Introduction to XML

12-Apr-24
 Topics
◼ Introduction

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◼ XML versus HTML
◼ XML terminologies

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◼ XML standards (XML namespace, XML schema)

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 Introduction
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XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language.

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◼ XML is designed to transport and store data.
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XML is important to know, and very easy to learn.

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◼ XML is markup language much like HTML.

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◼ XML was designed to carry data, not to display data.
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Tags are added to the document to provide the extra

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information.

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 Introduction
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XML is a simplified subset of SGML (Standard

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Generalised Mark-Up Language)

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◼ XML and HTML have a similar syntax…

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both derived from SGML.
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Officially recommended by W3C since 1998.

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◼ Primarily created by Jon Bosak of Sun Microsystems.

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 Why XML is used?
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XML documents are used to transfer data from one

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place to another often over the internet.

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◼ XML is used in many aspects of web development.
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XML is often used to separate data from presentation.
In many HTML applications,
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XML is used to store or transport data, while
HTML is used to format and display the same data.
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 Difference between XML and HTML

◼ XML is not a replacement for HTML.

Different goals:
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◦ XML was designed to transport and store

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data, with focus on what data is

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◦ HTML was designed to display data, with focus
on how data looks
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HTML is about displaying information.
XML is about carrying information.

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◼

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 HTML vs XML

⚫ Fixed set of tags ⚫

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Extensible set of tags
⚫ Presentation oriented ⚫

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Content orientated

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⚫ No data validation ⚫ Standard Data

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capabilities infrastructure
⚫ Tags are not case
sensitive
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⚫
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Tags are used for display. ⚫ Tags are used to describe
documents and data.

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 XML File
◼ How to write and store XML file?

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As you did before with CSS and JavaScript files.

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By using text file in different extension:

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◦ .css for CSS file

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◦ .js for JavaScript
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◼

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Then, .xml for XML file.

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 The Basic Rules
◼ XML is case sensitive

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◼ All start tags must have end tags
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Elements must be properly nested
XML declaration is the first statement

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Every document must contain a root element

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Attribute values must have quotation marks
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Certain characters are reserved for parsing

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 XML Declaration
◼ Placed at the start of an
XML document

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<?xml version="1.0" ?>

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◼ Informs XML software of

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– the version of XML the
<?xml
document conforms to

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version="1.0"

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– the character encoding
scheme used in the
encoding="UTF-8" ?>
document

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– whether or not a set of <?xml
version="1.0"

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external declarations
affect the interpretation of encoding="UTF-8"
this document standalone="yes" ?>

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 XML structure
◼ Look at the following student ID.
Student Identification
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ID Number: 1
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Name: Rana Jawad
BOD: 9/9/1999
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Issuing Date: 10/4/2011

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◼ Think about the main items of this ID!!!!
◼ Which items are constant and which variables?

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 XML structure - Tags
◼

◼
Lets put them inside suited tags:
What about the next student?

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<studentID>
<IdNumber>1</IdNumber>
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<Name>Rana Jawad</Name>

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<BOD>9/9/1999</BOD>

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<IssueDate>10/4/2011</IssueDate>
</studentID>
<studentID> o
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<IdNumber>2</IdNumber>
<Name>Ahmed Sameer</Name>
<BOD>3/3/1998</BOD>
<IssueDate>10/4/2011</IssueDate>
</studentID>
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 XML Does Not Do Anything
◼

does not DO anything.

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Maybe it is a little hard to understand, but XML

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information.
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XML was created to structure, store, and transport

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The previous example is a student ID, stored as
XML:
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It is quite self descriptive.
But still, this XML document does not DO anything.

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◼

◼ It is just information wrapped in tags.

◼ Someone must write a piece of software to send,
receive or display it.

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 With XML you invent your Own tags

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The tags in the example above (like <Name> and

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<BOD>) are not defined in any XML standard.
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XML document.
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These tags are "invented" by the author of the

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That is because the XML language has no
predefined tags.
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The tags used in HTML are predefined.
HTML documents can only use tags defined in the

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◼

HTML standard (like <p>, <h1>, etc.).

◼ XML allows the author to define his/her own tags
and his/her own document structure.

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 XML Documents Form a Tree Structure

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◼ XML documents must contain a root element.
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the tree.

