XML, NAMESPACE

Lecture 1

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 Objectives
• Introduction to XML
– Outline the feature of markup language and list
their drawbacks
– Define and describe XML
– State the benefits and scope of XML
• Exploring XML
– Describe the structure of an XML document
– Explain the lifecycle of an XML document

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 Objectives
• Exploring XML (Cont‟…)
– State the functions of editors for XML and list the
popularly used editors.
– State the functions of parsers for XML and list
names of commonly used parsers.
– State the functions of browsers for XML and list of
commonly used browsers

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 Objectives
• Working with XML
– Explain the steps towards building an XML
– Define what is meant by well-formed XML
• XML Syntax
– State and describe the use of comments and
processing instructions in XML
– Classify character data that is written between tags
– Describe entities, DOCTYPE declarations and
attributes

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 Objectives
• Describe namespaces
– Define XML Namespaces
– Working with Namespaces Syntax
• Problems posed by prefixes
• Placing attributes in a namespace
• Default Namespaces
• Override default namespaces

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 History of Markup
Documents recorded
using paper and pen Typesetters formatting
documents

Tools used by typesetters

to format a document

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 Markup Language
• A Markup language defines the rules that help to add
meaning to the content and structure of documents.
• They are classified as:
– Stylistic Markup – It determines the presentation of the
document
– Structure Markup – It defines the structure of the
document
– Semantic Markup – It determines the content of the
document

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 SGML
• Generalized Markup Language (GML) is the
system of formatting documents.
• GML was fine-tuned and came to be known as
Standard Generalized Markup Language
(SGML).
• SGML is the source of origin of all markup
languages

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 Features of SGML
• It describes markup language, which allows
authors to create their own tags that relate to
their content.
• It needs a separate file that will contain all the
rules for the language, for its interpretation
• A SGML application is markup language
derived from SGML.

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 Introduction to HTML
• HTML is a MARKUP language
• Using HTML tags and elements, we can:
– Control the appearance of the page and the
content
– Publish online documents and retrieve online
information using the links inserted in the
HTML document
– Create on-line forms. These forms can be used
to collect information about the user, conduct
transactions, and so on

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 HTML
• HTML is the most famous markup language derived
from SGML.
• It was created to mark up technical papers so that
they could be transferred across different platforms
for the scientific community.
• It is now also used by those non-scientific users who
are concerned about their document‟s presentation.

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 Drawbacks of HTML
• Fixed tag set
• Presentation technology does not relate to the
contents
• It is flat
• Clogging
• HTML is not international
• Data interchange is impossible
• Does not have a robust linking mechanism
• HTML is not reusable

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 HTML and XML code Examples
<UL> <Details>
HTML Code
<LI> TOM CRUISE XML Code
<CONTACT>
<UL> <PERSON_NAME>TOM CRUISE
<LI> CLIENT ID : 100 </PERSON_NAME>
<LI> COMPANY : XYZ Corp. <ID> 100 </ID>
<LI> Email : tom@usa.net <Company>XYZ Corp. </Company>
<LI> Phone : 3336767
<Email>tom@usa.net</Email>
<LI> Street Adress: 25th
St. <Phone> 3336767</Phone>
<LI> City : Toronto <Street> 25th St.</Street>
<LI> State : Toronto <City>Toronto</City>
<LI> Zip : 20056 <State>Toronto</State>
</UL> <ZIP> 20056</ZIP>
</UL> </CONTACT>
</Details>

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 XML -1
• XML stands for Extensible Markup Language.
• It overcomes all the drawbacks of HTML.
• It allows the user to define their own set of tags, and
also makes it possible for others (people or programs)
to understand it.
• It is more flexible than HTML.
• It inherits the features of SGML and combines it with
the features of HTML.
• It is a smaller version of SGML.
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 XML -2
• XML is a metalanguage and it describes other
languages.
• The data contained in an XML file can be displayed
in different ways.
• It can also be offered to other applications for further
processing.
• Style sheets help transform structured data into
different HTML views. This enables data to be
displayed on different browsers.

