Preface

XML technologies are finding their way into all aspects of modern software development projects, from configuration files to remote procedure calls. Diverse programming languages, platforms, operating systems, and vendors are all adopting XML technologies. XML is changing the way software applications are built. It is a huge leap forward in computing technologies, similar in magnitude to the recent advent of the Web. In order to build XML applications, you must become proficient at creating, editing, and debugging XML technologies using XML development tools. This book is about gaining experience with XML technologies with the help of XMLSPY—the world’s leading XML development environment, currently used by more than one million developers.

Who Should Read This Book

Today, hundreds of universities and training companies use XMLSPY to teach XML technologies. The XMLSPY development environment provides a hands-on, concrete means for learning XML faster. XML technologies, such as XML Schema, DTDs, XSL, XSLT, SOAP, and WSDL are, in general, quite abstract and complex. This book differs from other XML books in that it uses the XMLSPY editing environment as it introduces various XML technologies, allowing you to easily create any XML documents and immediately visualize the results as you type. It is the first book dedicated to learning all core XML technologies with the help of the XMLSPY development environment. If you are new to XML, this book reduces the learning curve, providing you with a solid understanding of XML technologies. If you are already familiar with XML technologies, this book’s focus on hands-on examples will accelerate your development productivity using the various advanced XML editing features of XMLSPY. If you fall into one of the following categories, this book is a must for you:

• Microsoft and Java developers: Both the Microsoft .NET framework and Sun Microsystems’s J2EE platform use XML and Web services technologies to communicate among applications. This book covers building Web Service Description Language documents, using the XMLSPY WSDL Editor, and testing and debugging SOAP applications.

• Web developers: XSLT enables you to separate a Web page’s content from its presentation markup, enabling Web developers to tackle such issues as internationalization of Web sites, content aggregation, and multiple output formats (for Web, wireless, and so on). This book covers XSLT in detail and includes coverage of XMLSPY’s XSLT debugger and XPath analyzer, both of which greatly facilitate XSLT development. Differentiate yourself from the millions of other Web developers by learning the intricacies of XSLT and becoming proficient with XMLSPY’s XSLT editing facilities!

• Database administrators: XML is rapidly finding its way into the leading databases. Today, both Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Oracle 9i support XML Schema, XML column types, XML views on relational data, relational views on XML data, and XML-based query or transformation languages. In fact, XML Schema may soon become the preferred data modeling language, replacing more abstract techniques such as entity-relationship diagrams. SQL is currently being extended to support XPath expressions and much more. This book includes comprehensive coverage of XML data modeling with XML Schema, XML Schema data types, and data conversion between XML and relational database formats. These topics are requirements for database administrators seeking to stay current with the latest developments in XML technologies in the database.

XML is one of the few technologies that pervades programming languages, platforms, operating systems, and the different technological tiers (Web, middleware, database) that all software vendors support. If your current project does not involve XML technologies, chances are that your next one will. So this book is for you!