XML Simplified

XML Simplified
Learners Guide
XML Simplified
Learners Guide
2012 Aptech Limited
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or storing in information retrieval system or sent
or transferred without the prior written permission of copyright owner Aptech Limited.
All trademarks acknowledged.
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Second Edition - 2012
Dear Learner,
We congratulate you on your decision to pursue an Aptech Worldwide course.
Aptech Ltd. designs its courses using a sound instructional design model from conceptualization
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validate the technology and academic directions and endeavors of Aptech Ltd.
Aptech New Products Design Model

Key Aspects
1
Evaluation of
Instructional
Processes and
Material
Scanning the user

system and needs
assessment
Need Analysis
and design of
curriculum
Design and
development of
instructional
material
Assessment of
learning
Strategies for
delivery of
instructions
Preface
In this book, XML Simplified, students will learn the fundamentals of XML. This book is an introduction
to XML that prepares students with a strong foundation in one of the key elements of Web programming,
that is, XML. The book describes and explains various features and concepts of XML.
This book is the result of a concentrated effort of the Design Team, which is continuously striving to bring
you the best and the latest in Information Technology. The process of design has been a part of the ISO
9001 certification for Aptech-IT Division, Education Support Services. As part of Aptechs quality drive,
this team does intensive research and curriculum enrichment to keep it in line with industry trends.
We will be glad to receive your suggestions. Please send us your feedback, addressed to the Design
Centre at Aptechs corporate office, Mumbai.
Design Team
Table of Contents
Module
1.
Introduction to XML
2.
Namespaces
38
3.
DTDs
50
4.
XML Schema
80
5.
Style Sheets
124
6.
XSL and XSLT
158
7.
More on XSLT
211
Answers to Knowledge Checks
Module
Concepts
Introduction to XML
Module Overview
Welcome to the module, Introduction to XML. The module describes drawbacks of earlier
markup languages that led to the development of XML. The module also explains the structure
and lifecycle of the XML document. This module covers more on the XML syntax and the various
parts of the XML document.
In this module, you will learn about:
Introduction to XML
Exploring XML
Working with XML
XML Syntax
1.1 Introduction to XML

In this first lesson, Introduction to XML, you will learn to:
Outline the features of markup languages and list their drawbacks.
Define and describe XML.
State the benefits and scope of XML.
1.1.1 Features of Markup Languages

Early electronic formats like troff and TEX, were more concerned about the presentation of the content
rather than with document structure.
Markup languages are used to define the meaning and organize the structure of a text document. Markup
languages help the documents by giving them a new look and formatting the text.
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Markup languages are categorized into following categories:
Presentational Markup: Presentational markup language focuses on the structure of the

document.
Procedural Markup: Procedural markup is similar to presentation markup but in the former, the
user will be able to edit the text file. Here, the user is helped by the software to arrange the text.
These markup languages are used in professional publishing organizations.
Descriptive Markup: Descriptive markup is also known as semantic markup. This kind of markup
determines the content of the document.
Two types of markup languages are popular in recent times. They are as follows:
Generalized Markup Languages: These type of languages describe the structure and meaning
of the text in a document.
Specific Markup Languages: These type of markup languages are used to generate application
specific code.
Generalized Markup Language (GML), a project by IBM, helped the documents to be edited, formatted,
and searched by different programs using its content-based tags. Generalized Markup Language (GML)
was developed to accomplish the following:
The markup should describe only the structure of the document but not its flair.
The syntax of the markup language should be strictly followed so that the code can clearly be
read by a software program or by a human being.
In 1980, ANSI Committee created Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), an all-encompassing
coding scheme and flexible toolkit for developing specialized markup languages. Standard Generalized
Markup language (SGML) is the successor to GML. In 1986, International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) acquired it as a standard. SGML is a meta language as other languages are created from it.
SGML has a syntax to include markup in documents. SGML also has a syntax to describe what tags
are allowed in different locations. SGML application consists of SGML declaration and SGML Document
Type Definition (DTD).
In 1989, Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), a technology for sharing information by using hyperlinked
text documents was developed. HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) was created from SGML. In the
early years, it was extensively accessed by scientists and technicians. HTML was originally created
to mark up technical papers, so that they could be transferred across different platforms. However,
with time, it began to be used for marking up non-technical documents too. As the use of the Internet
became popular, browser manufacturers started developing different tags to display documents with
more creativity. But, this created problems for implementation in different browsers with the increase in
the number of tags used.
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Figure 1.1 depicts the evolution of markup languages.
Figure 1.1: Evolution of Markup Languages

The features and drawbacks of earlier markup languages are:
Features
1.
GML describes the document in terms of its format, structure, and other properties.
2.
SGML ensures that the system can represent the data in its own way.
3.
HTML used ASCII text, which allows the user to use any text editor.
Drawbacks
1.
GML and SGML were not suited for data interchange over the Web.
2.
HTML possesses instructions on how to display the content rather than the content they
encompass.
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1.1.2 Evolution of XML

In order to address the issues raised by earlier markup languages, the Extensible Markup Language
(XML) was created. XML is a W3C recommendation.
XML is a set of rules for defining semantic tags that break a document into parts and identify the different
parts of the document. XML was developed over HTML because of the basic differences between them
given in table 1.1.
HTML
XML
HTML was designed to display data.
XML was designed to carry data.
HTML displays data and focuses on how data XML describes data and focuses on what data is.
looks.
HTML displays information.
XML describes information.
Table 1.1: Differences between HTML and XML
Figure 1.2 shows an XML code.
Figure 1.2: An XML Code
1.1.3
Features of XML
Features of XML are as follows:
XML stands for Extensible Markup Language
XML is a markup language much like HTML
XML was designed to describe data
XML tags are not predefined. You must define your own tags
XML uses a DTD or an XML Schema to describe the data
XML with a DTD or XML Schema is designed to be self-descriptive
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1.1.4
XML Markup
XML markup defines the physical and logical layout of the document. XML can be considered as an
information container. It contains shapes, labels, structures and also protects information. XML employs
a tree-based structure to represent a document. The basic foundation of XML is laid down by symbols
embedded in the text known as markup. The markup combines the text and extra information about the
text like its structure and presentation. The markup divides the information into a hierarchy of character
data and container-like elements and its attributes. A number of software programs process electronic
documents use a markup.
The underlying unit of XML is a character. The combination of characters is known as an entity. These
entities are either present in the entity declaration or in a text file stored externally. All the characters are
grouped together to form an XML document.
XMLs markup divides a document into separate information containers called elements. A document
consists of one outermost element called root element that contains all the other elements, plus some
optional administrative information at the top, known as XML declaration. The following code demonstrates
the elements.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
- <FlowerPlanet>
<Name>Rose</Name>
<Price>$1</Price>
<Description>Red in color</Description>
<Number>700</Number>
</FlowerPlanet>
where,
<Name>, <Price>, <Description> and <Number> inside the tags are elements.
<FlowerPlanet> and </FlowerPlanet> are the root elements.
The usage of XML can be observed in many real-life scenarios. It can be used in the fields of information
sharing, single application usage, content delivery, re-use of data, separation of data and presentation,
semantics, and so forth. News agencies are a common place where XML is used. News producers and
news consumers often use a standard specification named XMLNews to produce, retrieve, and relay
information across different systems in the world.
Note: XML is a subset of SGML, with the same goals, but with as much of the complexity eliminated
as possible. This means that any document which follows XMLs syntax rules will also follow SGMLs
syntax rules, and can therefore be read by existing SGML tools.
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1.1.5
Introduction to XML
Advantages and Disadvantages of XML
The benefits of XML are as follows:
Data independence
Data independence is the essential characteristic of XML. It separates the content from its
presentation. Since an XML document describes data, it can be processed by any application.
Easier to parse
The absence of formatting instructions makes it easy to parse. This makes XML an ideal framework
for data exchange.
Reducing Server Load

Because XMLs semantic and structural information enables it to be manipulated by any application,
much of the processing that was once earlier limited to servers can now be performed by clients.
This reduces server load and network traffic, resulting in a faster, more efficient Web.
Easier to create
It is text-based, so it is easy to create an XML document with even the most primitive text processing
tools. However, XML also can describe images, vector graphics, animation or any other data type
to which it is extended.
Web Site Content

The W3C uses XML to write its specifications and transforms it to a number of other presentation
formats. Some Web sites also use XML for their content and get it transformed to HTML using
XSLT and CSS and display the content directly in browsers.
Remote Procedure Calls

XML is also used as a protocol for Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). RPC is a protocol that allows
objects on one computer to call objects on another computer to do work, allowing distributed
computing.
e-Commerce
XML can be used as an exchange format in order to send data from one company to another.
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Note: The process of manipulating an XML document is called as XML Parsing. The parser loads the
document into the memory. After the document is loaded into the memory, Document Object Model
(DOM) manipulates the data.
Even though XML has many advantages, it has a few disadvantages too. Some of the disadvantages are
as follows:
Usage of XML leads to increase in data size and processing time. Since XML uses Unicode
encoding set for characters, it also consumes more memory.
XML lacks adequate amount of processing instructions. If the process of translation is not used,
then the developers globally are forced to prepare their own processing instructions to display
XML in the required form.
XML is more demanding and difficult as compared to HTML.
XML is verbose and wordy as the tags used in it are predefined.
Versions of Internet Explorer (IE) earlier than 5.0 do not support XML.
Knowledge Check 1
1.
Which of the following statements are true and which are false in the case of XML?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
XML was designed to describe data.

XML tags are predefined.
XML consists of rules to identify and define different parts of the document.
XML offers a standard way to add markup to documents.
XML forms the basis to create languages like WAP and WML.
Which of the statements about XML are true and which of the statements are false?
(A) XML describes its data along with its presentation.
(B) Client reduces the server load by sending large amount of information in one XML document
to the server.
(C) XML uses only XSLT to be transformed to HTML.
(D) XML can be implemented as middle-tier for client server architectures.
(E) XML allows data exchange as it has no formatting instructions.
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1.2 Exploring XML

In this second lesson, Exploring XML, you will learn to:
Describe the structure of an XML document.
Explain the lifecycle of an XML document.
State the functions of editors for XML and list the popularly used editors.
State the functions of parsers for XML and list names of commonly used parsers.
State the functions of browsers for XML and list the commonly used browsers.
1.2.1 XML Document Structure

XML documents are commonly stored in text files with extension .xml. The two sections of an XML
document are:
Document Prolog: XML parser gets information about the content in the document with the help
of document prolog. Document prolog contains metadata and consists of two parts - XML
Declaration and Document Type Declaration. XML Declaration specifies the version of XML being
used. Document Type Declaration defines entities or attributes values and checks grammar and
vocabulary of markup.
Root Element: The second is an element called the root element. The root element is also called
a document element. It must contain all the other elements and content in the document. An XML
element has a start tag and end tag.
Following are some of the relationships:
Parent: It is an element that contains other elements.
Child: It is an element that is present within another element.
Sibling: They are elements which have the same parent element.
Nesting: It is a process where an element contains other elements.
An XML document consists of a set of unambiguously named "entities". Every XML document starts with
a "root" or document entity. All other entities are optional. Entities are aliases for more complex functions.
A single entity name can represent a large amount of text. The alias name is used each time some text
is referenced and the processor expands the contents of the alias.
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Figure 1.3 shows the XML document structure.
Figure 1.3: XML Document Structure

The following code demonstrates the XML document structure.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE Music_Library [

<!ELEMENT Music_Library (Title,Artist,Country,Price,Year)>

<!ELEMENT Title (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT Artist (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT Country (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT Price (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT Year (#PCDATA)>

<!ENTITY MS "Thatz life">
]>
<Music_Library>
<Title>YLO</Title>
<Artist>&MS; - Jenny Dan</Artist>
<Country>Germanyo</Country>
<Price>$12</Price>
<Year>2002</Year>
</Music_Library>
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where,
The first block indicates xml declaration and document type declaration. Music_Library is the root
element.
1.2.2 Logical Structure

The logical structure of an XML document gives information about the elements and the order in which
they are to be included in the document. It shows how a document is constructed rather than what it
contains.
Document Prolog forms the basis of the logical structure of the XML document. XML Declaration and
Document Type Definition are its two basic and optional components as shown in figure 1.4.
Figure 1.4: Logical Structure of XML Document

The following code demonstrates the XML declaration.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
XML Declaration gives the version of the XML specification and also identifies the character encoding
scheme.
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The following code demonstrates the use of a DTD.

Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE Music_Library SYSTEM "Mlibrary.dtd">
A document type definition defines a set of rules to which the XML document conforms. A DTD can be
either external or internal. In this case, the DTD is an external file.
1.2.3 XML Document Life Cycle

An XML editor refers to the DTD and creates an XML document. After the document is created, the
document is scanned for elements and attributes in it. This stage is known as scanning. The XML parser
builds a complete data structure after parsing. The data is then extracted from elements and attributes
of the document. This stage is known as access. It is then converted into the application program. The
document structure can also be modified during the process by inserting or deleting elements or by
changing textual content of element or attribute. This stage is known as modification. The data is then
serialized to a textual form and is passed to a browser or any other application that can display it. This
stage is known as serialization.
Figure 1.5 displays the XML document life cycle.
Figure 1.5: XML Document Life Cycle

Note: XML parser creates, manipulates and updates the XML document. It will read the list of records in
the XML document and the handler stores it in the form of a data structure. The handler then processes
it and displays it in HTML.
1.2.4 Editors
An XML Editor is used to create and edit XML documents. Any application can be used as an editor
in XML. Since all XML documents are text-based markup languages, a standard Windows Notepad
or Wordpad can also be used. However, for various reasons, Notepad should not be used for writing
professional XML. Notepad does not know that the text written in it is XML code, and thus, can create
problem. For an XML document to be error-free and possess XML-specific features, like the ability to edit
elements and attributes, a professional XML editor should be used.
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The main functions that editors provide are as follows:
Add opening and closing tags to the code
Check for validity of XML
Verify XML against a DTD/Schema
Perform series of transforms over a document
Color the XML syntax
Display the line numbers
Present the content and hide the code
Complete the word
The popularly used editors are:
XMLwriter
XML Spy
XML Pro
XMLmind
XMetal
1.2.5 Parsers
An XML parser/XML processor reads the document and verifies it for its well-formedness.
An XML parser keeps the entire representation of XML data in memory with the help of Document Object
Model (DOM). The in-built parser used in IE 5.0 is also known as Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML). It is a
component, which is available once IE 5.0 is installed.
Microsofts XML parser goes through the entire data structure and accesses the values of the attributes in
the elements. The parser also creates or deletes the elements and converts the tree structure into XML.
MSXML supports some of the COM objects for backward interoperability.
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Some of them are XSLProcessor objects, XSLTemplate objects, XMLDOMSelection objects,
XMLSchemaCache objects, and XMLDOMDocument2 objects.
MSXML 3.0 supports XSL transformations, which contain data manipulation operations. The XML parsers
ignore the white space by default, but if the default value of Boolean preserveWhiteSpace property of
DOMDocument object is true, the XML parsers preserve the white space. Using Microsoft Data type
Schema, MSXML 3.0 specifies a data type for the element or the attribute. MSXML also improves the
performance of the applications with the help of different caching features.
XML parsing in Mozilla performs functions like going through the elements, accessing their values, and
so on. Using JavaScript, an instance of XML parser can be created in Mozilla browsers. The XML parsing
in Firefox automatically parses the data into Document Object Model (DOM). Opera uses only those XML
parsers that do not validate DTDs by default.
Speed and performance are the criteria against which XML parsers are selected.
Commonly used parsers are:
Crimson
Xerces
Oracle XML Parser
JAXP(Java API for XML)
MSXML
The two types of parsers are:
Non Validating parser
It checks the well-formedness of the document.
Reads the document and checks for its conformity with XML standards.
Validating parser
It checks the validity of the document using DTD.
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1.2.6 Browsers
After the XML document is read, the parser passes the data structure to the client application. The
application can be a Web browser. The browser then formats the data and displays it to the user. Other
programs like database, MIDI program or a spreadsheet program may also receive the data and present
it accordingly.
The final output of XML data is viewed in a browser. XML is not supported by all browsers, for example,
Netscape Navigator 4.0 does not support XML but later versions of the browser like Netscape 6.0 do
support it. Only browsers like IE 5.0 or greater give full support for XML specifications. In IE, XML can be
directly viewed using style sheets. It gives support to namespaces and handles a mechanism known as
data islands where XML is embedded into HTML.
Mozilla 5.0 uses an interface to the XML DOM (Document Object Model) via JavaScript and plug-ins. It
also supports elements from the HTML namespace.
Commonly used Web browsers are as follows:
Netscape
Mozilla
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Opera
Knowledge Check 2
1.
Which of the statements about the structure of XML documents are true and which statements are
false?
(A) XML documents are stored with .xml extension.
(B) Document prolog can consist of version declaration, DTD comments and processing
instructions.
(C) XML declaration informs the processing agent about the version of XML being used.
(D) Root element must not be a nonempty tag.
(E) The logical structure gives information about the elements and the order in which they are
to be included in the document.
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2.
Which of the characteristics are true or false accordingly when an XML document is created by an
XML editor?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
3.
XML syntax is colored.

XML is not validated.
XML parser reads the document after it is created.
XML is transformed only via XSLT.
XML document is edited by keeping DTD in mind.
Which of the statements about XML browsers and parsers are true and which statements are
false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
XML parser is calculated against its speed and performance.

