Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Generating XML Schemas and The Benefit of Schema Editors

An xml schema is a data file that's intended to explain the contents of an xml document as well as dictate and lay down rules to what can and cannot be contained in the xml file. These constraints are not just restricted to syntactical rules but can also specify what elements should be included, the order of these elements and child elements and so on.

Normally, an XSDL or XML Schema Definition Language is employed to apply these rules on data elements within an XM file.

An XML Schema is therefore incredibly helpful and versatile, allowing you to create very intricate and detailed data elements by specifying which elements inside of your data objects you may include or ought to include in your xml file, such as the string, integers etc.

A significant thing to be aware is the fact Schemas are also xml documents therefore they will also have to be valid and in accordance with normal syntax and other rules of xml as well, also referred to as a schema specification or even schema schema.

Additionally, there are additional meta languages that have been created solely to convey XML schemas, such as DTD, XML Schema and Relax NG. The latter two are a lot more developed and expressive than DTD, which happens to be actually rather limited with regard to capability.

To basically hook up your XML schema to your XML file (for validation functions as well as check the XML file is as per the specifications specified by the XML schema, the precise method depends on the schema language that you employ, one example is it could be as simple as calling in the schema from inside your xml file ie by adding the path via markup, generally known as imbedding or it could be via some other exterior method ie an xml schema validator, which might also be an online tool or even a computer's desktop based application.

To work with and change your XML schemas, you are able to use any of the free, open source and commercial XSD Editors that are available. These are typically available in a range of calibres, begining with the very basic and unimpressive functionality and feature sets, to some of the high end editors which feature graphical xml / schema representation and editing, along with syntax highlighting and source / wysiwyg view.

For minimal xml work, notepad or notepad , both available for free are more than up to the task, however, for more intense xml work, particularly development and professional xml coding, you should look at utilizing a commercial xml / xsd editor which will help you improve your development time and lessen errors in your code.

If you would like learn more about xml schemas or have an interest in finding sample xml schemas, think about reading a more advanced and comprehensive xml schema guide including the one here, http://www.liquid-technologies.com/Tutorials/XmlSchemas/XsdTutorial_01.aspx, or perhaps check out wiki or the w3c website.

The W3 schools webpage provides some good training for beginners however if you happen to be more advanced or intermediate programmer this website is just not for you because material is actually really simple and easy targeted at newbie learners.













Friday, 22 February 2013

The Benefits of XML & Java Over HTML

The omnipotent presence of the internet won't have escaped many people’s attentions unnoticed. In today’s modern age it is possible to browse the online market place and get goods in the convenience of any setting on the planet this includes whilst relaxing on the beachfront in Acapulco and not just from a PC or Laptop, today you can actually do all of this from a tablet or even just by your mobile device.

Nevertheless in spite of this level of popularity and also considerable use of HTML, it's in reality quite a limited technology and as the web has become more difficult and dynamic triggering new demands such as data interchange, interoperability etc. Which all HTML is unsuited for, and in reality wasn't ideal for in its original inception.

For that reason and numerous others, a new technology was in fact required, XML fulfilled the requirement perfectly. XML is a lot like HTML in syntax and structure, but it is way more than HTML, but if you happen to be conversant in HTML you'll not have any issues comprehending XML code.

XML is a markup language, also referred to as a meta language, meaning it is actually a language which you can use to define new markup languages i.e. you may make your own language to match your own application or domain.

Another fantastic aspect of XML would it be will work superbly with other related technologies for instance Java. For example, XML exposes the internet and java developing to portable non browser functionality. Quite simply, it frees and separates the content from the internet browser, exactly the same way as Java frees program behaviour from the platform. XML makes your web content available for other programs and applications in real time.

Because of this and much more, Java is an excellent technology to make use of with XML, specifically for data representation etc.

The limitation with HTML as said before, is that it had never been created for the modern demands of the internet, it’s more of a language about form rather than substance or content ie relating to the structure and presentation. This creates a significant challenge for innovative web developers attempting to create more versatile and robust information based systems or perhaps functionality.

Utilizing Java and XML you could carry out a lot of development tasks and build an array of versatile features as a consequence of benefits that follow which is not provided by HTML.

Extensible - design your very own markup tags to fit your personal needs.

Not display centric - HTML tags are pre-occupied with instructing the internet browser how to show information, they can't accomplish anything else, XML as well as java alternatively can easily separate content from structure so are suitable for network programs and able to complete other functions like business enterprise functions and even function with old legacy systems as well as brand new systems that come into being.

