XML - For Dummies...

[Intrigued]

Eureka!

I almost forgot I had purchased an XML book (ISBN: 0-7645-0692-7) XML FOR DUMMIES 2nd Edition. For some reason I put such in the wrong shelf (and in the wrong room) and lost track of this book. (Ack!)

Well, I am hoping I can get some feedback on wether a book that is four (4) years old will be up-to-standards with concerns to XML. Or, would I be better off purchasing a current book on this topic?

Thank you in advance for any and all feedback!

Sincerely,

[Corey]

What you need to learn about XML is tied to what you need to do with XML. Allow me to refer you to the first verse of my song, "The XML Song":

XML is just a container.
It can't write you name in you underpants.
Is somewhere for putting you data.
Now XML is something you understands.

It's probably not scientific, but I write from the heart, so... Anyhow I think the key here is just to be able to do what you need. You can learn an overview of what XML is/does in just a few hours, but applying it to something meaningful is the key. I never use XML for anything personally, so I'm not the best source. But if you need to make your data interactive, then XML is one method worth considering for sure.

It's a handy way to structure data in such a way that it can be processed more universally, but it is by no means the only, or arguably even the best, way neccesarily. It really depends on what you need to achieve. XML isn't really a fun toy per se in the same way actionscripting or AMS is, it's rather boring in a sense. It's essentially just a set of rules for laying out data structures.

That all being said, Lorne forgets more about XML by noon each day than I'm ever likely to know, so I defer to him, and anyone else who uses XML regularly, i.e. in their daily life as a mild mannered cub reporter for the man. :yes

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[Intrigued]

Still... thank you for your input Corey!

I could use all the suggestions, songs, and guidance I can get. :yes

Sincerely,

[rhosk]

Intrigued, I can't remember if you're a Flasher or not, but I can show you some scripts that rely on xml to generate dyanmic content for flash - from interactive menus to building entire folders fulll of files.
What Corey didn't mention (not his fault :)), is that php and xml work hand in hand (basically). If you look at the slideshow project I posted - that was basic xml structure. But, the mother of that xml (was actually produced by a php script) is php based. And PHP could probably produce CSS file structure as well (I've never used it this way). It could make the CSS, make a XML file for a menu structure and file locations, write the html, log you in, send an email, populate a form, pass other variables to other PHP's, create an image ;), create a folder, save and write a thumbnail....all in one execution. And we haven't even scratched the surface.

If AMS ever becomes "web based", my life will be over, because I'll never leave my computer (except maybe to go to the bathroom :D).

[Corey]

Yes PHP is the bomb, I've been advocating it since day zero, and in the face of some very heavy duty JSPers too. It works well with XML and most other relevant technologies. But the thing is that the process should never be more complex than the task, and ideally even simpler. It really boils down to the task. For example if you are heavy into electronic documents you would probably find use for XML and/or CSS also. But for typical web pages and small scale web applications maybe not... Much of it comes down to how you are required to interface with the world and what you plan to do with your data.

For a web site which is primarily a typical small scale, static info/product site there would be no advantage to using XML. For a web site which is required to share dynamic data with other systems XML is the way to go. Remember that XML itself doesn't "do" anything, it's not passing any functions to the client/server. It's just a document standard. (http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/#sec-origin-goals) So unless you have a need to interface with someone or something else, it doesn't really have much benefit over storing data in say MySQL or PHP includes. And of course PHP includes are faster to write, test, and parse. You certainly would not want to take a simple web site and then arrange it so your server parses it as XML instead of HTML unless you had a specific need to do so...

I guess my point is that XML is great but finding the shortest path between two points is the main thing. One thing about XML, it's highly evangelized so it's easy to get sold on it before you actually need it. :)

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software (http://www.indigorose.com)

[Intrigued]

rhosk, if you do not mind sharing a chunk of source on the topic, that would be much appreciated.

I spent a little time this morning pouring over the XML book to see what it all encompassed.

Corey, thanks for the added input. I surely do not want to say over-code any projects, web sites I work on! So, this common sense line of thinking is important and a major factor for me when comparing tools to use.

Thanks guys!

[rhosk]

rhosk, if you do not mind sharing a chunk of source on the topic, that would be much appreciated.

Hmm, depends on what you need/want. To tell you the truth, I learned all this stuff by doing (and mostly reading tutes on the Net). If it's something specific you desire, throw it at me. Trial & Error is frustrating at times, but just like in AMS, once you nail it, it's a great feeling.

[Intrigued]

Intrigued, I can't remember if you're a Flasher or not, but I can show you some scripts that rely on xml to generate dyanmic content for flash - from interactive menus to building entire folders fulll of files.

I have dabbled in Flash/Swish. It's nice to be able to 'google', and I do a lot, but, it's also nice to hear from the creator of a project first hand!

Thanks in advance rhosk! :yes

[rhosk]

You say you've dabbled.....What version (if any) of Flash do you have. And I don't Swish, sorry.

I'll have some examples soon. My computer time is just about over for today :D but, stay tuned.

[Intrigued]

Flash MX version.

Thanks!