XML parser checks for validity and well-formedness.
XML parser does its work after the processor converts the document into a data structure.
Browser displays the content directly after the parser passes the data.
Crimson and Xerces are some of the browsers.
1.3 Working with XML

In this third lesson, Working with XML, you will learn to:
Explain the steps towards building an XML document.
Define what is meant by well-formed XML.
1.3.1 Creating an XML Document

An XML document has three main components:
1.
Tags (markup) and text (content)
2.
DTD or Schema
3.
Formatting or display specifications
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The steps to build an XML document are as follows:
Create an XML document in an editor

To create a simple XML document, you type XML code in any text or XML editor as demonstrated
in the following code.
Code Snippet:
<Soft_drink>
<Name>Refresh</Name>
<Price>$1</Price>
</Soft_drink>
Saving the XML file

After the typing is done, you save the contents of the file. To save the file, you click the File menu,
click the "Save" option and provide the file name such as, for example, SoftDrink.xml. The
extension .xml is compulsory if you are typing the code in Notepad or any kind of word processor
such as Microsoft Word.
Load XML document in a browser

After the document is saved, you can open the file directly in a browser that supports XML. A
common browser used is Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.
1.3.2 Exploring the XML Document

The various building blocks of an XML document are as follows:
XML Version Declaration
Document Type Definition
Document instance in which the content is defined by the markup
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Figure 1.6 depicts a XML document.
Figure 1.6: XML Document

Explanation for highlighted areas in the code:
<?xml
The XML declaration should start with the five character string, <?xml. It indicates that the document is
an XML document.
version="1.0"
The XML declaration tells the version of XML, the type of character encoding being used and the markup
declaration used in the XML document.
encoding="iso-8859-1"
Characters are encoded using various encoding formats. The character encoding is declared in encoding
declaration.
standalone="yes"
The standalone declaration indicates the presence of external markup declarations. "Yes" indicates that
there are no external markup declarations and "no" indicates that external markup declarations might
exist.
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The Document Type Declaration declares and defines the elements used in the document class. This is
a DTD used internally as demonstrated in the following code:
<!DOCTYPE
<!ELEMENT
<!ELEMENT
<!ELEMENT
<!ELEMENT
<!ELEMENT
]>
Student [
Student (Name,Dob,BloodGroup,RollNumber)>
Name (#PCDATA)>
Dob (#PCDATA)>
BloodGroup (#PCDATA)>
RollNumber (#PCDATA)>
If the same DTD is used externally, then the code is:

<!DOCTYPE student SYSTEM "studatabase.dtd">
<Student>
<Name>James</Name>
<Dob>26th September, 1983</Dob>
<BloodGroup>A positive</BloodGroup>
<RollNumber>17</RollNumber>
</Student>
This part defines the content of the XML document called as markup. It describes the purpose and
function of each element.
Note: The tags in XML are not predefined. XML allows the user to create the tags when needed.
<Message>
Please Call
</Message>
<P>
Please Call
</P>
The two XML code snippets listed show the same output with different names. They are equal as they
have the same structure and content.
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1.3.3 Meaning in Markup

Markup can be divided into following three parts:
Structure
It describes the form of the document by specifying the relationship between different elements
in the document. It emphasizes to specify a single non-empty, root element that contains other
elements and the content.
Semantic
Semantics describes how each element is specified to the outside world of the document. For
example, an HTML enabled Web browser assigns "paragraph" to the tags <P> and </P> but not to
the tags <Message> and </Message>.
Style
It specifies how the content of the tag or element is displayed. It indicates whether the tag is bold,
normal, and pink in color or with the font size 10.
1.3.4 Well-formed XML Document

Well-formedness refers to the standards that are to be followed by the XML documents. Well-formedness
makes XML processors and browsers read XML documents. A document is well formed, if it fulfills the
following rules:
Minimum of one element is required

Every well formed XML document should consist of a minimum of one element.
XML tags are case sensitive

All the tags used are case sensitive, that is <URGENT> is different from <urgent>.
Every start tag should end with end tag

All the tags in XML should begin with a start tag and a matching end tag. The end tags only have
an additional forward slash as compared to their start tag.
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XML tags should be nested properly

All the XML tags used should be nested properly. The following code demonstrates this property.
Code Snippet:
<Book>
<Name>Good XML</Name>
<Cost>$20</Cost>
</Book>
XML tags should be valid
Tags should begin with letter, an underscore (_), or a colon (:).
Tags should contain combination of letters, numbers, periods (.), colons, underscores, or
hyphens (-).
Tags should not contain white space.
Tags should not start with reserved words like "xml".
Length of markup names

The length of the tags depends on the XML processors.
XML attributes should be valid
Attributes should not be duplicated
Attributes are specified by a name and value pair which is delimited by equal (=) sign. The
values are delimited by quotation marks. For example,
<DOLL NAME = "BARBIE" COLOR = "PINK">
Attributes should follow the same rules as followed by tags.
XML documents should be verified

To be read by the XML browsers, the document should be checked against the XML rules.
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Figure 1.7 shows a well-formed XML document.
Figure 1.7: Well-formed XML Document
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Knowledge Check 3
1.
Which one of the following code snippets will give an output as

"Hi,
The test is on Wednesday.
Regards
Sam.
12/2/2007."
<Matter>
<Wish> Hi, </Wish>
<Body> The test is on Wednesday. </Body>
<Close>
Regards
(A)
Sam.
</Close>
<Date>
<Day>12</Day>
<Month>2</Month>
<Year>2007</Year>
</Date>
</Matter>
<Matter>
<Wish> Hi, </Wish></Matter>
<Close>
Regards
(B)
Sam.
</Close>
<Date>
<Day>12</Day>
<Month>2</Month>
<Year>2007</Year>
</Date>
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<Matter>
<Wish> Hi, </Wish>
<Close>
Regards
(C)
Sam.
</Close>
<Date>
<Day>12</Day>
<Month>2</Month>
<Year>2007</Year>
<Date></Matter>
<Matter>
Hi,
<Close>
Regards
(D)
Sam.
</Close>
<Date>
<Day>12</Day>
<Month>2</Month>
<Year>2007</Year>
<Date></Matter>
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2.
Introduction to XML
Which of the following code snippets produce an output?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

<xml>
9100203845902
Did you understand the concept?
2345823-23934
</xml>
<confirmation><question> Did you understand the concept?</question></
confirmation>
<sender>
Sender : 9100203845902
<recipient>
Recipient: 2345823-23934
<recipient>
<confirmation>
<sender>
Sender : 9100203845902
</sender>
<question> Did you understand the concept?</question>
<recipient>
Recipient: 2345823239
</recipient>
</confirmation>
Sender : 9100203845902
Recipient: 2345823239
<confirmation><question> Did you understand the
concept?</ question></ confirmation>
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1.4 XML Syntax

In this last lesson, XML Syntax, you will learn to:
State and describe the use of comments and processing instructions in XML.
Classify character data that is written between tags.
Describe entities, DOCTYPE declarations and attributes.
1.4.1 Comments
XML comments are used for the people to give information about the code in the absence of the developer.
It makes a document more readable. Comments are not restricted to document type definitions but may
be placed anywhere in the document. Comments in XML are similar to those in HTML. Comments should
be used only when needed, as they are not processed. Comments are used only for human consumption
rather than machine consumption. Since the comments are not parsed, their presence or absence does
not make any difference to the processors.
They are inserted into the XML document and are not part of the XML code. They can appear in the
document prolog, DTD or in the textual content. These comments will not appear inside the tags or
attribute values.
Comments start with the string . The parser believes that the comment
has come to an end when it finds a > as shown in figure 1.8.
Figure 1.8: Comments in XML Document
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Comments are written by following some rules.
Rules
The rules that are to be followed while writing the comments are as follows:
Comments should not include "-" or "" as it might lead to confuse the XML parser.
Comments should not be placed within a tag or entity declaration.
Comments should not be placed before the XML declaration.
Comments can be used to comment the tag sets.

The following code demonstrates an example,

Comment should not be nested.
The following code demonstrates an example of comment,

Code Snippet:
<Name NickName=John>
<First>John</First>

<Last>Brown</Last>
<Semester>Final</Semester>
</Name>
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1.4.2 Processing Instructions
Processing instructions are information which is application specific. These instructions do not follow
XML rules or internal syntax. With the help of a parser these instructions are passed to the application.
The application can either use the processing instructions or pass them on to another application.
The main objective of a processing instruction is to present some special instructions to the application.
All processing instructions must begin with <? and end with ?>.
Though an XML declaration also begins with <? and end with ?>, it is not considered as a processing
instruction. It is because an XML declaration provides information only for the parsers and not for the
application. In some cases, the application might need the information in the processing instruction only
if it displays the output to the user.
Syntax:
<?PITarget <instruction>?>
where,
PITarget is the name of the application that should receive the processing instructions.
<instruction> is the instruction for the application.
The following code demonstrates an example of processing instruction.
Code Snippet:
<Name NickName=John>
<First>John</First>
<Last>Brown</Last>
<?feesprocessor SELECT fees FROM STUDENTFEES?>
<Semester>Final</Semester>
</Name>
where,
feesprocessor is the name of the application that receives the processing instruction.
SELECT fees FROM STUDENTFEES is the instruction.
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1.4.3 Classification of Character Data

An XML document is divided into markup and character data.
Character data describes the documents actual content with the white space. The text in character
data is not processed by the parser and thus, not treated as a regular text. The character data can be
classified into:
CDATA
PCDATA
1.4.4 PCDATA
The data that is parsed by the parser is called as parsed character data (PCDATA). The PCDATA specifies
that the element has parsed character data. It is used in the element declaration.
Escape character like "<" when used in the XML document will make the parser interpret it as a new
element. As a result it will generate an error as shown in figure 1.9.
Figure 1.9: Error in Output
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The following code demonstrates an example of PCDATA.

Code Snippet:
<Name nickname=John>
<First>John</First>
<Last>Brown</Last>
<Semester>Final> 10 & <20</Semester>
</Name>
1.4.5 CDATA
CDATA stands for character data that has reserved and white space characters in it. Though the text
inside the CDATA is not parsed by the parser, it is commonly used for scripting code. XML parser ignores
all tags and entity references inside the CDATA blocks. The CDATA block indicates to the parser that it is
just a text but not a markup. A CDATA block always begins with the delimiter <![CDATA[ and ends with
the delimiter ]]>. Since the ending delimiter marks the end of the CDATA block, the character string ]]/
is not allowed in the middle of the CDATA block. This will signal the end of the CDATA section.
The syntax of CDATA is as follows:
<![CDATA[ data ]]>
The following code demonstrates an example of CDATA.
Code Snippet:
<Sample>
<![CDATA[
<Document>
<Name>Core XML</Name>
<Company>Aptech</Company>
</Document>]]>
</Sample>
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1.4.6 Entities
The XML document is made up of large amount of information called as entities. Entities are used to avoid
typing long pieces of text repeatedly, within the document. They can be categorized into the following:
Character entities: They form the mechanism, which is used in place of a characters literal form.
They provide the meaning of > when the symbol > is typed. Character entities can also be
used with decimal or hexadecimal values with a condition that the numbers support Unicode
coding. An XML processing program replaces character entities with their equivalent characters.
Content entities: These entities are used to replace certain values. They are similar to text
substitution macros in programming languages such as C. Content entity has the following syntax:
<!Entity name value>
Unparsed entities: These entities when used, turn off the parsing process. They can be used to
include multimedia content in the XML document.
Every entity consists a name and a value. The value ranges from a single character to a XML markup
file. As the XML document is parsed, it checks for entity references. For every entity reference, the parser
checks the memory to replace the entity reference with a text or markup.
An entity reference consists of an ampersand (&), the entity name, and a semicolon (;).
All the entities must be declared before they are used in the document. An entity can be declared either
in a document prolog or in a DTD.
Some of the entities are defined in the system and are known as pre-defined entities. These entities are
described in table 1.2.
Predefined Entity
<
>
&
'
"
Description
Produces the left angle bracket
Produces the right angle bracket
Produces the ampersand
Produces a single quote character
Produces a double quote character
Output
<
>
&
"
Table 1.2: Entities
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The following code demonstrates an example of entities.

Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE Letter [
<!ENTITY address "15 Downing St Floor 1">
<!ENTITY city "New York">
]>
<Letter>
<To>"Tom Smith"</To>

<Address>&address;</Address>

<City>&city;</City>
<Body>
Hi! How are you?
The sum is > $1000
</Body>
<From>ARNOLD</From>
</Letter>
1.4.7 Entity Categories

Entities are used as shortcuts to refer to the data pages. Figure 1.10 shows the entity categories.
Figure 1.10: Entity Categories

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The two types of entities are as follows:
General Entity
These are the entities used within the document content. General entities can either be declared
internally or externally. The references for general entities start out with an ampersand (&) and end
with a semicolon (;). The entitys name is present within these two characters.
Every internal general entity is defined in the DTD. It is declared with the keyword <!ENTITY>. The
syntax is as follows:
<!ENTITY Name "text that is to replaced">
where,
Name: value for the text that is to be replaced.
External entities refer to the storage units outside the document containing the root element. Using
external entity references, external entities can be embedded inside the document. An external
entity reference indicates the location where the parser should insert the external entity in the
document. The external entity has Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in its declaration; the URL
specified indicates the document where the text of the entity is present. The syntax is as follows:
<!ENTITY Name SYSTEM "URL">
The following code demonstrates an example of general entity.
Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE MusicCollection [
<!ENTITY R "Rock">
<!ENTITY S "Soft">
<!ENTITY RA "Rap">
<!ENTITY HH "Hiphop">
<!ENTITY F "Folk">
]>
Parameter Entity
These types of entities are used only in the DTD. These type of entities are declared in DTD. Both
internal and external parameter entities should not be used in the content of the XML document
as the processor does not recognise them. A well-formed parameter entity is similar to general
entity, except that it will include the % specifier. The reference is also similar to the general entity
reference.
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References to these entities are made by using percent-sign (%) and semicolon (;) as delimiters.
The following code demonstrates an example of parameter entity.
Code Snippet:
<!ENTITY % ADDRESS "text that is to be represented by an entity">
A well-formed parameter entity will look like a general entity, except that it will include the "%"
specifier.
1.4.8 Doctype Declarations

The DTD defines the elements to be used in the document.
A DTD is declared to indicate what DTD the document adheres to. It can be declared either in the XML
document or can be referenced to the external document.
Syntax:
The syntax of document type declaration is as follows:
<! DOCTYPE name_of_root_element
SYSTEM "URL of the external DTD subset" [
Internal DTD subset
]>
where,
name_of_root_element is the name of the root element.
SYSTEM is the url where the DTD is located.
[Internal DTD subset] are those declarations that are in the document.
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The following code demonstrates an example of document type declaration.

Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE program SYSTEM "HelloJimmy.dtd">
<Program>
<Comments>
This is a simple Java Program. It will display the message "Hello Jimmy,How
are you?" on execution.
</Comments>
<Code> public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello Jimmy,How are you?"); // Display the
string.
}
}
</Code>
</Program>
DTD File:
<!ELEMENT Program (comments, code)>
<!ELEMENT Comments (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Code (#PCDATA)>
The output is shown in figure 1.11.
Figure 1.11: Output After Applying DTD
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1.4.9 Attributes
Attributes are part of the elements. They provide information about the element and are embedded in
the element start-tag. An attribute consists of an attribute name and an attribute value. The name always
precedes its value, which are separated by an equal sign. The attribute value is enclosed in the quotes
to delimit multiple attributes in the same element. An attribute can be of CDATA, ENTITY, ENUMERATION,
ID, IDREF, NMTOKEN or NOTATION.
An enumerated attribute value is used when the attribute values are to be one of a fixed set of legal
values. The attribute of identifier type (ID) should be unique. It is used to search a particular instance
of an element. Each element can only have one attribute of type ID. IDREF is also an identifier type
and it should only point to one element. IDREF attributes can be used to refer to an element from
other elements. An attribute of type NMTOKEN allows any combination of name token characters. The
characters can be letters, numbers, periods, dashes, colons or underscores. An NMTOKENS type attribute
allows multiple values but separated by white space. A NOTATION type attribute must refer to a notation
declared elsewhere in the DTD. A declaration can also be an example for a list of notations.
Syntax:
<elementName attName1="attValue2" attName2="attValue2"...>
The following code demonstrates an example of attributes.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<Player Sex="male">
<FirstName>Tom</FirstName>
<LastName>Federer</LastName>
</Player>
Attributes have some limitations, which are as follows:
Unlike child elements, they do not contain multiple values and do not describe structures.
They are not expandable for future changes.
They are not easily manipulated by the code.
They are not easy to test against a DTD.
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Knowledge Check 4
1.
Which of the following statements are true in the case of comments and processing instructions in
XML?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
Comments are processed by the processor.

Comments appear only in the document prolog.
Processing instructions are application specific.
Processing instructions are passed to the target.
</PITarget <instruction>/> is a processing instruction.
Which of the following statements are valid for character data in XML?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Character data is treated as regular text.