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The tree starts at the root and branches to the lowest level of

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All elements can have sub elements (child elements):

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<root>
<child>

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<subchild>.....</subchild>

</root>
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</child>

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The terms parent, child, and sibling are used to describe the
relationships between elements.
◼ Children on the same level are called siblings.
◼ All elements can have text content and attributes (just like in
HTML).
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 XML structure - Tree
◼ XML Files are Trees

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◼ An XML document has a single root node.
◼ Preorder traversal are usually used.

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address

name
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email phone birthday

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last year month day

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 XML Syntax Rules
All XML Elements Must Have a Closing Tag

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◼ XML Tags are Case Sensitive

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<address> is not the same as <Address>
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◼ XML Elements Must be Properly Nested

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◼ <name><email>…</name></email> is not allowed.

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◼ <name><email>…</email><name> is valid.

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XML Documents Must Have a Root Element
XML Attribute Values Must be Quoted
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Comments in XML: <!-- This is a comment -->
White-space is Preserved in XML

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The XML Tree Structure

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P a
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An Example XML document

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

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<bookstore>

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<book category="cooking">

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<title lang="en">Everyday Italian</title>
<author>Giada De Laurentiis</author>

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<year>2005</year>
<price>30.00</price>

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</book>

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<book category="children">
<title lang="en">Harry Potter</title>

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<author>J K. Rowling</author>

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<year>2005</year>
<price>29.99</price>

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</book>
<book category="web">
<title lang="en">Learning XML</title>
<author>Erik T. Ray</author>
<year>2003</year>
<price>39.95</price>
</book>
</bookstore>
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 XML Naming Rules

characters
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Names can contain letters, numbers, and other

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character
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Names cannot start with a number or punctuation

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Names cannot start with the letters xml (or XML, or
Xml, etc)
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Names cannot contain spaces

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 Best Naming Practices
◼ Make names descriptive: <first_name>,

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<book_title> not <the_title_of_the_book>.

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Avoid "-" characters.

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Avoid "." characters.

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◼ Avoid ":" characters. Colons are reserved to be used for
something called namespaces
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A good practice is to use the naming rules of your
database for the elements in the XML documents.
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Non-English letters like éòá are perfectly legal in XML,
but watch out for problems if your software vendor
doesn't support them.

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 Building Blocks of XML
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Elements (Tags) are the primary components of XML

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documents. Element FNAME nested inside element

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<AUTHOR id = “123”> Author.
Element <FNAME> JAMES</FNAME>

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Author with <LNAME> RUSSEL</LNAME>

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Attr id </AUTHOR>

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<!- I am comment ->

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Attributes provide additional information about

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Elements. Values of the Attributes are set inside the
Elements
◼ Comments stats with <!- and end with ->

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 What is well-formed XML document?
XML Declaration required in the first line

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◼ At least one element

– Exactly one root element
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– Closing tag (e.g. "<br></br>")P
Empty elements are written in one of two ways:

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– Special start tag (e.g. "<br />")
For non-empty elements, closing tags are required

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Start tag must match closing tag (name & case)

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◼ Correct nesting of elements

<author> <firstname>Mark</firstname>
<lastname>Twain</lastname> </author>
◼ Attribute values must always be quoted
<subject scheme=“LCSH”>Music</subject>
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 What is well-formed XML document?

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◼ Good example

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<addressBook>

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<person>
<name> <family>Wallace</family> <given>Bob</given> </name>
<email>bwallace@[Link]</email>

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<address>Rue de Lausanne, Genève</address>
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</person>
</addressBook>

◼ Bad example
<addressBook>

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<address>Rue de Lausanne, Genève <person></address>
<name>
<family>Schneider</family> <firstName>Nina</firstName>
</name>
<email>nina@[Link]</email>
</person>
<name><family> Muller </family> <name>
</addressBook>
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 Validity
◼
all the XML rules.
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A well-formed document has a tree structure and obeys
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"validity" refers to whether an XML document
conforms to the rules defined by a Document Type

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Definition (DTD) or an XML Schema Definition

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(XSD).
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These rules define the structure, content, and format that

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the XML document must adhere to in order to be
considered valid.
DTDs were developed first, so they are not as
comprehensive as schema.

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 Validity
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When an XML document is validated against the DTD

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or XSD:

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◼ If the document conforms to the rules specified in the DTD or

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XSD, it is considered valid.

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◼ If the document violates any of the rules specified in the DTD

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or XSD, it is considered invalid.

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 XML DTD
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A DTD is a set of rules that allow us to specify our own

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set of elements and attributes.

