Topics: Code: XML

Understanding and working with eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and the many applications and protocols derived from it, including SVG, SMIL, world-changing syndication formats like RSS, and more. Rolling your own XML language. Validating a custom DTD. Inline XML. Working with databases. Using XSLT transformations to publish – from print to the web. Understanding web services. How to read W3C specs. Patents, royalties, and web standards. Okay, okay, Podcasts, XUL, and AJAX. Now are you happy? (12 articles)

Getting Started with Ajax

by Aaron Gustafson

Issue 213March 7, 2006

In this excerpt from O'Reilly's Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition, ALA's production editor would like to take you aside for a little chat about the birds and the bees. Or maybe about Ajax.

More About Custom DTDs

by The W3C QA Group

Issue 199May 17, 2005

Your web page uses non-standard elements, so, following the advice of earlier ALA articles, you bang out a custom DTD to make sure your document still validates. Not so fast, says the W3C’s Quality Assurance team, who argue that crafting a custom DTD for the sole purpose of validation is a mistake … and then tell when it is the right thing to do.

Validating a Custom DTD

by J. David Eisenberg

Issue 194February 1, 2005

In his article in this issue, Peter-Paul Koch proposes adding custom attributes to form elements to allow triggers for specialized behaviors. The W3C validator won’t validate a document with these attributes, as they aren’t part of the XHTML specification. Not to worry! This article will show you how to create a custom DTD that will add those custom attributes, and will also show you how to validate documents that use those new attributes.

Inline XML

by Lachlan Cannon

Issue 153November 1, 2002

What’s in a namespace? For one thing, the power to use multiple XML languages in a single document. Lachlan Cannon explains how inline XML can extend the capability of your sites.

Using XML

by J. David Eisenberg

Issue 147July 19, 2002

More than a rulebook for generating your own markup, XML is part of a family of technologies that work together in powerful ways. Eisenberg demonstrates some of that power by creating an XML-based markup language from scratch and transforming it for a variety of formats, using nothing but his noggin and some off-the-shelf tools.

Fix Your Site With the Right DOCTYPE!

by Jeffrey Zeldman

Issue 142April 12, 2002

You’ve done everything right, but your site is breaking in the latest browsers. A faulty DOCTYPE is likely to blame. This essential ALA article will provide you with DOCTYPEs that work, enabling you to fix your site with just one tag.

Understanding Web Services

by Patrick Cooney

Issue 135January 31, 2002

By promoting standards-based communication,web services might change the way we build sites.

What the Hell is XML?

by Troy Janisch

Issue 132January 4, 2002

Attention, content managers, developers, site owners and designers: XML is here, and the time to start using it is now.

How to Read W3C Specs

by J. David Eisenberg

Issue 121September 28, 2001

Although they appear maddeningly incomprehensible at first, W3C specifications are actually great sources of information, once you understand their secrets. Learn how to read the specs.

This HTML Kills: Thoughts on Web Accessibility

by Jim Byrne

Issue 98February 9, 2001

Activist Jim Byrne sounds off on the importance of web accessibility, and the difficulty of doing it right.

Separation Anxiety: The Myth of the Separation of Style from Content

by Bob Stein

Issue 89November 17, 2000

The separation of style from content has long been the web’s holy grail. But is it a myth? Stein claims that when design communicates, style and content are inextricably wed.

A Child’s Garden of XML

by Simon St. Laurent

Issue 54February 18, 2000

Promises, promises. Despite the enormous enthusiasm XML has aroused among programmers and e-commerce shops, the technology has so far missed its original target, the World Wide Web. But all that may change very soon. Simon St. Laurent explains why XML is good for you... and how it will change the web as we know it.

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