Characters like ">" and "&" can be used in PCDATA sections.
Characters like ">" and "&" can be used in CDATA sections.
CDATA starts with "<![CDATA[" and ends with "]]>".
Parameter entities use ampersand (&) and semicolon (;) as delimiters.
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Module Summary
In this module, Introduction to XML, you learnt about:
Introduction to XML
XML was developed to overcome the drawbacks of earlier markup languages. XML consists
of set of rules that describe the content to be displayed in the document. XML markup
contains the content in the information containers called as elements.
Exploring XML
XML document is divided into two parts namely document prolog and root element. An XML
editor creates the XML document and a parser validates the document.
Working with XML

XML document is divided into XML Version Declaration, DTD and the document instance in
which the markup defines the content. The XML markup is again categorized into structural,
semantic and stylistic. The output of the XML document is displayed in the browser if it is
well formed.
XML Syntax
Comments are used in the document to give information about the line or block of code. The
content in XML document is divided into mark up and character data. The entities in XML are
divided into general entities and parameter entities. A DTD can be declared either internally
or externally.
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Namespaces
Module Overview
Welcome to the module, Namespaces. This module introduces XML Namespaces and the reasons
for using Namespaces in XML documents. This module aims at giving a clear understanding of
Namespaces syntax.
XML Namespaces
Working with Namespaces Syntax
2.1 XML Namespaces

In this first lesson, XML Namespaces, you will learn to:
Identify the need for a namespace.
Define and describe namespaces in XML.
2.1.1 Duplicate Element Names

XML allows developers to create their own elements and attributes for their own projects. These elements
or attributes can be shared by the developers working on similar projects all over the world.
For example, an author of an XML document includes element called <title> in a <CD> element and
another author creates an element <title> in a <Book> element. A problem will arise if the <title>
element created by two different authors, is merged into a single XML document. XML developer has to
ensure the uniqueness of the element names and attributes in a document.
2.1.2 Consequences of Duplicate Element Names

When authors begin integrating the XML documents from different developers, name conflicts are
inevitable. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult for the browser to distinguish a conflicting element in a
XML document.
Consider an example where there are two occurrences of the <title> element in an XML document, one
suggesting the title of a CD whereas another suggesting the title of a book. Imagine that an application is
supposed to access this document and search for the <title> element. An XML parser will be lost if it
does not get an additional information to search for a specific title.
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Figure 2.1 depicts duplicate elements.
Figure 2.1: Duplicate Elements
2.1.3 Namespaces
In XML, elements are distinguished by using namespaces. XML Namespaces provide a globally unique
name for an element or attribute so that they do not conflict one another.
A namespace is a collection of names that can be used as element names or attribute names in XML
document.
XML namespaces provide the following advantages:
Reusability
XML Namespaces enable reuse of markup by making use of the elements and attributes that were
defined earlier.
Modularity
Reusable code modules can be written, and these can be invoked for specific elements or attributes.
Elements and attributes from different modules can be integrated into a single XML document.
Universally unique element names and attributes guarantee that such modules can be invoked for
certain elements and attributes.
Extensibility
XML Namespaces provide the XML documents with the ability to embed elements and attributes
from other vocabularies like MathML, XHTML (Extensible HyperText MarkUp Language), and so
forth.
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Note: A Namespace is identified by the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). For example, we can have all
three elements named as 'batch'. The first referring the batch of students in Aptech Education Center,
the second a batch of products, and the third, a batch of tourists. The element batch can be identified
with a unique URI as given.
http://www.Aptech_edu.ac.batch
http://www.tea.org.batch
http://www.tourism.org.batch
Knowledge Check 1
1.
Which of these statements about XML elements and XML Namespaces are true and which statements
are false?
(A) Browser has the ability distinguish duplicate element names in an XML document.
(B) XML developer has to ensure the uniqueness of the element names and attributes in a
document.
(C) A namespace is a collection of names that can be used as element names or attribute
names in XML document.
(D) In XML, elements are distinguished by using DTD.
2.2 Working with Namespaces Syntax

In this last lesson, Working with Namespaces syntax, you will learn to:
Explain the syntax for XML namespaces.
Discuss attributes and namespaces.
Discuss how to use default namespaces.
2.2.1 Prefixing Element Names

Namespaces are a mechanism by which element and attribute names can be assigned to groups. They
also ensure that there is no conflict within element names. The best way to solve this problem is for every
element in a document to have a completely distinct name. Therefore, the XML Namespace prefixes are
directly attached to names as well as names of its attributes and descendants.
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Using prefixes in the element names provide a means for the document authors to prevent name collisions,
as demonstrated in the following code.
Code Snippet:
<CD:Title> Feel </CD:Title>
and
<Book:Title> Returning to Earth </Book:Title>.
In the example both CD and Book are namespace prefixes.
2.2.2 Problems Posed By Prefixes

There is a drawback to the prefix approach of the namespaces in an XML document. The reason for
prefixing an element in a XML document is to prevent it from being duplicated. However, if the prefixes
are not unique, the original problem of duplication would still exist.
To solve this problem, each namespace prefix is added to a Uniform Resource Identifier or URI that
uniquely identifies the namespace. URI is a series of characters used to differentiate names.
To guarantee name uniqueness in any XML documents that the company creates, the documents are
associated with their namespace. The following code demonstrate a company's URI which is located at
http://www.spectrafocus.com.
Code Snippet:
<S:Student xmlns:S= "http://www.spectrafocus.com /student/">
<S:First>John</S:First>
<S:Last>Dewey</S:Last>
<S:Title>Student</S:Title>
</S:Student>
Note: The namespace prefix is an abbreviation for the namespace identifier (URI). For the student
application, the prefix S or s can be chosen. The elements with the S prefix are said to have qualified
names. The part of the name after the colon is called the local name.
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2.2.3 Namespace Syntax

The XML namespace attribute is placed in the start tag of an element and the syntax for the namespace
is given in figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2: Namespace Syntax
namespacePrefix
Each namespace has a prefix that is used as a reference to the namespace. Prefixes must not
begin with xmlns or xml. A namespace prefix can be any legal XML name that does not contain a
colon. A legal XML name must begin with a letter or an underscore.
elementName
It specifies the name of the element.
xmlns
The xmlns attribute is what notifies an XML processor that a namespace is being declared. xmlns
stands for XML Namespace.
URI
A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a string of characters which identifies an Internet Resource.
The URI includes Uniform Resource Name (URN) and a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). URLs
contain the reference for a document or an HTML page on the Web. The URN is a universally
unique number that identifies Internet resources. Additionally, URIs are also case-sensitive, which
means that the following two namespaces are different: http://www.XMLNAMESPACES.com,
http://www.xmlnamespaces.com.
The purpose of namespaces, when used in an XML document, is to prevent the collision of
similar elements and attribute names. A namespace in XML is simply a collection of element and
attribute names identified by a URI reference. A URI reference is nothing but a string identifier.
A URI need not be valid, for example, there may not be an actual Web site with the name
http://www.xmlnamespaces.com. In particular, the URIs do not need to be valid or point to an
actual resource.
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URIs need not be valid, therefore, XML namespaces treat them like strings. In particular, comparisons
are done character-by-character. According to this definition, the following URIs are not identical
even though they point to the same document: http://www.xmlnamespaces.com, http://
xmlnamespaces.com.
The following code demonstrates the properties of namespace.
Code Snippet:
<Auc:Books xmlns:Auc="http://www.auction.com/books"
xmlns:B="http://www.books.com/HTML/1998/xml1">
...
<Auc:BookReview>
<B:Table>
...
The elements that are prefixed with Auc are associated with a namespace with name http://
www.auction.com/books, whereas those prefixed with B are associated with a namespace
whose name is http://www.books.com/HTML/1998/xml1.
Note: URIs encompasses both URLs and URNs. URNs differ from URLs in that URLs describe the
physical location of the particular resource, whereas URNs define a unique location-independent name
for a resource that maps to one or more URLs. URLs all begin with Internet service prefix such as ftp:,
http:, and so on, whereas URNs begin with urn: prefix.
2.2.4 Placing Attributes in a Namespace

Attributes belong to particular elements and they are not a part of namespace, even if the element is
within some namespace. However, if an attribute name has no prefix, it has no namespace. An attribute
without a prefix is in default namespace. If an attribute name has a prefix, its name is in the namespace
indicated by the prefix.
Syntax:
The syntax for including an attribute in a namespace is,
prefix:localname='value'
or
prefix:localname="value"
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Namespaces
Concepts
where,
prefix is used as a reference to the namespace. Prefixes must not begin with xmlns or xml.
localname is the name of an attribute.
value mentions a user defined value for an attribute.
In the following code, the type attribute is associated with the book namespace since it is preceded by
the prefix Book.
Code Snippet:
<Catalog xmlns:Book = "http://www.aptechworldwide.com">
<Book:Booklist>
<Book:Title Book:Type = "Fiction">Evening in Paris</Book:Title>
<Book:Price>$123</Book:Price>
</Book:Booklist>
</Catalog>
Note: Attributes from a particular namespace can also be added to elements from a different namespace.
The following example demonstrates this concept.
<Catalog
xmlns=
"http://www.Aptech_edu.ac"
xmlns:Author=
"http://www.
aptechworldwide.com">
<Book Type= "Adventure">The Last Samurai</Book>
<Book Author:Type= "Fiction">Hannibal</Book>
<Book>American Dream</Book>
</Catalog>
2.2.5 Default Namespaces

Consider an XML document which contains the details of all books in a library. Since this document
includes a lot of markup all in the same namespace it may be inconvenient to add a prefix to each element
name. Consider another scenario where an XML document is to merge with a MathML document.
This problem can be solved by adding a default namespace to an element and to its child elements using
an xmlns attribute with no prefix.
A default namespace is used by an element and its child elements if the element does not have a
namespace prefix.
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Namespaces
MathML Document
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) is an XML-based markup language to represent complex
mathematical expressions. It comes in two types, as markup language for presenting the layout
of mathematical expressions and as a markup language for presenting the mathematical content
of the formula. For example, expression x + 1 can be written in MathML as demonstrated in the
following code.
Code Snippet:
<MRow>
<Mi>x</Mi>
<Mo>+</Mo>
<Mn>1</Mn>
</MRow>
Syntax:
The syntax of a default namespace is given as,
<elementName xmlns='URL'>
where,
elementName specifies the name of the element belonging to the same namespace.
URL specifies the namespace which is reference for a document or an HTML page on the Web.
The following code demonstrates the default namespace.
Code Snippet:
<Catalog xmlns="http://www.aptechworldwide.com">
<BookList>
<Title type = "Thriller">African Safari</Title>
<Price>$12</Price>
<ISBN>23345</ISBN>
</Booklist>
</Catalog>
A default namespace using the xmlns attribute with a URI as its value. Once this default namespace is
declared, child elements that are part of this namespace do not need a namespace prefix.
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2.2.6 Override Default Namespaces

The default namespace applies to the element on which it was defined and all descendants of that
element. If one of the descendants has another default namespace defined on it, this new namespace
definition overrides the previous one and becomes the default for that element and all its descendants as
demonstrated in the following code.
Code Snippet:
<Catalog xmlns = "http://www.aptechworldwide.com">
<Book>
<Title type = "Fiction">Evening in Paris</Title>
<Price>$123</Price>
</Book>
<Book>
<Title type = "Non-Fiction">Return to Earth</Title>
<Price xmlns = "http://www.aptech.ac.in">$23</Price>
<Title type = "Non-Fiction">Journey to the center of the Moon</Title>
<Price>$123</Price>
</Book>
</Catalog>
Notice that in the price element in the second book element a different namespace is provided. This
namespace applies only to the price element and overrides the namespace in the catalog element.
2.2.7 Best Practices for Using XML Namespaces

Some of the best practices that are used for declaring XML Namespaces are as follows:
Namespaces should be properly planned.
Logical and consistent prefix names should be used for convenience while creating an XML
document.
Namespaces should be applied to a personal vocabulary, even when there is just one.
Namespaces should be used to separate or isolate elements that may otherwise seem similar.
When designing two vocabularies that have some elements in common, one namespace should
be used to hold the common items.
HTTP URLs should be used for the URIs.
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URIs should be coordinated by naming under a particular domain name.
Namespace URI should change for every substantive change to the vocabulary, including the
addition and deletion of new elements.
If possible, one prefix should be used for one namespace throughout all XML documents in a
system.
All namespace declarations should be made in the start tag of the document element.
Domain names like namespaces.com, namespaces.net, or namespaces.org should be used in the

XML document.
Knowledge Check 2
1.
Which of the following line of code are correct namespace declarations?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
2.
<Title:Catalog xmlns:Book ="http://www.aptechworldwide.com">

<CD:Catalog CD:xmlns = "http://www.aptechworldwide.com">
<Car xmlns:Vehicle xmlns = http://www.aptechworldwide.com>
<CD:xmlns CD:Catalog = "http://www.aptechworldwide.com">
Which of these statements about attributes and namespaces are true and which statements are
false?
(A) Attributes belonging to a particular elements within some namespace is also a part of the
same namespace.
(B) An attribute without a prefix is in default namespace.
(C) xmlns:localname="value" is the correct syntax for including a attribute in a
namespace.
(D) <Student:Name age = "12">Kevin</Student:Name> is the correct for associating
age with the student namespace.
(E) The prefix used in an attribute is used as a reference to the namespace.
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Concepts
3.
Namespaces
Which of these statements about default namespaces are true and which statements are false?
(A) <elementName xmlns='URL'> is the correct syntax for declaring a default namespace.
(B) The descendant has the same namespace as the parent element even if it has a new
namespace definition.
(C) A default namespace is used by an element and its child elements if the element has a
namespace prefix.
(D) A default namespace applies to the element on which it was defined and all descendants of
that element.
(E) A descendant having a new namespace cannot override the namespace defined by the
parent element.
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Module Summary
In this module, Namespaces, you learnt about:
XML Namespaces
Namespaces distinguish between elements and attributes with the same name from different
XML applications. It is a collection of names that can be used as element names or attribute
names in XML document. XML Namespaces provide a globally unique name for an element or
attribute to avoid name collisions.
Working with Namespaces syntax

Namespaces are declared by an xmlns attribute whose value is the URI of the namespace. If an
attribute name has no prefix, it has no namespace. A default namespace is used by an element
and its child elements if the element does not have a namespace prefix.
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Module
Concepts
DTDs
Module Overview
Welcome to the module, Document Type Definitions (DTDs). This module focuses on how to
create DTDs for XML files. In this module, topics such as DOCTYPE declarations, types of DTDs,
well-formedness, and validity of XML files, declaration of elements, attributes, and entities in a
DTD are also covered.
Working with DTDs
Valid XML Documents
Declarations
3.1 Document Type Definition

In this first lesson, Document Type Definition, you will learn to:
Define what is meant by a DTD.
Identify the need for a DTD.
3.1.1 Definition of a DTD

A Document Type Definition (DTD) is a non XML document made up of element, attribute and entity
declarations. The elements, attributes and entities defined belong to the XML document(s) the DTD is
defined for.
The DTD helps XML parsers to validate the XML document. It also helps authors to set default values for
element attributes. The document's tree structure can be determined based on the DTD.
Note:
Tree Structure
Hierarchical representation of an XML document, its root element, other elements, entities, and so on.
This structure is conceptually interpreted as the document's tree structure.
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XML Parsers
An XML parser is a software program or set of programs that parses XML documents for its structure.
XML parsers are also capable of validating XML files depending on DTDs.
3.1.2 Need for a DTD

The fact that XML allowed its user to define his/her own tag was one of its biggest advantages. However,
it also led to a genuine problem. People working on parts of the same XML document sometimes used
similar tags for different purposes and at other times, used different tags for the same purpose. At times,
same elements possessed or exhibited different attributes. Some sort of standardization of elements and
attributes was needed.
That is how DTDs came into picture. A DTD can define all the possible combinations and sequences for
elements to be used in an XML document along with their attributes and their acceptable values.
3.1.3 DTD versus DOCTYPE

The difference between a Document Type Definition (DTD) and a Document Type Declaration (DOCTYPE)
can be derived from table 3.1:
Properties
Definition
Abbreviation
Location
Syntax

A list of legal element, attribute
and entity declarations for an XML
document.
DTD
Within the DOCTYPE declaration or
an external file
<!ELEMENT element-name (elementcontent)>
...
DOCTYPE
Within the XML document's prolog
<!ATTLIST
element-name
attribute-name attribute-type defaultvalue>
Or
<!ENTITY entity-name "entity-value">
Language Type
Document Type Declaration

The declaration of the DTD to which
the XML document adheres to.
...
<!DOCTYPE name_of_root_element
[ internal DTD subset ]>
<!DOCTYPE name_of_root_element
SYSTEM "URL of the external DTD
subset" >
Non XML
XML
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Properties
Variations
Dependency

Present within a DOCTYPE (Internal
DTD) or in an external document
(External DTD)
Is useful only if declared using
DOCTYPE declaration
DTDs
Document Type Declaration
Declaring either an internal or external
DTD
Is useful only if it has a DTD to define
Table 3.1: Difference between DTD and DOCTYPE Declarations

The difference between the two is clear from Table 3.1. The DOCTYPE declaration is very important for
the DTD to be functional and in the absence of a DTD, a DOCTYPE declaration becomes ineffective.
DOCTYPE declarations can declare DTDs within themselves or refer to DTDs present in external
documents. Depending on either of the two, DTDs can be termed as internal or external respectively.
The following example shows how to declare a DTD within a DOCTYPE declaration.
Example:
File: Mobile.xml
...
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [

<!ELEMENT Mobile (Company, Model, Price, Accessories)>

<!ELEMENT Company (#PCDATA)>

<!ELEMENT Model (#PCDATA)>


<!ELEMENT Accessories (#PCDATA)>

<!ATTLIST Model Type CDATA "Camera">

<!ENTITY HP "Head Phones">

<!ENTITY CH "Charger">

<!ENTITY SK "Starter's Kit">
]>
...
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Additionally, the following example displays the same DTD shown in the previous example but in the form
of an external DTD.
Example:
File: Mobile.dtd



<!ENTITY SK "Starter's Kit">
File: Mobile.xml
...
<!DOCTYPE Mobile SYSTEM "Mobile.dtd">
...
The DTD is declared in a separate file "Mobile.dtd". The DOCTYPE declaration in the XML file refers to
it using the SYSTEM keyword.
3.1.4 Limitations of DTD

The purpose of DTDs is to facilitate validation. This fact makes DTDs both popular and essential. However,
DTDs have limitations of their own. They are:
DTDs validate XML documents but themselves are non-XML documents. One of the biggest
advantages of XML is its extensibility. However, DTDs cannot boast of this extensibility.
DTDs can be either external or internal depending on their DOCTYPE declaration. In spite of such
provisions, every XML document can have only one DTD to adhere to. This limits the advantage
of having both internal and external DTDs.
DTDs do not follow the latest trends of being object oriented, inheritance, and so on. This puts
them behind widely used programming languages and programmer preferences.
XML documents can use multiple namespaces. To use a namespace, XML documents require the
namespace to be declared within its DTD. However, DTDs do not support multiple namespaces.
This defeats the very advantage of being able to declare multiple namespaces.
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DTDs
DTDs support only one datatype, the text string. This is one of its biggest disadvantages
depending on the number of applications XML is being used for today.
Being able to define DTDs for standardizing XML documents is surely one of DTDs biggest tenets.
However, this is proving to be helpless with internal DTDs being able to override external DTDs.
Hours of efforts in creating effective DTDs could be ruined by malicious internal DTDs. Thus, the
security aspect of DTDs is very doubtful.
Knowledge Check 1
1.
Which of the statements about DTDs and their purpose are true and which statements are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
A DTD is an XML document.

