In this tutorial, you will learn about the various aspects that make XML a very useful programming language for web designers and administrators. Along the way, you will learn about browsers, basic HTML, and extra tools that make XML a powerful programming language. Good luck learning and may you unleash the power of XML!

In This Guide:

01 - What is XML

In this chapter, you will learn what XML is all about, how it differs from HTML, and the features that make XML an exciting language to learn in today's times. Since XML and HTML are computer languages that work hand in hand; you will also get to learn a few HTML commands in this chapter as well.

02 - Browsers and Viewing

In this chapter, you will learn about the several browsers that support the XML format. The leading browsers that will be discussed here are Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Netscape Navigator. You will learn the pros and the cons of each browser. Once you have decided which browser to use, simply install it and then begin programming in XML in the next chapter.

03 - XML Basic Syntax

After selecting your ideal web browser for XML viewing in the previous chapter, you will now begin writing XML code. In this chapter, you will learn basic syntax in XML, the basic rules that govern the XML computer language, the basic concepts in the XML computer language, and finally, you will make your first XML file and view it with your selected browser.

04 - XML Elements

This chapter is all about becoming familiar with the elements of the XML programming language. First, you will learn about nomenclature in your XML tags. Next, you will learn about the relationship of the elements to each other. You will also learn additional features of XML elements such as extensibility and attributes. Finally, you will learn what kind of content you can put into your XML tags.

05 - X Marks the Spot

In this Chapter, you will increase your knowledge of XML using the following navigational tools available to you. You will familiarize yourself with XLink, XPointer, XPath, and XQuery. All of these tools will help you go through your XML files and beyond with ease.

06 - Wireless XML

This chapter will discuss how XML is useful on mobile and wireless devices. WML is the counterpart of XML on mobile devices. You will learn about WML and WAP technology in this chapter. You will learn how to make a WML file and you will also learn the various applications of WML and WAP technology in the world today.

07 - RSS

In this chapter, you will learn about RSS. RSS is used in most websites that have constantly updating content. In this chapter, you will learn how RSS works and you will also learn how to use RSS in your XML files. You will have to subscribe to the RSS feeds on your own.

08 - SOAP

In this chapter, you will learn about SOAP. It is very similar to XML so you will not have trouble learning it. You will learn what SOAP is all about and the basic syntax rules for SOAP. You will also learn how to make a SOAP file.

09 - WSDL

In this chapter, you will learn about one of the web languages that is used to describe and locate web services, the WSDL language. At the start of the chapter, you will learn the basic syntax used for WSDL files. At the latter half of the chapter, you will learn the basic structure of a WSDL file. In order to make a WSDL file, you will have to locate a web service yourself.

10 - RDF

In this chapter, you will learn how to use RDF. It is very simple and straightforward so those who are familiar with XML will have no trouble learning it.

11 - XSL

In this chapter and the next chapter, you will learn about style sheets. This chapter will show you how to use XSL. You will learn what are XSL and XSLT, how to use basic commands in XSL and finally, you will learn how to make your own XSL file.

12 - CSS

In the previous chapter, you learned how to use XSL. This chapter will expose you to another style sheet language, CSS. The CSS tools are helpful in both HTML and XML programming. In the beginning of the chapter, you will learn about the use of CSS and how it helps in HTML and in XML programming. In the latter half of the chapter, you will learn basic CSS commands.