Directly reusable - it is possible to reuse your data several times and even alter your source data while not having to recreate your pages all over again or for it to break your website. For the reason that content and presentation are separated.

For all these reasons and much more, xml and java usually are much more helpful than plain HTML for developing trustworthy and robust systems and also functionality. Should you prefer a WYSIWYG user interface when coding and working with xml and java code, you should consider using an equally flexible and versatile xml toolkit or visit http://www.liquid-technologies.com/XmlDataBinding/Xml-Schema-To-Java.aspx for more information on xml java.

Thursday, 7 February 2013

Producing Enterprise Software Applications Making Use of Java In Addition To XML

Java is a comparatively straightforward programming language that may be called object oriented. We won’t get over-involved overly at this point with what specifically object oriented programming is, suffice it to enunciate that it's a programming paradigm that presents items like objects that contain data fields like attributes etc as well as methods, which are linked procedures.

The fundamental benefit from Java, relating to software development along with building business applications could be it gives you incredible flexibility to create java applications as well as it's really strong and safe simultaneously.

For extra developer tools, you may also take advantage of J2EE, a likewise potent and versatile tool that boasts lots of tools, specifications and methods, this is very valuable because it means the costs and difficulty of your business applications will be greatly reduced.

What's more, by means of Java you don’t need to panic about issues regarding systems or platforms, because Java similar to XML, is totally platform impartial this means you can make use of it across several platforms and systems without having limits.

Another good benefit for Java is the fact like xml, it is also absolutely free along with open source. Commonly big establishments happen to be averse to open source as a result of absence of accountability, recourse and support. However Java has plenty of third party support from vendors and within the Industry.

Applications that happen to be constructed on Java are also much simpler to keep up because Java has assistance for many modules along with components, the largest advantage of all must be the belief that it's also backwards compatible that makes it a whole lot easier to produce your apps.

In regards to making business applications, especially rich, appealing and even interactive web based applications and tools, Java servelets could make the main job less difficult even more enjoyable. New enhancements in web technology including Java Server Pages (or JSP for short) might in the future, even make it easy for simpler HTML and XML authorization for your business software.

For the benefit of folks who don’t know, JSP is a technology rendering it feasible for developers, specifically web-developers for making dynamically developed content for web pages from an HTML, XML or a few other document format types.

So that you deploy and also run JavaServer Pages, you will need a compatible web server with a servlet container for instance Apache Tomcat or Jetty.

Finally, probably the most beneficial advantage of Java is how versatile not to mention interoperable it is, these two features alone make it the most appropriate technology for program integration, which can be the most used method utilized by companies and also business today to bring their software up to the latest specifications, with no escalating their prices any further.

Java is the most apparent selection for application integration because it provides the platform you want through object orientated design and also programming methodology, which is really rather simple for your project where you need to gracefully integrate the application with different alternative applications, without much change and as quickly as they can.

If you're planning on utilizing Java and additionally xml files, you might also want to think about an xml java tool such as Liquid XML Studio to deal with your xml along with java tasks. Or for more information and facts pay a visit to the Liquid Technologies blog http://www.liquid-technologies.com/XmlDataBinding/Xml-Schema-To-Java.aspx.















Friday, 18 January 2013

A Look At The Good and Bad Points of XML

XML symbolizes Extensible Mark-up Language and it's a mark-up language designed for moving and also showing data or data throughout the internet, in a consistent and as planned fashion regardless of the systems or internet browsers being used. Hence XML is entirely system independent and it is obtainable freely.

XML was actually conceived to replace SGML and HTML, each of which are usually also mark-up languages though had their own boundaries and also constraints. For instance, SGML was in fact very complex and expensive, this made it very difficult to use for the web, especially since it wasn't being sustained by any of the commercial internet browsers.

In terms of HTML, despite being for free and also widely supported, it had a variety of major problems which made it unsuitable for use carrying data over the internet.

Thus XML was developed out of SGML by a team of IT experts from IBM and Sun, who used the best parts of SGML and eliminated the rarely used, complicated and awkward parts. The outcome was a simple, extensible and open specification which was only 26 pages long, when compared with well over 500 pages that the SGML specification came with.

So that’s principle history v XML, let’s right now take a glance at what exactly XML is and what it looks like.