DTDs contain declarations for elements and entities.
DTDs are used to validate XML documents.
Each XML document can be represented as a tree structure.
Ability to create one's own tags is XML's greatest disadvantage.
3.2 Working with DTDs

In this second lesson, Working with DTDs, you will learn to:
Describe the structure of a DTD.
Explain how to create a simple DTD.
Describe what is meant by document type declarations.
3.2.1 Structure of DTD

A typical DTD structure is composed of the following three blocks:
Element Declarations
Attribute Declarations
Entity Declarations
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Each element declaration specifies the name of the element, and the content which that element can
contain. Each attribute declaration specifies the element that owns the attribute, the attribute name, its
type and its default value (if any). Each entity declaration specifies the name of the entity and either its
value or location of its value.
These groups of element, attribute and entity declarations that form the three blocks of a DTD respectively
can be declared in any sequence.
3.2.2 Creating Internal DTDs

Creating DTDs is a simple six step process. These steps can be listed as follows:
1.
Declare all the possible elements
2.
Specify the permissible element children, if any
3.
Set the order in which elements must appear
4.
Declare all the possible element attributes
5.
Set the attribute data types and values
6.
Declare all the possible entities
Steps 1 to 3 deal with element declaration, steps 4 and 5 with attribute declarations and step 6 with entity
declarations. This is in clear accordance with the structure of a DTD.
Syntax:
<!ELEMENT element-name (element-content)>
<!ATTLIST element-name attribute-name attribute-type default-value>
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DTDs
Concepts
The following code demonstrates the properties of internal DTDs.

Code Snippet:
<!ENTITY SK "Starters Kit">
3.2.3 DOCTYPE Declarations

A Document Type Declaration declares that the XML file in which it is present adheres to a certain DTD.
The declaration also specifies the name of that DTD and either its content or location.
Placed in the XML document's prolog, a DOCTYPE declaration begins with <!DOCTYPE and ends with a
>. In between is the name of the root element, followed either by a pair of square brackets containing the
DTD itself or by the SYSTEM keyword and a URL specifying where the DTD can be found.
Without the document type declaration, a DTD is nothing but plain text.
Figure 3.1 shows the DOCTYPE declaration.
Figure 3.1: DOCTYPE Declarations
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Concepts
Syntax:
<!DOCTYPE name_of_root_element [ internal DTD subset ]>
or
<!DOCTYPE name_of_root_element SYSTEM "URL of the external DTD subset" >
3.2.4 Types of DTDs

DOCTYPE declarations have two basic forms of syntax. Depending on the document type declaration
syntax used, DTDs can be classified as Internal or External DTDs.
Internal DTDs
Internal DTDs are characterized by the presence of the DTD in the document type declaration itself.
The document type declaration consists of the DTD name followed by the DTD enclosed in square
brackets.
Figure 3.2 depicts the internal DTD.
Figure 3.2: Internal DTD
External DTDs
External DTDs are characterized by the presence of the DTDs address path in the document type
declaration. The document type declaration consists of the DTDs name followed by the SYSTEM
keyword followed by the address of the DTD document.
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Concepts
Figure 3.3 depicts the external DTD.
Figure 3.3: External DTD
Knowledge Check 2
1.
Which of the statements about DTD structure and DOCTYPE declarations are true and which
statements are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
DTDs are made up of three blocks of declarations and the DOCTYPE declaration.
Elements, attributes and entities can be declared in any order.
DOCTYPE declarations are specified in the prolog of the XML document.
Internal DTDs specify the DTD within square brackets in the declaration itself.
External DTDs use the keyword URL to specify the location of the DTD.
Can you arrange the steps of creating DTDs in order?

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Declare all the possible element attributes.

Specify the permissible element children, if any.
Set the attribute data types and values.
Set the order in which elements must appear.
Declare all the possible entities.
Declare all the possible elements.
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DTDs
Valid XML Documents
Concepts
3.3
In this third lesson, Valid XML Documents, you will learn to:
Define document validity.
Describe in brief how to test for document validity.
3.3.1
Well-Formed XML Documents
For an XML document to execute properly, it should be well-formed. A well-formed XML document
adheres to the basic XML syntax rules. The World Wide Web Consortium in its specifications, states that
XML documents with errors should not be processed by any program. The basic XML syntax rules are
as follows:
All elements must be enclosed by the root element
All elements must have closing tags
All tags should be case sensitive
All elements must be properly nested
All attribute values must always be quoted
Figure 3.4 shows an example of well-formed XML document.
Figure 3.4: Well Formed XML Document

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3.3.2
DTDs
Valid XML documents
A Valid XML document is a well-formed XML document that adheres to its DTD. The validity of an XML
document is determined by checking it against its DTD. Once it has been confirmed that the components
used in the XML document adhere to the declarations in the DTD, a well-formed XML document can be
termed as a valid XML document.
Validity of XML documents plays an important role in all XML applications. Be it creating modular parts
of the code, or data interchange, or processing of transferred data, or database access, and so forth,
validity of the XML document is a recommended feature. The following code demonstrates a valid XML
document.
Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE Mail [
<!ELEMENT Mail (To, From, Date, Time, Cc, Bcc, Subject, Message,
Signature)>
<!ELEMENT To (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT From (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Date (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Time (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Cc (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Bcc (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Subject (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Message (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Signature (#PCDATA)>
]>
<Mail>
<To> [email protected] </To>
<From> [email protected] </From>
<Date> 27th February 2007 </Date>
<Time> 11:30 am </Time>
<Cc> </Cc>
<Bcc> </Bcc>
<Subject> Meeting at Main Conference Room at 4:30pm </Subject>
<Message> Hi, Kindly request you to attend the cultural body general
meeting in the main conference room at 4:30 pm. Please be present to learn
about the new activities being planned for the employees for this year.
Yours sincerely, Bob </Message>
<Signature> </Signature>
</Mail>
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3.3.3 Testing XML for Validity
Validity being a desirable trait, it is necessary to be able to validate XML documents after their creation.
Validity of XML documents can be determined by using a validating parser such as MSXML 6.0 Parser.
MSXML enables the Internet Explorer (IE) browser to validate the code. Once the code is displayed in IE,
right-click the code to display the context menu. The menu provides the option of validating the code. On
selection, IE internally validates the code against the code's DTD.
The first image of figure 3.5 displays the validation result of a valid mobile.xml file.
The second image of figure 3.5 displays the validation result after the removal of the signature element
from the document's DTD.
Figure 3.5: Testing the validity of an XML file
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Knowledge Check 3
1.
Which of the following XML code snippets is valid?

<!DOCTYPE mobile [






<!ENTITY HP SYSTEM "hp.txt">

<!ENTITY CH SYSTEM "ch.txt">

<!ENTITY SK SYSTEM "sk.txt">
]>
<Mobile>
(A) <Company> Nokia </Company>
<Model Type="Camera"> 6600 </Model>
<Price> 9999 </Price>
<Accessories> &HP;, &CH; and a &SK; </Accessories>
</Mobile>
hp.txt
Head Phones
ch.txt
Charger
sk.txt
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<!DOCTYPE Mobile [








]>
<Mobile>
<Company> Nokia </Company>
(B) <Price> 9999 </Price>
</Mobile>
hp.txt
Head Phones
ch.txt
Charger
sk.txt
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Concepts
DTDs
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [









]>
(C) <Mobile>
</Mobile>
hp.txt
Head Phones
ch.txt
Charger
sk.txt
Starter's Kit
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<!DOCTYPE Mobile [









]>
(D) <Mobile>
<Price> 9999
</Mobile>
hp.txt
Head Phones
ch.txt
Charger
sk.txt
Starter's Kit
3.4
Declarations
In this last lesson, Declarations, you will learn to:
Explain how to declare elements.
Explain how to declare attributes.
Describe entity declaration in a DTD.
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DTDs
3.4.1 Declaring Elements

In the DTD, XML elements are declared with an element declaration. An element declaration has the
following syntax:
Syntax:
<!ELEMENT element-name element-rule>
where,
ELEMENT is the keyword,
element-name is the name of the element,
element-rule can be one of the following: No Content, Only Parsed Character Data. Any
Contents, Children, Only One Occurrence, Minimum One Occurrence, Zero or More Occurrences,
Zero or One Occurrence, Either/Or Content or Mixed Content.
Figure 3.6 depicts an example of element declaration.
Figure 3.6: Element Declaration

Some of the syntax and declarations for the element-rule options are shown in table 3.2.
Value
No Content
Description
These elements are
empty and accept no
data.
Only Parsed Character Elements contain
Data
character data that
needs to be parsed.
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Syntax
<!ELEMENT
element-name
EMPTY>
<!ELEMENT
element-name
(#PCDATA)>
Example
<!ELEMENT
Signature
EMPTY>
<!ELEMENT
Signature
(#PCDATA)>
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Value
Any Contents
Children
Description
Elements can contain
any combination of data
that can be parsed.
Elements with one or
more children are defined
with the name of the
children elements inside
parentheses followed by
their declarations in the
same order.
Syntax
<!ELEMENT
element-name ANY>
Example
<!ELEMENT
Signature ANY>
<!ELEMENT
element-name
(child-elementname)>
or
<!ELEMENT elementname (childelement-name,
child-elementname,.....)>
<!ELEMENT Mail
(To, From,
Date, Time, Cc,
Bcc, Subject,
Message,
Signature)>
<!ELEMENT To
(#PCDATA)>
Table 3.2: Element-Rule Options

Other declarations and the syntax that can be given for the element-rule options are shown in table 3.3.
Value
Only One
Occurrence
Description
Elements with children
declared only once within
the parentheses implicitly
appear only once in the
XML document.
Syntax
<!ELEMENT
element-name
(child-name)>
Minimum One
Occurrence
Element children names

accompanied by a '+' sign
inside the parentheses
should appear at least once
in the XML document.
<!ELEMENT
element-name
(child-name+)>
Zero or More
Occurrences
<!ELEMENT
names accompanied by a '*' element-name
sign inside the parentheses (child-name*)>
can or cannot appear in the
XML document.
XML Simplified
Example
<!ELEMENT Mail
(To, From,
Date, Time, Cc,
Bcc, Subject,
Message,
Signature)>
<!ELEMENT
Mail (To+,
From+, Date+,
Time+, Cc,
Bcc, Subject+,
Message+,
Signature)>
<!ELEMENT
Mail (To*,
From+, Date+,
Time+, Cc,
Bcc, Subject+,
Message+,
Signature)>
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Value
Zero or One
Occurrences
Either/Or Content
Mixed Content
DTDs
Description
Syntax
<!ELEMENT
names accompanied by a '?' element-name
sign inside the parentheses (child-name?)>
can be skipped or only
appear once in the XML
document.
Example
<!ELEMENT
Mail (To*,
From+, Date+,
Time+, Cc,
Bcc, Subject+,
Message+,
Signature?)>
<!ELEMENT
element<!ELEMENT Mail
Elements can have either
one of two or more children name (child-name, (To, From,
by specifying them in (child-name|child- Date, Time,
(Cc|Bcc),
parentheses separated by name))>
Subject,
'|'.
Message,
Signature)>
Elements can be declared to <!ELEMENT element- <!ELEMENT Mail
accept mixed content, either name (type|child- (To|From|Date|T
name|)>
ime|Cc|Bcc|Subj
data type or children, etc.
ect|Message|Sig
nature)>
Table 3.3: Other Element-Rule Options
3.4.2 Declaring Attributes

An attribute declaration has the following syntax:
Syntax:
<!ATTLIST element-name attribute-name attribute-type default-value>
where,
the element-name is the element the attribute belongs to,
the attribute-name is the name of the attribute,
the attribute-type is type of data the attribute can accept,
and default-value id the default value for the attribute.
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Value
PCDATA
CDATA
(en1|en2|..)
ID
IDREF
IDREFS
NMTOKEN
NMTOKENS
ENTITY
ENTITIES
NOTATION
xml:
Concepts
The attribute-type can have values as shown in table 3.4.

Description
Parsed character data
Character data
Enumerated list
A unique id
Id of another element
List of other ids
Valid XML name
List of valid XML names
An entity
List of entities
Name of a notation
Predefined xml value
Table 3.4: Attribute-Type
3.4.3
Specifying Attribute Values
The attributevalue in a DTD declaration can have values as shown in table 3.5.
Value
value
#REQUIRED
#IMPLIED
#FIXED
en1|en2|...
Description
Default value
Value must be included
Value does not have to be included
Value is fixed
Listed enumerated values
Table 3.5: Attribute-Value

Syntax:
#IMPLIED
<!ATTLIST element-name attribute-name attribute-type #IMPLIED>
#REQUIRED
<!ATTLIST element-name attribute-name attribute-type #REQUIRED>
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DTDs
#FIXED
<!ATTLIST element-name attribute-name attribute-type #FIXED "value">
Enumerated Attribute Values

<!ATTLIST element-name attribute-name (en1|en2|..) default-value>
<!ATTLIST payment type (check|cash) "cash">
Each of the following codes demonstrates the attribute values.

Code Snippet:
Default Value
#IMPLIED
<!ATTLIST Model Type CDATA "Camera" #IMPLIED>
#REQUIRED
<!ATTLIST Model Type CDATA #REQUIRED>
#FIXED
<!ATTLIST Model Type CDATA #FIXED "Camera">
Enumerated Attribute Values

<!ATTLIST Model Type (Camera|Bluetooth) "Camera">
3.4.4 Entities in DTD

An entity, in XML, is a placeholder that consists of a name and a value. It is declared once and then
repeatedly used through out the document in place of its value.
Entities can be categorized as parameter entities and general entities. Parameter entities have been
discussed earlier.
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Character
Mixed Content
Unparsed
Concepts
General entities are further classified as:
Character entities are entities that have a single character as their replacement value. Character entities
are further classified as:
Pre-defined
Numbered
Name
XML has a set of pre-defined entities to facilitate the use of characters like <, >, &, ", ', since these are
used by XML in its tags.
The Pre-defined entities and their references are shown in table 3.6.
Entity Name
Entity Name
amp
apos
gt
lt
quot
Value
Value
&
'
>
<
"
Table 3.6: Pre-defined Entities

Numbered entities are entities which use a character reference number, for a character from the Unicode
character set, in place of the character itself. These entity references have a special syntax. Instead of the
"&", "&#" is used. The reference number is used as the name, followed by a semicolon. Thus, a numbered
entity reference would look like this: õ. The numbers can also be specified in hexadecimal, if
required, using the following syntax:
&#x(reference number in hexadecimal);
Name entities are the same as Numbered entities, except that the numbers are replaced by a descriptive
name for the character.
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Mixed content entities are entities that contain either text or markup language text as their replacement
value. For example, the entity test could also have "trial" or "<trial>Hi!</trial>" as its replacement value.
The text "<trial>Hi!</trial>" will be replaced with the entity reference and will act as an element trial.
Unparsed entities are entities that have data that is not to be parsed. The replacement value might be an
image or a file or something else. The syntax for an unparsed entity is as follows:
<!DOCTYPE name [
<!ENTITY entity-name SYSTEM "entity-location" NDATA Notation Identifier>
]>
The keyword NDATA stands for notation data and notation identifier specifies the format of the file or
object.
At the time of processing, the XML parser goes through the document declarations. The parser then
scans the document for all entity references. When the parser encounters an entity reference, it replaces
the entity reference with the entity value associated with that entity. The parser then resumes parsing
from the replaced text. Entity references within the replaced text are also replaced by doing so.
Syntax:
Entity declaration:
Entity Reference:
&entity-name;
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Figure 3.7 depicts the entities in DTD.
Figure 3.7: Entities in DTD
3.4.5 Kinds of Entity Declarations

Entity references are used extensively in XML. That leads to Internal and External entity declarations, the
two basic kinds of entity declarations used in XML.
Internal Entity Declaration

In internal entity declarations, the entity value is explicitly mentioned in the entity declaration.
Syntax:
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The following code demonstrates the properties of internal entity declaration.

Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [









]>
<Mobile>
</Mobile>
External Entity Declaration

In External entity declaration, a link or path to the entity value is mentioned in place of the entity
value with the help of the SYSTEM keyword. External entity declarations are in a way similar to
declaring External DTDs.
Syntax:
<!ENTITY entity-name SYSTEM "URI/URL">
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The following code demonstrates the properties of external entity declaration.

Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [







]>
<Mobile>
</Mobile>
hp.txt
Head Phones
ch.txt
Charger
sk.txt
Starters Kit
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Knowledge Check 4
1.
Can you match the element declaration descriptions with their correct syntaxes?
Description
(A) Element can contain character data but
to be parsed, incase it contains entity
references.
(B) Element with a number of children
appearing only once in the XML
document.
(C) Element can accept either data type or
children, and so forth.
Syntax
(1) <!ELEMENT element-name
(type|child-name|)>
(child-name+)>

(child-name, (childname|child-name))>
(D) Element's children appear at least once in (4) <!ELEMENT element-name
(#PCDATA)>
the XML document.
(E) Element can have either one of two or
(child-element-name)>
more children.
2.
Can you match the attribute descriptions with their correct values?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Description
Name of a notation
Predefined xml value
id of another element
valid XML name
enumerated list
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(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Value
NMTOKEN
NOTATION
(en1|en2|..)
xml:
IDREF
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Which of the following XML code is correct?
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [






(A)

]>
<Mobile>
</Mobile>
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [






(B)


]>
<Mobile>
<Accessories> HP, CH and a SK </Accessories>
</Mobile>
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<!DOCTYPE Mobile [






<!ENTITY HP "hp.txt">
(C)

<!ENTITY CH "ch.txt">

<!ENTITY SK "sk.txt">
]>
<Mobile>
<Accessories> &HP;, &CH; and a &SK; </accessories>
</Mobile>
<!DOCTYPE Mobile [






(D)


]>
<Mobile>
</Mobile>
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Module Summary
In this module, Document Type Definitions, you learnt about:

This lesson defines DTDs and identifies the need for DTDs.
Working with DTDs

This lesson talks about the structure of DTDs, steps to create DTDs, DOCTYPE declarations
and the type of DTDs.
Valid XML Documents

This lesson talks about the well-formed valid documents and the steps to determine the
validity of XML documents.
Declarations
This lesson deals with declarations of elements, attributes, and entities in DTDs.
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Module Overview
Welcome to the module, XML Schema. This module focuses on exploring XML schema and
its features. The structure of an XML document with the help of schema is also discussed. This
module aims at providing a clear understanding of the different elements and data types supported
by an XML schema.
XML Schema
Exploring XML Schemas
Working with complex types
Working with simple types
4.1 XML Schema

In this first lesson, XML Schema, you will learn to:
Define and describe what is meant by schema.
Identify the need for schema.
Compare and differentiate the features of DTDs and schemas.
4.1.1 Schema
DTDs define document structure and validate XML documents, but have some limitations. Hence, an
XML-based alternative to DTDs, known as XML schema has been introduced, with an objective to
overcome the drawbacks of DTDs.
The word schema originated from a Greek word symbolizing form or shape. The dictionary meaning of
schema is: "A diagrammatic representation; an outline or a model". Initially, the word schema was only
in the reach of the philosophers till it entered the zone of computer science. In the context of software,
a schema is generally understood to be a model used to describe the structure of a database. It defines
internal structures such as tables, fields, and the relationship between them.
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However, in the context of XML, as defined by the W3C, a schema is "a set of rules to constrain the
structure and articulate the information set of XML documents". A schema describes a model for a whole
class of documents. The model describes the way in which the data is marked up, and also specifies the
possible arrangement of tags and text in a valid document. A schema might be considered as a common
vocabulary that is needed to exchange documents between different organizations.
An XML Schema defines the valid building blocks of an XML document. It can be considered as a
common vocabulary that different organizations can share to exchange documents. The XML Schema
language is referred as XML Schema Definition (XSD).
Figure 4.1 depicts the XML data validation.
Figure 4.1: XML Data Validation
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The following XML code demonstrates an entity 'BOOK'. When this document is accessed through a
browser, it will represent the details of a book.
Code Snippet:
<Book>
<Title>Path To Paradise</Title>
<Author>David White</Author>
<Theme>Philosophy</Theme>
<Publisher>ABC Publication</Publisher>
<ISBN>11</ISBN>
<Price>$12481</Price>
<Edition>June 2000</Edition>
</Book>
The logical reasoning would compare the attributes of this 'BOOK', with the attributes of a book in general.
In other words, one's previous knowledge of what a book is, and what its attributes are, could be a kind of
schema, against which this 'BOOK' is compared. This would help to validate the attributes of the book.
4.1.2 Definition of XML Schema

The objective of an XML Schema is to define the valid structure of an XML document, similar to a DTD.
An XML Schema defines:
elements and attributes that can appear in a document
which elements are child elements
the order and number of child elements
whether an element is empty or can include text
data types for elements and attributes
default and fixed values for elements and attributes
Schemas overcome the limitations of DTDs and allow Web applications to exchange XML data more
robustly, without relying on ad hoc validation tools.
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XML syntax is used as the basis for creating XML schema documents. It does not require learning
a new cryptic language as is the case with DTDs.
XML schemas can be manipulated just like any other XML document.
Figure 4.2 depicts XML schema.
Figure 4.2: XML Schema
4.1.3 Writing an XML Schema

To begin the exploration of schemas with the Hello World example, you need two files, they are:
XML File
Given XML document contains a single element, <Message>. A schema for this document has to
declare the <Message> element.
XSD File
For storing schema documents, the file is saved with ".xsd" as the extension. Schema documents
are XML documents and can have DTDs, DOCTYPE declarations.
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Some of the basic features that an XML schema offers are:
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Figure 4.3 depicts XSD file.
Figure 4.3: XSD File

The following code demonstrates the properties of XML schema.
Code Snippet:
XML File: message.xml
<?xml version= "1.0"?>
<Message>
Hello World!
</Message>
XSD File: message.xsd
<?xml version= "1.0"?>
<xsd:schema xmlns:xsd= "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema ">
<xsd:element name= "MESSAGE " type= "xsd:string "/>
</xsd:schema>
Given XSD file is a schema for <Message> elements. The file is stored as message.xsd. It is an XML
document; therefore it has an XML declaration. This schema file may declare other elements too, including
ones that are not present in this XML file, but it must at least declare the <Message> element.
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4.1.4 Features of Schema
XML schemas allow Web applications to exchange XML data more robustly using a range of new features.
They are:
Schemas Support Data Types

The support of XML schema for the data types and the ability to create the required datatypes has
overcome the drawbacks of DTDs. It means it is easy to define and validate valid document content
and data formats. A developer can find it simple to work with data from a database. It can also be
easy to implement the restrictions on data.
Schemas are portable and efficient

Schemas are portable and efficient as they use the same XML syntax. Hence, there is no need to
learn any new language or any editor to edit the schema files. A similar XML parser can be used to
parse the Schema files.
Schemas secure data communication

During data transfer, it is essential that both sender and receiver should have the same "vocabulary".
With XML Schemas, the sender can specify the data in a way that the receiver will understand.
Schemas are extensible

A schema definition can be extended; hence, it is possible to reuse an existing schema to create
another schema. A developer can create his own data types derived from the standard types.
Schemas also support reference of multiple schemas in the same document.
Schemas catch higher-level mistakes

XML checks for well-formedness of an XML document to validate the basic syntax. A document is
said to be well-formed if it has an XML declaration, unique root element, matching start and end tag,
properly nested elements, and so on. A well-formed document can still have errors. XML Schemas
can catch higher-level mistakes that arise, such as a required field of information is missing or in a
wrong format, or an element name is mis-spelled.
Schemas support Namespace

The support for XML Namespaces allows the programmer to validate documents that use markup
from multiple namespaces. It means that constructs can be re-used from schemas already defined
in a different namespace.
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The additional features of schema are as follows:
Richer Datatypes
The Schema draft defines booleans, dates and times, URIs, time intervals, and also numeric types
like decimals, integers, bytes, longs, and many more.
Archetypes
An archetype is used to define the custom-named datatype from pre-existing data types. For
example, a 'ContactList' datatype is defined, and then two elements, 'FriendsList' and 'OfficialList'
are defined under that type.
Attribute Grouping
It is possible to have common attributes that apply to all elements, or several attributes that include
graphic or table elements. Attribute grouping allows the schema author to make this relationship
between elements explicit. Parameter entity supports grouping in DTDs, which simplifies the
process of authoring a DTD, but the information is not passed on to the processor.
Refinable Archetypes
A DTD follows a 'closed' type of content model. Content model is defined as the constraint on the
content of elements in an instance XML document. The 'closed' content model describes all, and
only those elements and attributes that may appear in the content of the element. XML Schema
allows two more possibilities:
Open type content model
Refinable content model
In an 'open' content model, elements other than the required elements can also be present. The
open content model allows the inclusion of child elements and attributes within an element that are
not declared in the document's schema. DTDs only support closed content models, which require
declaring all elements and attributes in order to use them in a document. Additional elements may
be present in a 'refinable' content model, but the schema should define those additional elements.
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4.1.5 Comparing DTDs with Schemas
XML inherited the concept of DTDs from Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), which is
an international standard for markup languages. DTDs are used to define content models, nesting of
elements in a valid order, and provide limited support to data types and attributes. The drawbacks of
using DTDs are:
DTDs are written in a non-XML syntax

DTDs do not use XML notation and therefore they are difficult to write and use.
DTDs are not extensible

DTDs are not extensible. For example, if there is an Address DTD to catalog friends, and one wants
to add a new section to the code for official contacts, then the entire DTD has to be rewritten.
DTDs do not support namespaces

Namespaces can be used to introduce an element type into an XML document. However, a
Namespace cannot be used to refer to an element or an entity declaration in the DTD. If a Namespace
is used, then the DTD has to be modified to include any elements taken from the Namespace.
DTDS offer limited data typing

DTDs can only express the data type of attributes in terms of explicit enumerations and a few
coarse string formats. DTDs do not have a facility to describe numbers, dates, currency values, and
so forth. Furthermore, DTDs do not have the ability to express the data type of character data in
elements. For example, a <Zip> element can be defined to contain CDATA. However, the element
cannot be constrained to just numerals when it uses a DTD.
Figure 4.4 shows a sample DTD.
Figure 4.4: A Sample DTD

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The following code demonstrates a sample external DTD file: program.dtd
Code Snippet:
<!ELEMENT program (comments, code)>
<!ELEMENT comments (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT code (#PCDATA)>
The following code demonstrates a sample XML File with a reference to dtd: program.xml
Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE program SYSTEM "program.dtd">
<program>
<comments>
This is a simple Java Program. It will display the message
"Hello world!" on execution.
</comments>
<code>
public static void main(String[] args)
System.out.println("Hello World!"); // Display the string.
</code>
</program>
Additionally, examples are shown here to demonstrate how DTDs and schemas are referenced.
Simple XML Document: Book.xml
The following code demonstrates a simple XML document called "Book.xml":
Code Snippet:
<Book>
<Title> Million Seconds </Title>
<Author> Kelvin Brown </Author>
<Chapter> The plot of the story starts from here. </Chapter>
</Book>
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The following code demonstrates a DTD file called "Book.dtd" that defines the elements of the
Book.xml document.
Code Snippet:
<!ELEMENT Book (Title, Author, Chapter)>
<!ELEMENT Title (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Author (#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT Chapter (#PCDATA)>
The first line of code defines the Book element to be the root element which in turn encloses three child
elements: 'Title', 'Author', and 'Chapter'. The rest of the block defines the 'Title', 'Author', and 'Chapter'
elements to be of type "#PCDATA".
XML Schema for Book.xml
The following code demonstrates that the corresponding XML Schema file called "Book.xsd" defines the
elements of the XML document Book.xml.
Code Snippet:
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
targetNamespace="http://www.booksworld.com" xmlns="http://www.booksworld.
com" elementFormDefault="qualified">
<xs:element name="Book">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Title" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="Author" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="Chapter" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:schema>
The Book element is a complex type because it encloses other elements. The child elements Title,
Author, Chapter are simple types because they do not contain other elements.
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Reference to Book.DTD in the instance document named Book.xml

The following code demonstrates that a reference to "Book.dtd" document is placed inside in an XML
document named Book.xml.
Code Snippet:
<!DOCTYPE note SYSTEM "http://www.booksworld.com/dtd/Book.dtd">
<Book>
<Title>Million Seconds</Title>
<Author>Kelvin Brown</Author>
<Chapter>The plot of the story starts from here.</Chapter>
</Book>
Reference to XML Schema Book.xsd in the instance document named Book.xml
This XML document has a reference to an XML Schema.
The following code along with the previous code demonstrate how schema and DTD are declared and
referred in instance XML documents.
Code Snippet:
<Book xmlns="http://www.booksworld.com" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/
XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.booksworld.com
Book.
xsd">
<Title>Million Seconds</Title>
<Author>Kelvin Brown</Author>
<Chapter>The plot of the story starts from here.</Chapter>
</Book>
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4.1.6 Advantages of XML Schemas over DTD
Schemas overcome the limitations of DTDs and allow Web applications to exchange XML data more
robustly, without relying on ad hoc validation tools.
The XML schema offers a range of new features:
Richer data types

The Schema draft defines booleans, numbers, dates and times, URIs, integers, decimal numbers,
real numbers, and also time intervals.
Archtypes
An archetype allows to define own named datatype from pre-existing data types. For example,
one can define a 'ContactList' datatype, and then define two elements, "FriendsList" and
'OfficialList' under that type.
Attribute grouping
There can be common attributes that apply to all elements, or several attributes that include graphic
or table elements. Attribute grouping allows the schema author to make this relationship explicit.
Refinable archetypes
A DTD follows a 'closed' type of model. It describes all, and only those elements and attributes
that may appear in the content of the element. XML Schema allows two more possibilities: 'open'
and 'refinable'. In an 'open' content model, elements other than the required elements can also be
present. Additional elements may be present in a refinable content model, but the schema should
define those additional elements.
Code Snippet:
The following code demonstrates a sample schema File: mail.xsd
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
targetNamespace="http://www.abc.com"
xmlns="http://www.abc.com"
elementFormDefault="qualified">
<xs:element name="mail">
<xs:complexType>
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<xs:sequence>

<xs:element name="to" type="xs:string"/>

<xs:element name="from" type="xs:string"/>

<xs:element name="header" type="xs:string"/>

<xs:element name="body" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:schema>
The following code demonstrates a sample XML File with a reference to schema: mail.xml
<mail
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.abc.com mail.xsd">
<to>John</to>
<from>Jordan</from>
<header>Scheduler</header>
<body>3rd March Monday, 7:30 PM: board meeting!</body>
</mail>
Knowledge Check 1
1.
Which of these statements about schemas are true and which statements are false?
(A) An XML Schema defines the structure of an XML document.
(B) An XML Schema is an XML-based add-on to DTDs.
(C) XML syntax is used as the basis to create a schema, so it can be stored with the same
extension .xml (dot XML).
(D) An XML Schema defines how many child elements can appear in an XML document.
(E) An XML Schema defines whether an element is empty or can include text.
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2.
Can you match the different features for DTD and schemas against their corresponding
description?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Description
Allows to define own named data type from pre-existing data (1)
types.
Allows the schema author to make the attributes common that (2)
apply to all elements, or several attributes that include graphic
or table elements.
Describes elements which are not required to be present in the (3)
XML document.
Describes only those elements and attributes that may appear (4)
in the content of the element.
Allows to validate documents that use markup from multiple (5)
namespaces.
Feature
Attribute grouping
Namespace support
Closed model
Archetypes
Open model
4.2 Exploring XML Schemas

In this second lesson, Exploring XML Schemas, you will learn to:
List the data types supported by schemas.
Explain the XML Schema vocabulary.
4.2.1 Data Types Supported by Schema

