Introduction

As many people predicted, XML has changed the world! When XML was introduced, many considered it a revolutionary leap forward in how we look at data representation. Since then, XML has grown considerably and many new technologies have been introduced. The number of new technologies based upon XML is staggering. From Web services, to blogging, to alerts and notifications-there is so much coming out today completely based upon this technology.

This book covers not just the basics of XML and the XML specification, but it also takes a look at the technologies based on XML that are driving the tech industry forward. This book not only introduces these technologies to you, but it also shows you examples of these new technologies in action. So sit back, pull up that keyboard, and let's have some fun!

What You Need for This Book

This book is vendor agnostic as XML can be utilized on any major operating system out there. But this book is also about various technologies that are based upon XML, and for this reason, you will sometimes need specific vendor tools to complete the examples provided in the chapters. In these cases, the locations of the tools or technologies and where you can acquire them are called out in the chapter.

You will find that this book focuses on both Microsoft- and Java-based technologies, and therefore, you are sometimes asked to work with that vendor's specific development tools and environments to complete the examples.