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◼ DTD is grammar to indicate what tags are legal in XML

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documents.
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XML Document is valid if it has an attached DTD and

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document is structured according to rules defined in
DTD.

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 Document Type Definitions
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something about its data.
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A DTD describes the tree structure of a document and

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There are two data types, PCDATA and CDATA.

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◼ PCDATA is parsed character data.

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◼ CDATA is character data, not usually parsed.

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◼ A DTD determines how many times a node may appear,

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and how child nodes are ordered.

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 Document Type Definitions
◼ XML document types can be specified using a DTD
DTD constraints structure of XML data
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◼ What elements can occur
What attributes can/must an element have

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◼ What subelements can/must occur inside each element, and how many
times.
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DTD does not constrain data types

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All values represented as strings in XML
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DTD definition syntax
<!ELEMENT element (subelements-specification) >
<!ATTLIST element (attributes) >
◼ … more details later
◼ Valid XML documents refer to a DTD (or other Schema)
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 DTD for address example

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<!ELEMENT address (name, email, phone, birthday)>

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<!ELEMENT name (first, last)>

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<!ELEMENT first (#PCDATA)>

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<!ELEMENT last (#PCDATA)>

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<!ELEMENT email (#PCDATA)>

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<!ELEMENT phone (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT birthday (year, month, day)>

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<!ELEMENT year (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT month (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT day (#PCDATA)>

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 DTD Example
<BOOKLIST>
<BOOK GENRE = “Science”

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<!DOCTYPE BOOKLIST[

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<!ELEMENT BOOKLIST(BOOK)*>

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FORMAT = “Hardcover”> <!ELEMENT BOOK(AUTHOR)>

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<!ELEMENT
<AUTHOR>
AUTHOR(FIRSTNAME,LASTNAME)>

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<FIRSTNAME> <!ELEMENT FIRSTNAME(#PCDATA)>

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RICHRD <!ELEMENT>LASTNAME(#PCDATA)>

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</FIRSTNAME> <!ATTLIST BOOK GENRE

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<LASTNAME> (Science|Fiction)#REQUIRED>
KARTER <!ATTLIST BOOK FORMAT

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</LASTNAME> (Paperback|Hardcover) “PaperBack”>]>
</AUTHOR>
</BOOK>
</BOOKS>

Xml Document And

Corresponding DTD 31
 DTD
◼ DTD make two types of declarations:

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◼ Internal and External
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If the DTD is declared inside the XML file, it
must be wrapped inside the <!DOCTYPE>
definition.

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◼ In the XML file, select "view source" to view the

DTD.
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If the DTD is declared in an external file, the
<!DOCTYPE> definition must contain a
reference to the DTD file.

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 XML document with an internal DTD
◼ <?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE note [
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<!ELEMENT to (#PCDATA)>
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<!ELEMENT note (to,from,heading,body)>

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<!ELEMENT from (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT heading (#PCDATA)>

]>
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<!ELEMENT body (#PCDATA)>

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<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend</body>
</note>
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 An External DTD Declaration
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<?xml version="1.0"?>
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XML document with a reference to an external DTD

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<!DOCTYPE note SYSTEM "[Link]">

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<note>

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<to>Tove</to>

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<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>

</note>
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<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>

the file "[Link]", which contains the DTD:

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◼ <!ELEMENT note (to,from,heading,body)>

<!ELEMENT to (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT from (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT heading (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT body (#PCDATA)>
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 DTD Application
should

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External Public DTD Declaration know DTD

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding=“UTF-8"?>

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<!DOCTYPE test PUBLIC "-//Webster//DTD test V1.0//EN"
test =

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<test> "test" is a document element </test>
name of
the root
element
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External DTD Declaration referring to a file or a URL

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding=" UTF-8 "?>
<!DOCTYPE test SYSTEM "[Link]"> DTD is

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<test> "test" is a document element </test> defined in

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file [Link]

DTD is
defined
inside XML
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Internal DTD Declaration
<!DOCTYPE test [
<!ELEMENT test EMPTY> ]>
<test/>

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 XML Schema
◼

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Schemas are themselves XML documents.

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◼ They were standardized after DTDs and provide more

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information about the document.
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They have a number of data types including string,
decimal, integer, boolean, date, and time.
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They divide elements into simple and complex types.

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◼ They also determine the tree structure and how many
children a node may have.