XML Schema describes a number of built-in data types, which can be used to specify and validate the
intended data type of the content. It also allows a user to create a user-defined data type by extending the
built-in data types using facets. Hence, XML Schema recommendation defines two sorts of data types,
these are:
Built-in data types, are available to all XML Schema authors, and should be implemented by a
conforming processor.
User-derived data types, are defined in individual schema instances, and are particular to that
schema (although it is possible to import these definitions into other definitions).
In XML schema, the data types can be broadly classified into built-in and derived types.
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The built-in data types specified by XML working group are:
string
A group of characters is called a string. The string data type can contain characters, line feeds,
carriage returns, and tab characters. The string may also consist of a combination of Unicode
characters. Unicode is a universal standard to describe all possible characters of all languages with
a library of symbols with one unique number for each symbol.
Syntax:
<xs:element name="element_name" type="xs:string"/>
Code Snippet:
The string declaration in the schema is:
<xs:element name="Customer" type="xs:string"/>
An element in the xml document will be:
<Customer>John Smith</Customer>
boolean
The boolean data type is used to specify a mathematical representation. Legal values for boolean
data type are true and false. True can be replaced by the numeric value 1 and false can be replaced
by the value 0.
Syntax:
<xs:attribute name="attribute_name" type="xs:boolean"/>
Code Snippet:
The boolean declaration in the schema is:
<xs:attribute name="Disabled" type="xs:boolean"/>
<Status Disabled="true">OFF</Status>
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numeric
The data type numeric represents a numerical value. It includes numbers such as whole numbers,
and real numbers.
Syntax:
<xs:element name="element_name" type="xs:numeric"/>
Code Snippet:
The numeric declaration in the schema is:
<xs:element name="Price" type="xs:numeric"/>
<Price>500</Price>
dateTime
It represents a particular time on a given date, written as a string. For example, "2001-0510T12:35:40" can be considered as a dateTime string. The date is specified in the following form
"YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss":
where,
YYYY indicates the year,
MM indicates the month,
DD indicates the day,
T indicates the start of the required time,
hh indicates the hours,
mm indicates the minutes,
ss indicates the seconds.
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Syntax:
<xs:element name="element_name" type="xs:dateTime"/>
Code Snippet:
The datetime declaration in the schema is:
<xs:element name="BeginAt" type="xs:dateTime"/>
<start>2001-05-10T12:35:40</start>
binary
The binary type can include graphic files, executable programs, or any other string of binary data.
Binary data types are used to express binary-formatted data of two types such as base64Binary
(Base64-encoded binary data) and hexBinary (hexadecimal-encoded binary data).
Syntax:
<xs:element name="image_name" type="xs:hexBinary"/>
Code Snippet:
<xs:element name="Logo" type="xs:hexBinary"/>
anyURI
A universal resource identifier (URI) represents a file name or location of the file.
Syntax:
<xs:attribute name="image_name" type="xs:anyURI"/>
Code Snippet:
The anyURI declaration in the schema is:
<xs:attribute name="flower" type="xs:anyURI"/>
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<image flower="http://www.creativepictures.com/gallery/flower.gif" />

Note: Unicode character is a character that has two bytes as its size.
4.2.2 Additional Data Types

Additional data types are derived from the basic built-in data types, which are called base type data
types.
The generated or derived data types, supported by the XML schema include:
integer
The base type for integer is the numeric data type. It includes both positive and negative numbers.
For example, the numbers -2, -1, 0, 1, 2 are integers. The integer data type is used to specify a
numeric value without a fractional component.
Syntax:
<xs:element name="element_name" type="xs:integer"/>
Code Snippet:
The integer declaration in the schema is:
<xs:element name="Age" type="xs:integer"/>
<Age>999</Age>
decimal
It can represent exact fractional parts such as 3.26. The basetype for decimal is the number data
type. The decimal data type is used to specify a numeric value.
Syntax:
<xs:element name="element_name" type="xs:decimal"/>
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Code Snippet:
The decimal declaration in the schema is:
<xs:element name="Weight" type="xs:decimal"/>
<prize>+70.7860</prize>
time
The base type is the dateTime data type. The default representation is 16:35:26. The time data
type is used to specify a time. The time is specified in the following form "hh:mm:ss" where, hh
stands for hour, mm indicates the minute and ss indicates the second.
Syntax:
<xs:element name="element_name" type="xs:time"/>
Code Snippet:
The decimal declaration in the schema is:
<xs:element name="BeginAt" type="xs:time"/>
<BeginAt>09:30:10.5</BeginAt>
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4.2.3 Schema Vocabulary
Creating a schema using XML schema vocabulary is like creating any other XML document using a
specialized vocabulary. To understand the XML Schema vocabulary and the elements, the example
discusses an XML document that will be validated against a schema.
Figure 4.5 depicts schema declaration.
Figure 4.5: Schema Declaration

Explanation for highlighted areas in the image:
xs:schema xmlns:xs=http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema
Every XML Schema starts with the root element <schema>. The code indicates that that the elements
and data types used in the schema are derived from the "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
namespace and prefixed with xs.
targetNamespace=http://www.abc.com
It specifies that the elements defined in an XML document that refers this schema, come from the
"http://www.abc.com" namespace.
xmlns=http://www.abc.com
This line of code points to "http://www.abc.com" as the default namespace.
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elementFormDefault="qualified"
It indicates that elements used by the XML instance document which were declared in this schema needs
to be qualified by the namespace.
Figure 4.6 illustrates using of schema declaration.
Figure 4.6: Using Schema Declaration

It indicates the default namespace declaration. This declaration informs the schema-validator that
all the elements used in this XML document are declared in the default ("http://www.abc.com")
namespace.
This is the instance namespace available for the XML schema.
This schemaLocation attribute has two values. The first value identifies the namespace. The second
value is the location of the XML schema where it is stored.
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1.
Can you match the xml data against their corresponding data type?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
Concepts
Knowledge Check 2
Description
<prize disabled="true">999</prize>
<img src="http://www.abc.com/images/flowers.gif"/>
<start>09:30:10.5</start>
<start>2002-09-24</start>
<prize>+999.5450</prize>
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Features
dateTime
boolean
decimal
time
anyURI
The given is an instance of XML document referencing an XML schema. Can you arrange the XML
file in its proper order using the schema vocabulary?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
<heading>Scheduler</heading>
<body>3rd March Monday, 7:30 PM: board meeting!</body>
<to>John</to>
<from>Jordan</from>
</mail>
<mail xmlns="http://www.abc.com"
4.3 Working with Complex Types

In this third lesson, Working with Complex types, you will learn to:
Describe complex type elements.
Describe minOccurs and maxOccurs.
Explain element content and mixed content.
Describe how grouping can be done.
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4.3.1 Complex Types

A schema assigns a type to each element and attribute that it declares. Elements with complex type may
contain nested elements and have attributes. Only elements can contain complex types. Complex type
elements have four variations.
Empty elements
Empty elements optionally specify attributes types, but do not permit content as shown in the
following example.
Code Snippet:
<xs:element name="Books">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:attributename="BookCode"
type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
Only Elements
These elements can only contain elements and do not contain attributes as shown in the following
example.
Code Snippet:
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="ISBN" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="Price" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
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Only Text
These elements can only contain text and optionally may or may not have attributes as shown in
the following example.
Code Snippet:
<xs:complexType name="Books">
<xs:simpleContent>
<xs:extension base="xs:string">
<xs:attribute name="BookCode" type="xs: positiveInteger"/>
</xs:extension>
</xs:simpleContent>
</xs:complexType>
Mixed
These are elements that can contain text content as well as sub-elements within the element as
shown in the following example. They may or may not have attributes.
Code Snippet:
<xs:complexType mixed="true">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="BookName" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="ISBN" type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
<xs:element name="Price" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
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4.3.2 Defining Complex Types

A complex element can be defined in two different ways. The following codes define the properties of
complex element.
By directly naming the element

Code Snippet:
<xs:element name="Student">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="FirstName" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="MiddleName" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="LastName" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
The element Student can be declared by directly mentioning it in the schema. The complex type
mentions that the XML document contains nested XML elements. The sequence element indicates
that the child elements FirstName, MiddleName and LastName appear in the same order as
they are declared.
By using the name and type attribute of the complex type

Code Snippet:
<xs:element name="Student" type="PersonInfo"/>
<xs:complexType name="personinfo">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="FirstName" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="LastName" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
The Student element can have a type such as PersonInfo that refers to the name of the complex
type. Several elements can reuse this complex type by referring to the name PersonInfo in their
complex type declarations.
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4.3.3 minOccurs and maxOccurs
When working with DTDs, we used the markers *, ?, and + to indicate the number of times a particular child
element could be used as content for an element. Similarly, XML schema allows specifying a minimum
and maximum number of times an element can occur. In schemas, both elements and attributes use the
following attributes:
minOccurs
minOccurs specify the minimum number of occurrences of the element in an XML document.
The default value for the minOccurs attribute is 1. If an element has a minOccurs value of 0, it
is optional. An attribute is optional, if the minOccurs is 0. If minOccurs is set to 1, the attribute is
required.
maxOccurs
maxOccurs specify the maximum number of occurrences of the element in an XML document.
The default value for the maxOccurs attribute is 1. If its value is kept unbounded, it means that the
element can appear unlimited number of times. The maxOccurs attribute defaults to 1 unless it is
specified.
The following code demonstrates the use of minOccurs and maxOccurs attributes.
Code Snippet:
<xs:element name= "Books">

<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="ISBN" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="Quantity" type="xs:string"
maxOccurs="100" minOccurs="0"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
The example demonstrates that the Quantity element can occur a minimum of zero times and a
maximum of hundred times in the Books element.
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The relationship between the minOccurs and maxOccurs attributes is displayed in table 4.1.
minOccur
0
1
0
1
>0
>maxOccurs
Any value
MaxOccur
1
1
*
*
*
>0
<minOccurs
Number of times an element can occur

0 or 1
1
Infinite
At least once
At least minOccurs times
0
0
Table 4.1: minOccurs and maxOccurs
4.3.4 Element Content

A complex type can mention element content. The Element content can contain only elements. There
can be instances wherein the contained elements can also have child elements.
The following code demonstrates the properties of element content.
Code Snippet:
Books.xml
<Books xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation= "Books.xsd">
<Title>A cup of tea</Title>
<Author>
<Name>Dennis Compton</Name>
</Author>
<Author>
<Name>George Ford</Name>
</Author>
<Publisher>
<Name>Orange</Name>
</Publisher>
</Books>
This is an XML schema constrained document depicting book details.
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Books.xsd
<xs:schema xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:element name= "Books" type= "BookType">
<xs:complexType name= "AuthorType">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name= "Name" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name= "PublisherType">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name= "Name" type= "xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name= "BookType">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name= "Title" type= "xs:string"/>
<xs:element name= "Author" type="ComposerType"
maxOccurs= "unbounded"/>
<xs:element name= "Publisher" type="PublisherType"
minOccurs="0" maxOccurs= "unbounded"/>
In the XML document the Author and the Publisher elements each contain Name elements. So built-in
data types like xs:string cannot be used, instead AuthorName and PublisherName can be defined
using top level xs:complexType elements.
4.3.5 Mixed Content

A complex type can specify its content as a mixed content. Mixed content can contain text mixed with
elements. The order and the number of elements that appears in the mixed content can also be specified
in the schema. This type of content may or may not have attributes.
The mixed content is declared in exactly the same way, the declaration of element content is done. The
only add-on to the declaration is, it takes a mixed attribute set to the true value.
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The following code demonstrates the properties of mixed content.

Code Snippet:
Book.xml
<Books>
Apocalypse written by<Author>Mary Jane</Author>
is of Genre<Category>Fiction</Type>.
</Books>
Book.xsd
<xs:complexType mixed="true">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Author" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name="Category" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
4.3.6 Grouping Constructs

The XML Schema Language provides three grouping constructs that specify whether and how ordering
of individual elements is important:
xs:all
This grouping construct requires that each element in the group must occur at most once, but that
order is not important. The only caution is that in this type of grouping the minOccurs attribute
can be 0 or 1 and the maxOccurs attribute has to be 1. The following code demonstrates this
concept.
Code Snippet:
<xs:element name= "Books">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:all>
<xs:element name="Name" type="xs:string" minOccurs= "1" maxOccurs= "1"/>
<xs:element name="ISBN" type="xs:string" minOccurs= "1" maxOccurs= "1"/>
<xs:element name="items" type="Items" minOccurs= "1" />
</xs:all>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
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xs:choice
The choice element is the opposite of all elements. Instead of requiring all the elements to be
present, it will allow only one of the choices to appear. The choice element provides an XML
representation for describing a selection from a set of element types. The choice element itself
can have minOccurs and maxOccurs attributes that establish exactly how many selections may
be made from the choice. The following code demonstrates this concept.
Code Snippet:
<xs:complexType name="AdressInfo">
<xs:group>
<xs:choice>
<xs:element name="Address" type="USAddress" />
<xs:element name="Address" type="UKAddress" />
<xs:element name="Address" type="FranceAddress" />
</xs:choice>
</xs:group>
In the code snippet, there are three child elements that are mutually exclusive. With the
xs:
choice element declared, only one element among the choices can be a child element of the
parent element AddressInfo.
xs:sequence
An xs:sequence element specifies each member of the sequence to appear in the same order
in the instance document as mentioned in the xs:sequence element. The number of times each
element is allowed to appear can be controlled by the element's minOccurs and maxOccurs
attributes. The following code demonstrates this concept.
Code Snippet:
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Name" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="ISBN" type=" xs:string " />
<xs:element name="Price" type=" xs:string " />
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
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Knowledge Check 3
1.
Which of these statements about complex types are true and which statements are false?
(A) The order and the number of elements that appears in the mixed content cannot be specified
in the schema.
(B) If the value of maxOccurs attribute is kept unbounded, it means that the element can
appear unlimited number of times.
(C) Elements with complex type may contain nested elements and have attributes.
(D) The default value for the minOccurs attribute is 0.
(E) When a minOccurs attribute is used, there cannot be a maxOccurs attribute in the same
line.
2.
Which of these statements about element and mixed content are true and which statements are
false?
(A) Mixed content means that an element whose structure is the complex type can contains
elements with attributes.
(B) Element content means a complex type element that contains only elements.
(C) The order and the number of elements appearing in the mixed content cannot be specified
in schemas.
(D) Element content cannot have attributes.
3.
Which of these statements about grouping are true and which statements are false?
(A) The sequence element provides an XML representation for describing a selection from a
set of element types.
(B) The all element requires that each element in the group must occur at most once.
(C) For each element type associated with a sequence element, there must be an element in
the XML instance in the same order.
(D) The choice element cannot mention the minOccurs and maxOccurs attribute.
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4.4 Working with Simple Types

In this last lesson, Working with Simple Types, you will learn to:
Describe simple types.
List and describe the data types used with simple types.
Explain restrictions and facets.
Identify the usage of attributes.
4.4.1 Defining a Simple Type Element

A simple type is an XML element or attribute, which contains only text and no other elements or
attributes.
The simple type declarations are used to form the textual data and specify the type of data allowed within
attributes and elements.
Syntax:
<xs:element name="XXXX" type="YYYY"/>
In this syntax, 'XXXX' is the name of the element, 'YYYY' is the data type of the element.
The following code demonstrates that the element TotalNoOfPages can be specified as an integer
type, which is again a positive integer with three digits.
Code Snippet:
Book.xml: XML Elements
<Book_name>The Da vinci code</Book_name>
<TotalNoOfPages>360</TotalNoOfPages>
<Author_name>Dan Brown</Author_name>
Book.xsd: Corresponding Simple Element Definitions
<xs:element name="Book_name" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="TotalNoOfPages" type="xs:integer"/>
<xs:element name="Author_name" type="xs:string"/>
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4.4.2 Datatypes Used with Simple Types

Elements of simple type tend to describe the content and the datatype of a document, rather than its
structure.
In XML Schema, one can mention the type of data an element can contain by assigning it a particular
simple type definition. So, based upon the type of data it supports, XML schema divides the elements of
simple types into two broad categories:
built-in simple type
user-defined simple type
4.4.3 Built-in Simple Types

There are several built-in simple types, such as integer, date, float and string that one can use without
further modifications.
A built-in simple element can contain a default value or a fixed value. A 'default' value is the value that is
assigned automatically to the element when no other value has been specified. A 'fixed' value is assigned
to an element, when there is no need to change the value for that element. Figure 4.7 depicts built-in
simple types.
Figure 4.7: Built-in Simple Types
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<xs:element name="XXXX" type="YYYY" default="ZZZZ"/>

In this syntax, 'XXXX' is the name of the element, 'YYYY' is the data type of the element and ZZZZ is the
default value specified for the element.
The following code demonstrates the declaration of built-in simple type.
Code Snippet:
built-in simple type: element declaration
<xs:element name="AccountType" type="xs:string" fixed="Savings"/>
<xs:element name="BalanceAmount" type="xs:integer" default="5000"/>
The code shows the declaration of built-in simple types "AccountType" and "BalanceAmount". The fixed
value for the "AccountType" is "Savings" and the default value for "BalanceAmount" is "5000".
4.4.4 User-defined Simple Types

XML-schema supports a library of built-in datatypes. However, during the course of writing complex schema
documents, a developer may need a type of data that is not defined in the schema recommendation.
For instance, consider the declaration of an element <AngleMeasure>. It implements the available
restrictions to its content to accept non-negative numeric values, but still it accepts unwanted values
like:
<AngleMeasure>490</AngleMeasure>
As per schema declaration, "490" is a valid non-negative numeric value, but still it needs numeric type
that allows the values with a range from 0 to 360. Hence, a custom user defined datatype can be created
using the <simpleType> definition.
Syntax:
<xs:simpleType name="name of the simpleType">
<xs:restriction base="built-in data type">
<xs:constraint="set constraint to limit the content"/>
</xsd:restriction>
</xsd:simpleType>
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The following codes demonstrate the properties of user-defined simple types.