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 XML Architecture - 1
• XML supports three-tier architecture for handling and
manipulating data.
• It can be generated from existing databases using a
scalable three-tier model.
• XML tags represent the logical structure of data that
can be interpreted and used in various ways by
different applications.
• The middle-tier is used to access multiple databases
and translate data into XML.

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 XML Architecture -2

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 XML – A Universal data format
• HTML is a single markup language, but XML is a
family of markup languages.
• Any type of data can be easily defined in XML.
• XML is popular because it supports a wide range of
applications and is easy to use.
• XML has a structured data format, which allows it to
store complex data

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 Benefits of XML
• The three-tier architecture has easier
scalability and better security.
• The benefits of XML are classified into the
following:
– Business benefits
– Technological benefits

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 Business Benefits
• Information sharing:
– Allows businesses to define data formats in XML
– Provides tools to read, write and transform data between
XML and other formats
• XML inside a single application:
– Powerful, flexible and extensible language
• Content Delivery:
– Supports different users and channels, like digital TV,
phone, web and multimedia kiosks

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 Business Benefits
• Other Benefits:
– Data Independence
– Easier to parse
– Reducing Server Load
– Easier to create
– Web Site Content
– Remote Procedure Calls
– e-Commerce

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 Technological Benefits

Separation of data
and presentation

Semantic Technological Extensibility

information Benefits

Re-use of data

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 XML Document Structure

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 XML Document Structure

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 XML Document Structure
• An XML document is composed of sets of “entities”
identified by unique names.
• All documents begin with a root or document entity.
• Entities are aliases for more complex functions.
• Documents are logically composed of declarations,
elements, comments, character references, and
processing instructions.

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 Well formed and Valid Documents
• An XML document is considered as well formed, if a
minimum set of requirements defined in the XML 1.0
specification are satisfied.
• The requirements ensure that correct language terms
are used in the right manner .
• A valid XML document is a well-formed XML
document, which conforms to the rules of a
Document Type Definition (DTD).
• DTD defines the rules that an XML markup in the
XML document must follow.

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 XML Document Life cycle
• XML Document Life cycle

• Importance components
• Editors
• Parser
• Browser
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 Editors
• The main functions that editors provide:
– Add opening and closing tags to the code
– Check for validity of XML
– Verify XML against a DTD/Schema
– Perform series of transforms over a document
– Color the XML Syntax
– Display the line numbers
– Present the content and hide the code
– Complete the word

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 Editors
• The popular used editors are:
– Oxygen
– XML Writer
– XML Spy
– XML Pro
– XML Mind
– XMetal

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 Parsers - 1
• Parsers help the computer interpret an XML
file.

<?xml
version=“1.0”?
>
<nxn> </nxn>

Editor with the XML document parsed by the Parsed document

XML document parser viewed in the browser

• Their are two types of parsers:

• Non Validating parser
• Validating parser
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 Parsers - 2

XML
file

Parsers load the XML

and other related files
to check whether the
XML document is
well formed and valid

Other related Data tree

files (like
DTD file)
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 Parsers - 3
• Commonly used parsers are:
• Crimson
• Xerces
• Oracle XML Parser
• JAXP (Java API for XML)
• MSXML

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 Browsers
• Commonly used web browser are as follows:
• Netscape
• Mozilla
• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Opera

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 Data vs. Markup

Markup

<NAME> Tom Cruise </NAME>

Data

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 Creating an XML Document
• To create an XML document:
– State an XML declaration
– Create a root element
– Create the XML code
– Verify the document

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 Creating an XML Document

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 Stating an XML Declaration
• Syntax
<?xml version=“1.0” standalone=“no” encoding=“UTP-8”?>

