lynx-friendly XSL stylesheet • Add the following to your XSL stylesheet: <h2>This site is lynx-friendly</h2> • Save the stylesheet as simple-page2html-lynx.xsl

  36. Uploading the file • Navigate to the site provided • Click on "upload.html" • Beside the "file to upload" box, click on "choose" • Select the file you want to upload • Click on "upload"

  37. Viewing the file If you see the file you wanted to upload and receive a "File written successfully" message... • Click on "View site in cocoon" • Select the file you uploaded and the stylesheet you want to view it in

  38. Where next? • The semantic web

  39. References • http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/papers.nsf/dw/xml-papers-bytopic?OpenDocument&Count=500 • http://www.xml101.com/ • http://nwalsh.com/docs/tutorials/xsl/

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