Code Snippet:
<xs:simpleType name="AngleMeasure">
<xs:restriction base="xs:integer">
<xs:minInclusive value="0"/>
<xs:maxInclusive value="360"/>
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
This creates a new datatype called "AngleMeasure".
Elements of this type can hold integer values.
The value of "AngleMeasure" must be within the range of "0" to "360".
Code Snippet:
<xs:simpleType name="triangle">
<xs:restriction base="xsd:string">
<xs:enumeration value="isosceles"/>
<xs:enumeration value="right-angled"/>
<xs:enumeration value="equilateral"/>
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
This creates a new datatype called "triangle".
Elements of this type can hold elements of triangle type.
Elements of this type can have either the value "isosceles", or "right-angled", or
"equilateral".
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4.4.5 Restrictions
Declaration of a data type puts certain limitations on the content of an XML element or attribute. If an
XML element is of type "xs:integer" and contains a string like "Welcome", the element will not be
validated. These limitations are called restrictions, which defines allowable values for XML elements and
attributes.
Restrictions can be specified for the simpleType elements and restriction types are declared using the
<restriction> declaration. Basically, the <restriction> declaration is used to declare a derived
simpleType, which is a subset of its base simpleType. The value of the base attribute can be any existing
simpleType, or built-in XML Schema datatype.
Syntax:
<restriction base="name of the simpleType you are deriving from">
In this <restriction> declaration, the base data type can be specified using the base attribute.
The following code demonstrates a simpleType "Age" is derived by specifying the base as integer type.
Code Snippet:
<xs:simpleType name="Age">
<xs:restriction base="xs:integer">
...
...
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
4.4.6 Facets
With XML Schemas, custom restrictions can be specified on XML elements and attributes. These
restrictions are called facets.
Facets are used to restrict the set or range of values a datatype can contain. The value range defined by
the facet must be equal to or narrower than the value range of the base type.
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There are 12 facet elements, declared using a common syntax. They each have a compulsory value
attribute that indicates the value for the facet. One restriction can contain more than one facet. Any values
appearing in the instance and value spaces must conform to all the listed facets.
Table 4.2 depicts the constraining facets.
Facet
minExclusive
minInclusive
maxExclusive
maxInclusive
totalDigits
fractionDigits
length
minLength
maxLength
enumeration
whiteSpace
pattern
Description
Specifies the minimum value for the type that excludes the value provided.
Specifies the minimum value for the type that includes the value provided.
Specifies the maximum value for the type that excludes the value provided.
Specifies the maximum value for the type that includes the value provided.
Specifies the total number of digits in a numeric type.
Specifies the number of fractional digits in a numeric type.
Specifies the number of items in a list type or the number of characters in a string
type.
Specifies the minimum number of items in a list type or the minimum number of
characters in a string type.
Specifies the maximum number of items in a list type or the maximum number of
characters in a string type.
Specifies an allowable value in an enumerated list.
Specifies how whitespace should be treated within the type.
Restricts string types.
Table 4.2: Constraining Facets
Syntax:
<xs:simpleType name= "name">
<xs:restriction base= "xs:source">
<xs:facet value= "value"/>
<xs:facet value= "value"/>
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
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The following code demonstrates that the value attribute gives the value of that facet.
Code Snippet:
<xs:simpleType name="triangle">
<xs:restriction base="xs:string">
<xs:enumeration value="isosceles"/>
<xs:enumeration value="right-angled"/>
<xs:enumeration value="equilateral"/>
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
Here, the facet enumeration is added to the restriction with the value attribute as either isosceles, or
right-angled, or equilateral. So, an element declared to be of type triangle must be a string with
a value of either isosceles, or right-angled, or equilateral.
4.4.7 Attributes
XML elements can contain attributes that describe elements. Within XML Schemas, attribute declarations
are similar to element declarations. To declare an attribute, <xs:attribute> element is used.
An attribute can be indicated whether it is required or optional or whether it has a default value. A default
value is automatically assigned to the attribute when no other value is specified.
The use attribute specifies whether the attribute is required or optional. Here are the different values that
can be assigned to the attributes:
Default
A default value is automatically assigned to the attribute when no other value is specified. For
example,
<xs:attribute name="genre" type="xs:string" default="fiction"/>
In this code, the default value of the attribute genre is fiction.
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Fixed
This value makes the attribute fixed. A fixed value is automatically assigned to the attribute, and
another value cannot be specified. For example,
<xs:attribute name="genre" type="xs:string" fixed="fiction"/>
In this code, fixed value of fiction is assigned to the attribute genre, so another value for the
attribute cannot be specified.
Optional
This value makes the attribute optional, which means that the attribute may have any value. The
default value for any an attribute is optional. For example,
xs:attribute name="genre" type="xs:string" use="optional"/>
In this code, the attribute genre can take any string value.
Prohibited
This value means that the attribute cannot be used. For example,
xs:attribute name="genre" type="xs:string" use="prohibited"/>
In this line of code, the element instance will not have the attribute genre.
Required
This value makes the attribute required. The attribute can have any value. For example,
xs:attribute name="genre" type="xs:string" use="required"/>
In this line of code, the attribute genre has to be used in the XML element declaration.
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Figure 4.8 depicts the attribute declaration.
Figure 4.8: Attributes

Syntax:
The syntax for defining an attribute is:
<xs:attribute name="Attribute_name" type="Attribute_datatype"/>
where,
Attribute_name is the name of the attribute.
Attribute_datatype specifies the data type of the attribute. There are lot of built in data types
in XML schema such as string, decimal, integer, boolean, date, and time.
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The following code demonstrates the properties of attribute.

Code Snippet:
In the following example, xs:attribute elements comes after xs:sequence and xs:group that
forms the body of the element. The element Name can have an optional attribute named age with type
positiveInteger.
....
<xs:complexType name= "SingerType">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name= "Name">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:all>
<xs:element name= "FirstName" type="xs:string"/>
<xs:element name= "LastName" type="xs:string"/>
</xs:all>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:sequence>
<xs:attribute name= "age" type="xs:positiveInteger" use= "optional/>
</xs:complexType>
....
Knowledge Check 4
1.
Which of the following statements about simple type elements are true and which statements are
false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
A custom user defined datatype can be created using the <simpleType> definition.
Elements of simple type describe the content and data type of an element.
Elements of simple type constitute the structure of an XML document.
A built-in simple element can contain a default value or a facet value.
A default value is the value that is assigned automatically to the element when there is
no other value specified.
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Can you match the different keywords against their corresponding description?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Description
Specifies the number of digits after decimal point
Restricts string types using regular expressions
Specifies an allowable value in an enumerated list
Specifies whether the attribute is required or optional
Specifies that the attribute cannot be used
XML Simplified
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Term
pattern
use
prohibited
fractionDigits
enumeration
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Module Summary
In this module, XML Schema, you learnt about:
XML Schema
An XML Schema is an XML-based alternative to DTDs, which describes the structure of an
XML document. The XML Schema language is also referred to as XML Schema Definition
(XSD). An XML Schema can define elements, attributes, child elements and the possible
values that can appear in a document. Schemas overcome the limitations of DTDs and
allow Web applications to exchange XML data robustly, without relying on ad hoc validation
tools.
Exploring XML Schemas

XML schema offers a range of data types. It supports built-in data types like string, boolean,
number, dateTime, binary and uri. Additional data types like integer, decimal, real, time,
timeperiod and user defined data types.
Working with Complex Type

Elements with complex type may contain nested elements and have attributes. A complex
element can be defined by directly naming the element and by using the name and the type
attribute of the complex type. minOccurs specifies the minimum number of occurrences
of the element in an XML document. maxOccurs specifies the maximum number of
occurrences of the element in an XML document. Element content in an XML document
contains only XML elements and mixed content contains text mixed with elements. The
grouping constructs in XML schema specify the order of XML elements.
Working with simple types

The elements of simple type describe the content and data type of the element rather
than its structure. The simple type can have built-in and user defined data types. Simple
type definition takes one of the two values, default or fixed as per the requirement. The
user-defined data type can be derived from a built in type or an existing simple type. Use
of restrictions and facets restricts its content to user prescribed values. Schema supports
usage of attributes in elements, which is declared with a simple type definition.
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Whether you think you can

or think you can't,
you are right.
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Concepts
Style Sheets
Module Overview
Welcome to the module, Style Sheets. This module introduces you to style sheets. It also
discusses how to use Cascading Style Sheets to format XML document. Finally, the module
explains the cascading order of style rules.
Style Sheets
Selectors in CSS
Properties and Values
Inheritance and Cascades in CSS
5.1 Style Sheets

In this first lesson, Style Sheets, you will learn to:
Define and describe style sheets.
Define and describe cascading style sheets (CSS).
Explain how to implement styles with CSS.
5.1.1 Need of Style Sheets

Style sheets are a set of rules that describe the appearance of data in an XML document.
XML was inspired by the problems posed by presentational markup. Presentational markup does not
describe data; it defines the appearance of data. In a document, if you had to change all proper nouns
from bold to italics, you would have to do it manually for each proper noun. Presentation markup failed to
provide same look and feel across multiple devices such as computers, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
devices, and cell phones.
Style sheets and XML solve these problems. XML describes data. Style sheets define the appearance of
data. However, both XML and style sheets are defined in separate files.
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Figure 5.1 depicts formatted document with style sheet.
Figure 5.1: Formatting Document with Style Sheet
5.1.2 Various Style Sheets

There are several style sheets available. However, following two are the most popular style sheets:
Cascading Style Sheet (CSS)

CSS allows you to control the appearance of data in HTML and XML documents by providing
various properties to define:
Position and size of data to be displayed
Foreground and background color of data
Font to be used to display data
Spacing between data
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Extensible Style Sheet (XSL)

XSL is a style sheet language used to define the appearance of data contained only in XML
documents. However, it also allows you to transform XML documents.
5.1.3 Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading style sheets is a rule-based language invented in 1996 to write formatting instructions for data
contained in HTML documents.
A CSS style sheet comprises a set of rules for various elements in a document. Each rule defines how
the data enclosed in the element should be displayed.
Style sheet rules can be combined from different sources, or subsets can be created or the rules can be
overridden. The term cascading is derived from this ability to mix and match rules.
Figure 5.2 shows an example of cascading style sheet.
Figure 5.2: Cascading Style Sheet
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5.1.4 Benefits of CSS

Some of the benefits of cascading style sheets are:
Any style or presentation changes to data can be achieved faster as changes are to be
implemented in one place.
Device independence can be achieved by defining different style sheets for different device. For
example, you can have different style sheet for desktop computers, PDAs, and cell phones.
Reduction in document code as the presentation information is stored in a different file and can be
reused.
Note: CSS is supported by most browsers available today. Some of these browsers are Netscape
(6.0 or higher), Mozilla, Opera (4.0 or higher), and Internet Explorer (5.0 or higher). However, these
browsers support only parts of CSS specification. The current CSS specification is CSS 2. CSS 3
specification is under development.
5.1.5 Style Rules

A style sheet in CSS comprises a set of style rules. These rules define how the content enclosed in an
element will be displayed. These rules are applicable to all child elements within an element. A style rule
comprises a selector, a property, and a value. A property and a value separated with a colon are referred
as property declaration. Figure 5.3 depicts the style rules.
Figure 5.3: Style Rules
selector
Selector is an element name of an XML document. A typical element name could be CD, Name, or
Title.
property
Property is a CSS style property that defines how the element will be rendered. Some of the CSS
properties are border, font, and color.
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value
Value is the value associated with a CSS property. One CSS property can have several values. The
various values for property font-family are the various font family names such as "times", "arial",
and "courier" to name a few.
In Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), style rules can comprise more than one selector. To include multiple
selectors or group multiple selectors, one needs to provide a comma-separated list of element names.
The following code depicts a sample XML document containing information about endangered species.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<Endangered_Species>
<Animal>
<Name language="English">Tiger</Name>
<Threat>poachers</Threat>
<Weight>500 pounds</Weight>
</Animal>
</Endangered_Species>
The following code demonstrates an ideal way to define style rules by displaying each element on a
separate row.
Code Snippet:
Name { display: block }
Threat { display: block }
Weight { display: block }
However, these three style rules can be converted to a single style rule by grouping the selectors as
demonstrated in the following code.
Code Snippet:
Name, Threat, Weight { display: block }
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5.1.6 Ways of Writing Style Rules
A single selector can have more than one property-value pairs associated with it. For example, figure 5.4
shows a CD element having two property declarations one to set the font family to sans-serif, and other
to set the color of text to black. Notice the property-value pairs are separated by a semi-colon.
Similarly, a collection of one or more property-value pairs can be associated with more than one selector.
For example, figure 5.4 shows two property declarations assigned to three elements namely CD, Title,
and Name.
Figure 5.4: Writing Styles
5.1.7 External Style Sheets

In CSS, the style rules are written in a file with the extension .css. This file is associated with an XML
document using a style sheet processing instruction. A few points to note about style sheet processing
instruction are:
It should appear in the prolog section of an XML document, that is, it should appear before any tag
of an element.
One XML document can have more than one style sheet processing instructions, each linked to
one .css file.
Syntax:
<?xml-stylesheet href="url" [type="text/css"]?>
where,
xml-stylesheet is the processing instruction.
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url is the URL of a .css file; the .css file can on a local system or anywhere on the Internet.
type="text/css" is optional; however if a browser does not support CSS, it informs the browser
that it does not have to download a .css file.
The following code demonstrates an example of external style sheet.
Code Snippet:
<?xml-stylesheet href="headers.css" type="text/css"?>
Here the style rules are defined in a file named headers.css.
Knowledge Check 1
1.
Which of the following statements about style sheets are true and which are false?
(A)
(D)
Cascading Style Sheets derived the term cascade from the ability to mix and match rules
from different sources.
Cascading Style Sheets lack support to define spacing between data.
A CSS style sheet is associated with an XML document using the processing instruction
xml-stylesheet.
Style sheets allow you to mix presentation markup with data.
(E)
Style sheets contain one or more rules about the appearance of data.
(B)
(C)
5.2 Selectors in CSS

In this second lesson, Selectors in CSS, you will learn to:
Identify simple selectors in CSS.
State the use of universal selector in CSS.
Describe ID selectors.
5.2.1 Simple Selectors

Simple selector comprises an element name followed by one or more property declarations. Same
property declarations can be assigned to multiple elements by separating element names with a comma.
Simple selectors match every occurrence of the element in a document.
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The following code demonstrates an example of simple selector.

Code Snippet:
/* Simple selector */
CD { color: black }
/* Single element, multiple property declarations */
CD { color: white; background-color: blue }
/* Multiple elements, multiple property declarations */
CD, Name, Title { color: white; background-color: blue }
5.2.2 Universal Selector

A universal selector comprises an asterisk followed by property declarations. It is used when you want
to assign the same style rules to all the elements in a document. A universal selector matches all the
elements in a document. The following code displays the content of all elements in a document in blue.
Code Snippet:
* { color : blue }
5.2.3 ID Selector
An ID selector comprises a hash (#) symbol, immediately followed by an attribute's value followed by
property declarations. It is used to define styles for unique elements in a document. For example, if you
want the data of a unique element to be in a different style, you would define an ID selector for it. Unique
element is one which has one of its attributes named as id as shown in figure 5.5.
Figure 5.5: ID Selector

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Syntax:
#attribute_value { property_declarations }
The following code demonstrates id attribute's value.
Code Snippet:
#1001 { color : blue }
Displays the content of an element in blue if its id attribute's value equals 1001.
ID selectors are used to emphasize the data contained in unique elements in an XML document. However,
not all browsers support ID selectors. A browser has to read the document type definition (DTD) to
identify which attributes have an ID type. Browsers such as Safari, Mozilla, and Netscape do not read
external DTD subsets. Opera lacks the ability to read internal DTDs as well. Hence, these browsers may
not apply the style rules involving ID selectors. Internet Explorer does support ID selectors as it reads
external DTDs.
Knowledge Check 2
1.
Which of the following statements about selectors are true and which are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Simple selectors match occurrence of an element based on a condition.