In relation to its code syntax, XML is similar to HTML, i.e. you have an opening tag that looks like <xml>, and a closing tag that looks like </xml>

Except for the opening and closing tags, the remainder of an xml file is just sets of opening and closing tags with data (jointly, the tags and data are named XML Elements).

Having given a brief history on XML and going for a quick look at exactly what it looks like, lets now dive directly into the pros and cons, beginning of course with the pros.

The first and most apparent edge is the fact that contrary to HTML, XML tags have no semantic meaning; because of this you’re not bound in to using limited tags, one example is, in HTML you have to use the body tag to set your body elements or the head tag to place the head elements.

With XML you actually make your own tags to suit your needs and you can place whatever you like in between your tags, there are no limitations inside the rules e.g. with HTML only body elements should go within the body tag.

Another advantage is the fact along with tags, you can also create and publish your own rules, and these rules, in contrast to HTML, need not be restricted to formatting rules, XML allows you to define all kinds of tags with all types of rules, including tags representing business rules or tags representing data description or data relationships.

In spite of the many positive aspects, there is also one important downside which has prevented XML staying more broadly used than it is at present, which would be the absence of sufficient processing applications.

With HTML for instance, you can actually use any kind of web browser to read any HTML document that is not the case with XML, since there are currently no XML internet browsers available. Thus XML documents should be changed into HTML before you distribute them or even to employ a middleware program to transform it on the fly.

With that said, parsing tools and algorithms are constantly evolving and also new improvements are making it easier than any other time to work with XML, and so a lot of people are seeing the benefits to migrating their data to XML. Finally, commercial XML tools such as Liquid XML Editor can certainly tremendously transform your capacity to work with and edit XML based files and documents.

A far more comprehensive account of XML can be obtained from this XML guide or you can check out the W3C website for more information.







Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Exactly What is XML?

XML stands for Extensible Mark-up Language, and as the label suggests, it's a mark-up language and was actually intended for permitting internet pages to be viewable accurately across distinct internet browsers and various browser version types.

Whilst XML was designed for internet pages and had been certainly designed with the web in mind, you'll find it provides uses and applications past the web. Due to the flexible as well as versatile nature of XML, it’s furthermore become incredibly well-liked for making documents as well as document systems.

XML works on not one but two levels, first of all it gives you the syntax for making up documents, data or web pages, and second of all, it offers the syntax for declaring the structure of documents, data or web pages.

XML was actually produced by a group of engineers from the US IT company, IBM, which in turn itself was initially produced from SGML (Standard Generalized Mark-up Language), which was itself made to specify mark-up specifications for documents.

A core appeal of document management with XML is the ease at which you actually can speedily look at or “validate” your own documents. Through merely employing the correct XML policies and making sure you use the proper syntax, you may compose logical or well formed documents which in turn can easily then be quickly verified or parsed.

This specific simpleness will allow developers the freedom of being able to select how often and also when, to check the structure and validity of their files or information.

As an added point, it’s additionally worth pointing out that being able to create legitimate XML files is a effective means to understand the basic of learning XML by understanding the basic syntax, structures and rules.

Having said that, XML is an amazingly uncomplicated mark-up language to learn and master, if you are familiar with html, you will certainly discover the learning curve is actually shorter. As more and more tools start to feature XML, you may most likely realize the need to write in raw XML code less and less, a lot of authoring tools and parsers in fact possess intuitive WYSIWYG user interfaces with the actual XML concealed in the background.

Its similar to web pages where XML is undetectable to the naked eye, tucked in the back of the web pages programming. XML has a number of core benefits over and above those mentioned so far.

It’s rather simple, with merely a modest amount of syntax rules which you need to observe in order for your XML to be logical, and well formed, documents may well be made easily by designers through a core set of standard nested structures.

And so even though your document can easily turn into quite complex and layered with detailed constructions, the principles behind the complex layout are actually incredibly simple and effortless to employ by developers and programmers alike.

Another primary benefit of XML, which is kind of apparent, being that is part of he name, is that it is rather extensible. For instance, you can work with a number of XML related standards such as XPath and XQuery, to name but a few, to even further extend your core XML.

XML is also Interoperable, meaning that it can be utilised over lots of distinct programs and with many different tools and software, it is 100% system independent.

Last of all, XML is also open source and free, the standard itself is actually managed by volunteers working at W3C who control and enhance the standard regularly.

To find out more facts on XML, you could read a much more in depth XML guide or you may visit the W3C website which holds full details on the specs as well as lessons on how to produce and work with XML.