License fee: $35/student
XML Manual (XML101)
This one-day XML courseware is meant as a primer to our XML Schema and/or XSLT courses or as a supplement to a programming course, such as Ajax, ColdFusion, or PHP. It covers basic XML, XHTML syntax, and DTDs as a way of helping students understand structure and validation.

Introduction to XML Training Overview

In this XML training class, you will learn to create well-formed XML documents, to build simple DTDs and XML Schema for validating XML documents and to build XSLTs for transforming XML documents into XHTML and other XML structures.

Introduction to XML Training Course Goals

  • Learn to create well-formed XML documents
  • Learn the difference between HTML and XHTML
  • Learn to create basic DTDs
  • Learn to create basic XML schemas
  • Learn to validate XML documents against DTDs and XML schemas
  • Learn to create basic XSLTs to transform XML documents for output as text, HTML and other XML structures

Introduction to XML Training Course Prerequisites

Experience in the following areas would be beneficial.

  • HTML

Introduction to XML Training Course Outline

  1. Getting Started with XML
    1. XML Basics
      1. What is XML?
      2. XML Benefits
        1. XML Holds Data, Nothing More
        2. XML Separates Structure from Formatting
        3. XML Promotes Data Sharing
        4. XML is Human-Readable
        5. XML is Free
      3. XML in Practice
        1. Content Management
        2. Web Services
        3. RDF / RSS Feeds
      4. XML Documents
        1. The Prolog
        2. Elements
        3. Attributes
        4. CDATA
        5. Whitespace
        6. XML Syntax Rules
        7. Special Characters
      5. Creating a Simple XML File
    2. Quick Introduction to XHTML
      1. XHTML vs. HTML
      2. The DOCTYPE Declaration
        1. XHTML Strict
        2. XHTML Transitional
        3. XHTML Frameset
      3. The Document Element
      4. A Sample XHTML Document
    3. DTDs
      1. Well-formed vs. Valid
      2. The Purpose of DTDs
      3. Creating DTDs
        1. The Document Element
        2. Other Elements
        3. Choice of Elements
        4. Empty Elements
        5. Mixed Content
        6. Location of Modifier
        7. Using Parentheses for Complex Declarations
        8. Declaring Attributes
      4. Validating an XML Document with a DTD
  2. XML Schema
    1. XML Schema Basics
      1. The Purpose of XML Schema
      2. The Power of XML Schema
      3. A First Look
        1. A Simple XML Schema
      4. Validating an XML Instance Document
    2. Simple-Type Elements
      1. Overview
      2. Built-in Simple Types
        1. 19 Primitive Data Types
        2. Built-in Derived Data Types
        3. Defining a Simple-type Element
      3. User-derived Simple Types
        1. Applying Facets
        2. Controlling Length
        3. Specifying Patterns
        4. Working with Numbers
        5. Enumerations
        6. Whitespace-handling
      4. Specifying Element Type Locally
      5. Nonatomic Types
        1. Lists
        2. Unions
      6. Declaring Global Simple-Type Elements
        1. Global vs. Local Simple-Type Elements
      7. Default Values
      8. Fixed Values
      9. Nil Values
    3. Complex-Type Elements
      1. Overview
      2. Content Models
        1. xs:sequence
        2. xs:all
        3. xs:choice
      3. Complex Model Groups
      4. Occurrence Constraints
      5. Declaring Global Complex-Type Elements
      6. Mixed Content
      7. Defining Complex Types Globally
    4. Attributes
      1. Overview
      2. Empty Elements
      3. Adding Attributes to Elements with Complex Content
      4. Adding Attributes to Elements with Simple Content
      5. Restricting Attribute Values
      6. Default and Fixed Values
        1. Default Values
        2. Fixed Values
      7. Requiring Attributes
  3. XSLT
    1. XSLT Basics
      1. eXtensible Stylesheet Language
      2. An XSLT Stylesheet
        1. xsl:template
        2. xsl:value-of
        3. Whitespace and xsl:text
      3. Output Types
        1. Text
        2. XML
        3. HTML
      4. Elements and Attributes
        1. xsl:element
        2. xsl:attribute
        3. Attributes and Curly Brackets
    2. XPath
      1. XPath in XSLT
      2. XPath Expression
      3. XPath Terminology
        1. Context Node
        2. Current Node
        3. Context Size
        4. Proximity Position
      4. Location Paths
      5. Axis
      6. Node Test
      7. Predicate
      8. Accessing Nodes
      9. Abbreviated Syntax
      10. XPath Functions
      11. XPath Operators
    3. Flow Control
      1. Looping in XSLT
      2. Sorting with XSLT
      3. Looping and Sorting
      4. Conditions with XSLT

Setup

For setup instructions, please visit http://www.webucator.com/Course.cfm?CourseID=XML101

Quotes from Trainers

I have been using and teaching from Webucator's technical courseware for a while now. From a technical and pedagogical standpoint, Webucator's course materials are well organized and easy to learn from, addressing a variety of learning styles.

- M.B., Toronto, Canada

Webucator's courseware is among the easiest I've ever taught from, has very few errors, and always seems to be well received by the students.

- D.S., Park City, UT

Webucator courseware is always clear and easy to understand, full of up-to-date links to good background information, and highly interactive. It is a pleasure to use.

- K.K., Marlborough, CT

Webucator's courseware is among the most intuitive and hands-on courseware that I've taught. Explanations are clear, hands-on opportunities are frequent, and the Webucator team has been very responsive to any questions I've had. Heartily recommended!

- S.H., Atlanta, GA

Quotes from Students

Wow! So much information to digest in two days. The Training Manual will be a good resource for us in the coming months.

- S.H., Software Engineer, Sybase

The way the course was sectioned out flowed nicely. The classfiles in htdocs flowed perfectly with the manual. The material was relevant and presented in a clear manner.

- Texas Animal Health Commission

The material was very well organized. I was able to catch up on languages I wasn't as much of an expert in (XML, Javascript), and then apply that to the greater goal (Ajax).

- M.S., Interactive Programmer, Q LTD

The materials, excercises, and class were perfect for me.

- R.L., Johnson & Johnson

The learning materials were structured very well and the pace of the class was just right. Good presentation and examples.

- R.H., GIS Specialist, Southern Nevada Water Authority