• „Standalone‟ and „encoding‟ attributes are

optional, only the version number is
mandatory
• „Standalone‟ – is the external declaration
• „Encoding‟ - specifies the character encoding
used by the author
• XML 1.0 version is default
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 Creating a Root Element
• There can only be one root element
• It describes the function of the document
• Every XML document must have a root
element
Example
<?xml version=“1.0” standalone=“no” encoding=“UTP-8”?>
<BOOK>
</BOOK>

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 Creating the XML Code -1
• It is the process of creating our own elements and
attributes as required by our application.
• Elements are the basic units of XML content.
• Tags tell the user agent to do something to the content
encased between the start and end tag.
Opening Tag Content Closing Tag

Parts of an
<TITLE> FPT University </TITLE>
element

Element
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 Creating the XML Code -2
• Rules govern the elements:
– At least one element required
– XML tags are case sensitive
– End the tags correctly
– Nest tags Properly
– Use legal tags
– Length of markup names
– Define Valid Attributes

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 Verify the document
• The document should follow the XML rules;
otherwise it will not be read by the browser or
by any other XML reader

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 Comments
• This is information for the understanding of
the user, and is to be ignored by the processor.
• Syntax
<!- - Write the comment here -- >
Example The example given will
<!-- don't show these
<NAME>KATE WINSLET</NAME> display only the name
<NAME>NICOLE KIDMAN</NAME> TOM CRUSIE, and others
<NAME>ARNOLD</NAME>
--> are treated as comments.
<NAME>TOM CRUISE</NAME>

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 Processing Instruction
• A processing information is a bit of information
meant for the application using the XML document.
• These instructions are directly passed to the
application using the parser.
• The XML declaration is also a processing agent.
<?xml:stylesheet type=“text/xsl”?>

Name of application Instruction information

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 Character Data
• The text between the start and end tags is
defined as „character data‟.
• Character data may be any legal (Unicode).
• Character data is classified into:
– PCDATA
– CDATA

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 PCDATA
• It stands for parsed character data.
• PCDATA is text that will be parsed by a Parser.
• Tags inside the text will be treated as markup and
entities will be expanded.

Entity Name Character

&lt; <
&gt; > Predefined entities
&amp; &
&quot; "
&apos; '
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 CDATA
• It means character data.
• It will not be parsed by the Parser.
• CDATA are used to make it convenient to include
large blocks of special characters.
• The character string ]]> is not allowed within a
CDATA block as it will signal the end of the CDATA
block.
<SAMPLE>
<![CDATA[<DOCUMENT>
<NAME>TOM CRUISE</NAME>
Example <EMAIL>tom@usa.com</EMAIL>
</DOCUMENT>]]>
</SAMPLE>

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 Entities
• Entities are used to avoid typing long pieces of text
repeatedly within a document.
• There are two categories of entities:
– General entities
Syntax
<!ENTITY ADDRESS "text that is to be represented by
an entity">
– Parameter entities
Syntax
<!ENTITY % ADDRESS "text that is to be represented by an entity">

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 Entities

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 Examples of Entities
An example of Parameter entities An example of a General entity
< CLIENT = "&FPT;" PRODUCT =
"&PRODUCT_ID;" QUANTITY <!ENTITY full_address " My
= "15"> Address 12 Tenth Ave. Suite 12
• Entity declaration Paris, France">
– Syntax • Entity declaration
%PARAMETER_ENTITY_NA – Syntax
ME; &ENTITY_NAME;
– Example – Example
%address; &address;

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 The DOCTYPE declarations
• The <!DOCTYPE [..]> declaration follows the XML
declaration in an XML document.
• Syntax
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE myDoc [
...declare the entities here....
<myDoc>
...body of the document....
</myDoc>
Example
<!DOCTYPE CUSTOMERS [
<!ENTITY firstFloor "15 Downing St Floor 1">
<!ENTITY secondFloor "15 Downing St Floor 2">
<!ENTITY thirdFloor "15 Downing St Floor 3">
]>

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 Attributes
• An attribute gives information about an
element.
• Attributes are embedded in the element start
tag.
• An attribute consists of an attribute name and
attribute value.
Example
<TV count="8">SONY</TV>
<LAPTOP count="10">IBM</LAPTOP>

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 XML Namespaces - 1
• Two or more applications on the Internet may also
have some element names that are common.
Namespaces help avoid such ambiguity that may
arise.
• It also allows to combine documents from different
sources and enables the identification of what element
or attributes come from which source.
• It instructs the user agent to access the DTD against
which the document is validated.