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 What are XML Schemas?
◼ W3C Recommendation, 2 May 2001
– Part 0: Primer
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– Part 1: Structures
– Part 2: Datatypes
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DTDs use a non-XML syntax and have a number of

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limitations

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– no namespace support

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– lack of data-types
◼ XML Schemas are an alternative to DTDs
◼ Used to formally specify a "class" of XML
documents
◼ Supports simple/complex data-types
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 Schema for First address Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding=“UTF-8" ?>

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<xs:schema xmlns:xs="[Link]
<xs:element name="address">
<xs:complexType>
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<xs:sequence>

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<xs:element name="name" type="xs:string"/>

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<xs:element name="email" type="xs:string"/>

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<xs:element name="phone" type="xs:string"/>

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<xs:element name="birthday" type="xs:date"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:schema>

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 XML Schema

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◼ RDBMS Schema (s_id integer, s_name string, s_status string)
XMLSchema

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<Students>
<Student id=“p1”>
<xs:schema>

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<xs:complexType name = “StudnetType”>
<Name>Allan</Name>
<Age>62</Age>
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<xs:attribute name=“id” type=“xs:string” />

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<xs:element name=“Name” type=“xs:string />

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<Email>allan@[Link] <xs:element name=“Age” type=“xs:integer” />

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</Email> <xs:element name=“Email” type=“xs:string” />
</Student> </xs:complexType>

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</Students> <xs:element name=“Student”
type=“StudentType” />
</xs:schema>

XML Document and Schema

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 XML Namespaces
◼ Various XML languages can be mixed

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◼ However there can be a naming conflict, different

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vocabularies (DTDs) can use the same names for elements !
How to avoid confusion ?
◼ Namespaces:
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◼ Qualify element and attribute names with a label (prefix):

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unique_prefix:element_name

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◼ An XML namespace is a collection of names (elements and
attributes of a markup vocabulary)
◼ identified by xmlns:prefix=“URL reference”
xmlns:xlink="[Link]

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 XML Namespaces
◼

◼
W3C recommendation (January 1999)

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Each XML vocabulary is considered to own a namespace in

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which all elements (and attributes) are unique
◼

multiple namespaces

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A single document can use elements and attributes from

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– A prefix is declared for each namespace used within a
document.

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Resource Identifier) n
– The namespace is identified using a URI (Uniform

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◼ An element or attribute can be associated with a namespace
by placing the namespace prefix before its name (i.e.
'prefix:name’)
– Elements (and attributes) belonging to the default
namespace do not require a prefix

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 Example - XML Namespaces
<?xml version='1.0'?>

St. James’s Hospital

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<Accident Report

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xmlns:sjh="[Link]

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<!ELEMENT Patient (Name, DOB)> xmlns:dub=[Link] >
<!ELEMENT Name (First, Last)>

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<sjh:Patient>
<!ELEMENT First (#PCDATA)> <sjh:Name>

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<!ELEMENT Last (#PCDATA)> <sjh:First>Mike</sjh:First>

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<!ELEMENT DOB (#PCDATA)> <sjh:Last>Murphy</sjh:Last>
</sjh:Name>

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<sjh:DOB>12/12/1950</sjh:DOB>

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</sjh:Patient>
Airport Pharmacy

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<!ELEMENT Drug
((Name|Substance), Code)> <dub:Drug>
<!ELEMENT Name (#PCDATA)> <dub:Name>Nurofen</dub:Name>
<!ELEMENT Substance (#PCDATA)> <dub:Code>IE-975-2</dub:Code>
<!ELEMENT Code (#PCDATA)> </dub:Drug>
[...]
</Accident Report>
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 Why Namespace?
◼

different types of data

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Important for creating XML documents containing

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◼

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An XML document can be assembled using
elements (and attributes) from different XML
vocabularies
Must be able to
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◼

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– avoid conflicts between names
– identify the vocabulary an element belongs to

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 Advantages of XML
◼ XML is text (Unicode) based.

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◼ Takes up less space.

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◼ Can be transmitted efficiently.
◼

different media.
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One XML document can be displayed differently in

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Html, video, CD, DVD,
You only have to change the XML document in order to

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change all the rest.
XML documents can be modularized. Parts can be
reused.

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 Disadvantages of XML
◼

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XML syntax is redundant or relatively large

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◼ Supports only the text string data type
◼

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More difficult ,demanding and precise than HTML.

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◼ Lack of browser support / end user applications.

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◼ Still experimental / not solidified.

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