Beginning XML - Part IV(Basic Schema Of A DTD)

Beginning XML - Part IV(Basic Schema Of A DTD) by Amrit Hallan

In the following two articles, I'm going to wrap up my pondering on XML. We'll explore the basic schema of a DTD, and the future of XML.

Let's recall that some basic features of XML are:

· XML can keep data separated from your HTML · XML can be used to store data inside your HTML documents · XML can be used as a format to exchange information · XML can be used to store data in files or in databases

The power and beauty of XML is that it maintains the separation of the user interface from structured data, allowing the seamless integration of data from diverse sources. Customer information, purchase orders, research results, bill payments, medical records, catalog data and other information can be converted to XML on the middle tier, allowing data to be exchanged online as easily as HTML pages display data today. Data encoded in XML can then be delivered over the Web to the desktop. No retrofitting is necessary for legacy information stored in mainframe databases or documents, and because HTTP is used to deliver XML over the wire, no changes are required for this function.

Once the data is on the client desktop, it can be manipulated, edited, and presented in multiple views, without return trips to the server. Servers now become more scalable, due to lower computational and bandwidth loads. Also, since data is exchanged in the XML format, it can be easily merged from different sources - ok, this is the aspects that personally interests me. The portability of data. Database programmer all over the world face unlimited problems while tackling with data of multifarious formats. If formats cease to matter, anybody, anywhere, on whichever machine, can view and manipulate the data.