What is XML?
XML is a markup language, like HTML, that is used primarily to transfer data as text between disparate database systems. XML is a specification developed by the W3C, is a trademark of the World Wide Web Consortium, stands for eXtensible Markup Language, and is a is a pared-down version of Standard Generalized Mark-Up Language (SGML).
XML provides a way to describe complex data and data structures as marked up text, which allows the data to be transferred to any system that uses the same XML definition. That definition is stored in a document called a Data Type Document (DTD). Given a DTD, a system receiving the XML data can translate that data into a format suitable for their local database system.
XML has become so important to data exchange that the House of Representatives has issued a list of XML tags to be used for Web forms on Member Web sites and other Web sites that send e-mail to congressional offices. The purpose of these forms is to enable correspondence management systems (CMS) and other software to easily identify and process types of information -- such as name, city, state, zip code, issue, etc. XML is also a key enabling technology for Microsoft .NET.
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XML Training Courses
The following XML training courses are available from Blue Star Learning...
AJAX1 - Mastering AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML )
AJAX2 - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
MS1905 - Building XML-Based Web Applications
MS1913 - Exchanging and Transforming Data Using XML and XSL
MS2091 - Building XML-Enabled Applications Using Microsoft SQL Server 2000
MS2524 - Developing XML Web Services Using Microsoft ASP.NET
MS2727 - Developer Skills Builder for Microsoft .NET
XML1 - XML: An Introduction
XMLSD1 - XML Schema Design
XSLT1 - XSL Transformations 1
XSLT2 - XSL Transformations 2