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 XML Namespaces - 2
• A URI(Uniform Resource Identifier) is used to
identify namespaces in XML.
• It includes Uniform Resources Name(URN)
and a Uniform Resource Locator(URL).
• URL contains the reference for a document or
an HTML page on a web.
• URN is a universally unique number that
identifies Internet resources.

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 Needs of a Namespace
• Namespaces are used to overcome the conflict that
arise when reuse and extension of the DTD‟s take
place.
• Namespaces help standardize and uniquely brand
elements and attributes.
• Namespaces employ the URI to instruct the user-
agent about the location of the DTD against which the
XML document is checked for validity.
• Namespaces ensure that element names do not
conflict and do clarify their origins.

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 Needs of a Namespace

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 Syntax for Namespace

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 Syntax for Namespace
• A prefix is associated with the URI that can be used
as a namespace.
• Syntax
xmlns:[prefix]= “[URI of namespace]”
– The xmlns: is a reserved attribute
• Example
xmlns:ins= “http://www.fpt.edu.vn”
– Namespace needs to be declared before using
– It is declared in the root element of the document

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 Attributes and Namespaces
• Attributes comes within the namespace of their
element unless they are predefined.
• We can also incorporate attributes from two
domains:
<sample
xmlns= “http://www.fpt.edu.vn”
xmlns:tea_batch= “http://www.tea.org”>
<batch-list>
<batch type=“thirdbatch”>Evening Batch</batch>
<batch tea_batch:type= “thirdbatch”>Tea batch III
</batch>
<batch>Afternoon Batch</batch>
</batch-list>
</sample>

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 Namespace Application
• The new XSL syntax makes use of namespace to
identify both its own tags, and the formatting
vocabulary tags.
• The xsl: prefix are in the http//www.w3.org/TR/WD-
xsl namespace.
• The fo: prefix are in the http//www.w3.org/TR/WD-
xsl/FO.
• XSL is written in XML syntax and uses tags,
elements, and attributes.

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 Namespace Example
<book
xmlns:html=“http//www.w3.org/TR/WD-xsl/FO”>
<index>
<chapter>this is chapter 1</chapter>
<html:br/>
<chapter>this is chapter 1</chapter>
</index>
</book>

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 Default Namespace

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 Override Default Namespace

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 Summary-1
• A markup language defines a set of rules that adds
meaning to the content and structure of documents
• XML is extensible, which means that we can define our
own set of tags, and make it possible for other parties
(people or programs) to know and understand these tags.
This makes XML much more flexible than HTML
• XML inherits features from SGML and includes the
features of HTML. XML can be generated from existing
databases using a scalable three-tier model. XML-based
data does not contain information about how data should
be displayed
• An XML document is composed of a set of “entities”
identified by unique names

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 Summary-2
• A well-formed document is one that conforms to the basic
rules of XML; a valid document is a well-formed
document that conforms to the rules of a DTD (Document
Type Definition)
• The parser helps the computer to interpret an XML file
• Steps involved in the building of an XML document are:
– Stating an XML declaration
– Creating a root element
– Creating the XML code
– Verifying the document
• Character data is classified into PCDATA and CDATA

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 Summary-3
• Entities are used to avoid typing long pieces of text
repeatedly in a document. The two types of entities
are:
– General entities
– Parameter entities
• The <!DOCTYPE […]> declaration follows the XML
declaration in an XML document.
• An attribute gives information about an element

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