ID selectors are used to define style rules for unique elements.
In simple selectors you define same property declarations for multiple elements by specifying
a comma separated list of element names.
ID selector match elements which have an id attribute.
Universal selectors match every occurrence of parent and child elements.
5.3 Properties and Values

In this third lesson, Properties and Values, you will learn to:
State and describe how to use color properties.
Describe the font property.
Describe the other properties such as margins, borders, padding.
Explain briefly about positioning and alignment.
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5.3.1 Color Properties
The CSS provides properties to set the foreground and background color of text. CSS uses color name,
red-green-blue (RGB) values, RGB percentages and hexadecimal values to specify color values. The
various ways in which color values are specified is shown in table 5.1.
Color Names
aqua
black
blue
gray
green
lime
maroon
navy
olive
purple
red
silver
teal
white
yellow
RGB Percentages
rgb(0%,65%,65)
rgb(0%,0%,0%)
rgb(0%,32%,100)
rgb(65%,65%,65%)
rgb(0%,100%,0%)
rgb(0%,65%,0%)
rgb(70%,0%,32%)
rgb(0%,0%,65%)
rgb(65%,65%,0%)
rgb(65%,0%,65%)
rgb(100%,0%,32%)
rgb(90%,90%,90%)
rgb(0%,65%,100%)
rgb(100%,100%,100%)
rgb(100%,100%,0%)
RGB Values
rgb(0,160,160)
rgb(0,0,0)
rgb(0,80,255)
rgb(160,160,160)
rgb(0,255,0)
rgb(0,160,0)
rgb(176,0,80)
rgb(0,0,160)
rgb(160,160,0)
rgb(160,0,160)
rgb(255,0,80)
rgb(225,225,255)
rgb(0,160,255)
rgb(255,255,255)
rgb(255,255,0)
Hexadecimal Values
#00a0a0
#000000
#0050ff
#a0a0a0
#00ff00
#00a000
#b00050
#0000a0
#a0a000
#a000a0
#ff0050
#d0d0d0
#00a0ff
#ffffff
#ffff00
Table 5.1: Color Values
5.3.2 Setting Color Properties

The CSS specification provides the properties color and background-color to set the foreground
and background color of text enclosed in elements.
Figure 5.6 depicts the syntax for setting properties.
Figure 5.6: Syntax for Setting Properties

where,
color
Property to set the foreground color of text in an element.
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colorValue
colorValue can take up any value from the CSS color table.
background-color
Property to set the background color of text in an element.
Figure 5.7 shows the code for style rules defined in Colors.css file.
Figure 5.7: XML File

Figure 5.8 depicts the style sheet for Colors.css file.
Figure 5.8: Colors.css File

where,
Cars { background-color: rgb(0%,32%,100%); color: #ffffff }
Causes the text enclosed in Cars element to be displayed in white color with a background color
of blue.
Price { color: yellow; }
Causes the text enclosed in Price element to be displayed in yellow color.
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Figure 5.9: Output of Using Color Properties
5.3.3 Font Properties

The CSS specification defines several font properties to set the font family, font size, font style such as
bold, italics, and so forth. Some of these properties are listed in table 5.2.
Property Name
font-family
font-size
font-style
font-weight
Description
To specify the font family
To specify the size of font
To specify the style of font
To specify the weight of font
Table 5.2: Font Properties
5.3.4 font-family Property

The font-family property is used to specify the name of the font family to be applied to an element.
Figure 5.10 shows the syntax for font-family property.
Figure 5.10: Font-family Property

where,
font-family
Property to specify the font-family to be used.
font-family name(s)
Comma separated list of font-family names such as serif, san-serif, monospace, cursive, and
fantasy. The list should start with the most specific font in which you want to display the data and
end with the most generic font.
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Figure 5.11 shows the code for style rules stored in FontFamily.css file.

Figure 5.12 depicts the style sheet for fontfamily.css file.
Figure 5.12: FontFamily.css File

Figure 5.13: Output of Using font-family Property
5.3.5 font-size Property

The font-size property is used to specify the size of font used to display element data.
Figure 5.14 shows the syntax for font-size property.
Figure 5.14: Syntax for font-size Property
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where,
font-size
Property to specify the size of font.
xx-small | x-small | small | medium | large | x-large | xx-large
One of various values that can be assigned to the property font-size.
Figure 5.15 shows the code for style rules defined in FontSize.css file.

Figure 5.16 depicts the style sheet for fontsize.css file.
Figure 5.16: FontSize.css File

where,
Cars { font-size: medium }
All the text enclosed in Cars element and its child elements will be displayed with medium font
size.
The text enclosed in the element Cars will be displayed in either arial, times or serif font. The rule
becomes applicable to all the elements enclosed in Cars element. If the system does not support arial
font, then times will be selected; if times is not supported then serif will be selected.
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Figure 5.17: Output of Using font-size Property
5.3.6 Font Style and Weight Properties

CSS provides two properties namely font-style and font-weight to add emphasis or meaning to
parts of data.
Figure 5.18 shows the syntax for font style and weight properties.
Figure 5.18: Font Style and Weight Properties

where,
font-style
Property to specify the style of text in an element.
normal | oblique | italic
One of the values that can be assigned to font-style property.
font-weight
Property to specify the weight style of the text in an element.
light | normal | bold
One of the values that can be assigned to font-weight property.
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Figure 5.19 shows the code for style rules defined in FontStyle.css file.

Figure 5.20 depicts the style sheet for fontstyle.css file.
Figure 5.20: FontStyle.css File

where,
Manufacturer { font-weight: bold }
The text enclosed in Manufacturer element will be displayed in bold.
Location { font-style: italic }
The text enclosed in Location element will be displayed in italics.
Figure 5.21: Output of Using Font Styles
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where,
BMW
Text is displayed in bold
Liverpool
Text is displayed in italics
5.3.7 Margins in CSS

Every element in an XML document is displayed in its own box. CSS provides four properties namely
margin-left, margin-right, margin-top and margin-bottom to insert space around the
element's box.
Figure 5.22 shows the syntax for margins in css.
Figure 5.22: Syntax for Margins in CSS

where,
margin-left | margin-right | margin-top | margin-bottom
The various margin properties to set left, right, top and bottom margins.
marginValue
The value to be assigned to one of the margin properties. This value can be a fixed value or a
percentage.
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Figure 5.23 shows the code for style rules defined in Margin.css file.

Figure 5.24 depicts the style sheet for margin.css file.
Figure 5.24: Margin.css File

where,
Manufacturer { margin-left: 20; margin-right: 50; }
Inserts a space of 20 pixels to the left and a space of 50 pixels to the right of text enclosed in
element Manufacturer.
Manufacturer { background-color: aqua }
Sets the background of text enclosed in element Manufacturer to aqua.
Vehicle { background-color: orange }
Sets the background of text enclosed in element Vehicle to orange.
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Figure 5.25: Output of Using Margins
5.3.8 Border Properties in CSS

Borders are rectangular outlines surrounding an element's box. CSS provides properties to create dotted,
solid and groove borders to name a few.
Figure 5.26 shows the syntax for border properties.
Figure 5.26: Syntax for Border Properties

where,
border
Property to set the border of the box surrounding an element's data.
border_width
Specifies the thickness of the border. Possible values are thin, medium and thick.
border_style
Specifies the style of the border. Possible values are solid, dashed, dotted, groove, ridge, double,
inset, outset.
border_color
Specifies the color of the border. All values that are applicable to CSS color property are allowed.
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Figure 5.27 shows the code for style rules defined in Border.css file.

Figure 5.28 depicts the style sheet for border.css file.
Figure 5.28: Border.css File

where,
Manufacturer {border: thick dashed magenta }
Displays a thick and dashed magenta border around the content of Manufacturer element.
Model { border: thick solid olive }
Displays a thick and solid olive border around the content of Model element.
Color { border: thick groove aqua }
Displays a thick and groove aqua border around the content of Color element.
Price { border: thick inset gray }
Displays a thick and inset gray border around the content of Price element.
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Figure 5.29: Output of Using Borders

where,
BMW
Thick dashed magenta border
M3
Thick solid olive border
Metallic Silver
Thick groove aqua border
40,000
Thick inset gray border
5.3.9 Padding Properties in CSS

The border property surrounds the text in an element with an outline. To insert space between the border
and the text of an element, CSS provides the padding property.
Figure 5.30 shows the syntax for padding property.
Figure 5.30: Syntax for Padding Property

where,
padding
Property specifying padding between the text and border of an element.
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padding_width
Composite value that can have maximum four values in the following order: top, right, bottom, and
left. These values are followed by length unit designators. However, default is pixel unit.
Figure 5.31 shows the code for style rules defined in Padding.css file.

Figure 5.32 depicts the style sheet for padding.css file.
Figure 5.32: Padding.css File

where,
Manufacturer { padding: 2 }
Inserts padding of 2 pixels between the four borders and text of Manufacturer element. The four
borders applicable are top, right, bottom, and left.
Model { padding: 2 5 }
Inserts padding between the borders and text of Model element. The value 2 is applied to top and
bottom borders and 5 is applied to left and right borders.
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Color { padding: 2 5 8 }
Inserts padding between the borders and text of Color element. The value 2 is applied to top border,
5 to left and right borders, and value 8 to bottom border.
Price { padding: 2 5 8 10 }
Inserts padding between the borders and text of Price element. The value 2 is applied to top border,
5 to right border, 8 to bottom border, and 10 to left border.
Figure 5.33: Output of Using Padding
5.3.10 CSS Units

The values assigned to CSS properties are expressed in length units. Table 5.3 describes these units.
Unit Type
Relative
Unit Designator
em defines the height of element's font.
ex defines the x-height of element's font.
px defines the pixel relative to display device.
Absolute
% - percentage.
in inches
cm centimeters
mm millimeters
pt 1/72 inch
pc 12 pt
Table 5.3: CSS Units
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5.3.11 Position Properties
Every element's text is placed in a box of its own. Table 5.4 lists the CSS positioning properties to position
the text inside the box. Note that the properties top, left, bottom, and right are used only if value of position
property is not static.
Property
position
top
left
bottom
right
Description
Property to place an element in a static, relative, absolute
or fixed position
Property specifying how far the top edge of an element is
above/below the top edge of the parent element
Possible Values
static, fixed,
relative or absolute
auto, integer or floating

point values adhering to
CSS length units
Property specifying how far the left edge of an element is auto, integer or floating
to the right/left of the left edge of the parent element
CSS length units
Property specifying how far the bottom edge of an element auto, integer or floating
is above/below the bottom edge of the parent element
CSS length units
Property specifying how far the right edge of an element is auto, integer or floating
to the left/right of the right edge of the parent element
CSS length units
Table 5.4: Position Properties
5.3.12 Position Properties Example

Let us study an example based on positioning properties of CSS.
Figure 5.34 shows the code for style rules defined in Position.css file.

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Figure 5.35 depicts the style sheet for position.css file.
Figure 5.35: Position.css File

where,
Location { position: relative; top:20; left :20 }
Positions the text of Location element relative to the previous element. However, inside the box, the
content is placed at 20 pixels from top and 20 pixels from left.
Price { position: absolute; top:40; left :20 }
Positions the text of Price element at an absolute location of 40 pixels from the top and 20 pixels
from the left.
Figure 5.36: Output of Using Location

where,
40,000
Text displayed using absolute positioning
Liverpool
Text displayed using relative positioning
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5.3.13 Display Property
In HTML, if you wanted the text to appear as new paragraph, you would use the <P> tag. The same can
be achieved in XML by using CSS display property.
Figure 5.37 shows the syntax for display property.
Figure 5.37: Syntax for Display Property

where,
display
Property to specify how the element is to be rendered.
none
No rendering is applied to the element.
inline
Displays the element text as inline. This is the default value if no value is specified.
block
Displays the element text on a new line in a block of its own.
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Figure 5.38 shows the code for style rules defined in Display.css.

Figure 5.39 depicts the style sheet for display.css file.
Figure 5.39: Display.css File

where,
Price { display: block }
Inserts a new line before and after the text of element Price.
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Figure 5.40: Output of Using Block

Data in each element is displayed on a separate row in block of its own.
5.3.14 Text Alignment and Indentation

The display:block property renders the text of an element in a separate block. Inside this block,
you can align and indent the text using the CSS properties text-align and text-indent properties
respectively.
Figure 5.41 shows the syntax for text alignment and indentation.
Figure 5.41: Syntax

where,
text-align
Property to align the text in a block.
alignment_value
Can be one of the following: left (default), right, center and justify.
text-indent
Property to indent the text in a block.
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value
Floating point value followed by absolute units designators or relative units designators; or an
integer value followed by percentage (%) symbol.
Figure 5.42 shows the code for style rules defined in Align.css.

Figure 5.43 depicts the style sheet for align.css file.
Figure 5.43: Align.css File

where,
Price { display: block }
Inserts a new line before and after the text of element Price and displays the text in a separate
block.
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Price { text-align: left }

Left aligns the text of Price element.
Price { text-indent: 20 }
Indents the text of Price element at 20 pixels.
Figure 5.44: Output of Using Indents

where,
40,000
The text in element Price is display on a separate row and left indented at 20 pixels.
Knowledge Check 3
1.
Can you match the properties with the corresponding descriptions?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
Description
To display an element's data in italics
To display an element's data in bold
To display an element's data in a small font
To display an element's data in Times New Roman
To display an element's data a big font
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Property
font-family
font-size
font-style
font-weight
font-size: small
Can you write the style rules to display the data "XML by Example" in the format shown in the following
figure?
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Note: In the image, display type is block, background color is blue, color is white, border is
medium solid magenta, text indent is 20.
3.
Can you match the properties with the corresponding descriptions?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Description
To insert space around an element
To insert space between the text and border of element's box
To display an outline around the element's data
To place element's data at the specified location
To place element's data in the center
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Property
text-align
border
padding
position
margin
5.4 Inheritance and Cascades in CSS

In this last lesson, Inheritance and Cascades in CSS, you will learn to:
Define the process of cascading.
Explain inheritance.
5.4.1 Cascading in CSS

There are several ways in which style sheets can be defined. For example, one document can have
more than one style sheet defined for it. A browser has its own style sheet. In such cases, it is possible
that more than one style rule may exist for an element. Hence, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
defines the following rules to determine what style to apply to an element. The sorting of style rules
begins with rule number 1. If the style rule matches rule number 1, then the search is over; otherwise the
search continues with rule number 2 and so on.
1.
Find all property declarations for an element in question. Apply the style rules if the element name
matches the element in the selector. If there is no style rule defined for an element, the element
inherits the style rules defined for the parent element. However, if the parent element does not have
any style rules defined, then the element is rendered with default values.
2.
Style rules declared as important are considered next. A style rule can be declared important in the
following manner:
Threat { display: block ! important }
Important property declarations have a higher precedence over normal property declarations.
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Note: Style rules defined as important are said to have higher weight.
3.
Next, the origin of style sheet is determined. A style sheet can have following sources:
Author: The author of the XML document can define a style sheet in an external document
to format the XML document.
User/Reader: The end-user viewing the XML document can specify his/her personal style
sheet to be used to format the XML document.
User-agent: The browser is referred to as user-agent. A browser has its own default style
sheet.
The style rules defined in the author's style sheet override the style rules defined in the user's style
sheet. The author's and the user's style sheet both override the user-agent's style sheet.
4.
5.
Next, the specificity of a selector is determined in that a more specific selector will override the
general selector. The specificity is determined by carrying out the following three activities:
Count the number of ID attributes in the selector.
Count the number of class attributes in a selector.
Count the number of element names in the selector.
Next, write the three numbers with no commas or spaces and in the same sequence as shown
earlier. Higher the number, higher is the specificity. Rules with higher specificity override the ones
with lower specificity. For example, following is a list of selectors sorted by specificity:
#favorite {...}
/* a=1;b=0;c=0; specificity = 100 */
Name, CD, Artist.caps {...} /* a=0;b=1;c=3; specificity = 013 */
Artist.caps {...}
/* a=0;b=0;c=1; specificity = 001 */
6.
If two rules have the same weight, then the one specified last wins.
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5.4.2 Inheritance in CSS

Inheritance is the ability of one entity to acquire the characteristics of another entity. In CSS, the child
elements inherit the styles rules defined for parent element. However, this is applicable only if the child
has no explicit style rule defined for it. Otherwise, the style rule defined for child element overrides the
style rule defined for parent element.
Figure 5.45 shows that the text in element Name is displayed in italics. This is because there are no style
rules defined for elements Audio and Name. Hence, the style rule defined for CD is inherited by child
element Name.
Figure 5.45: Inheritance in CSS
Knowledge Check 4
1.
Which of the following statements about cascading and inheritance are true and which are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Declarations are sorted by weight and origin.

Inheritance enables one entity to acquire the properties of another entity.
A child element inherits the properties of an ancestor element only if it is an immediate
child.
Declarations are sorted by the order specified.
There is always only one style rule defined for every element.
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Style Sheets
Concepts
Module Summary
In this module, Style Sheets, you learnt about:
Style Sheets
Style Sheets are a set of rules that define the appearance of data. These rules are written in
a file with the extension .css. The .css file is associated with an XML document using the
xml-processing instruction.
Selectors in CSS
Selectors define the elements to which the styles will be applied. The various types of
selectors are simple, universal and ID selectors.
Properties and Values

CSS provides several properties to define the appearance of data. Some of these properties
are color, background-color, position, padding, font, text- align to name a few.
Inheritance and Cascades in CSS

In CSS, a child element inherits the styles rules applied to its ancestor element. Also, there
are several sources of style sheets, hence CSS follows W3C defined cascading order when
applying style rules to elements.
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XSL and XSLT
Module Overview
Welcome to the module, XSL and XSLT. This module deals with the techniques of transforming
XML documents into XML, HTML, and Text documents using XSL style sheets. This module also
aims at providing a clear understanding of creating an XSL style sheet using the various XSL
elements.
Introduction to XSL
Working with XSL
6.1 Introduction to XSL

In this first lesson, Introduction to XSL, you will learn to:
Define XSL, XSLT, and their purpose.
Explain the structure and syntax of XSL.
Distinguish between CSS and XSL.
6.1.1 Style Sheets

A style sheet is a collection of commands that tells a processor (such as a Web browser, or a document
reader) how to render the visual appearance of content in a Web page.
Style sheets typically contain instructions like:
Number figures sequentially throughout the document.
Display hypertext links in blue.
Position text and images on a Web page.
Create a layout optimized for small displays for mobile phones.
Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) is a style sheet technology that is used for HTML content formatting.
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Extensible Style sheet Language (XSL) is developed by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to describe
how the XML document should be displayed. Figure 6.1 shows an example of style sheet.
Figure 6.1: Style Sheet
6.1.2 Extensible Style sheet Language (XSL)

XSL is an XML-based language used to create style sheets. XSL is designed to format XML content for
display purposes and also has the ability to completely transform XML documents. XSL is a specification
from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). XSL Transformation Recommendation describes the
process of transforming an XML document, using a transformation engine and XSL. The XML document
and XSL style sheet are provided as input to the XML transformation engine, also known as the XSLT
processor. The output of the processor is in the form of a result tree in which the elements of the XML
document are converted into nodes having specific text values and attributes. XSLT processors use XSL
style sheets to gather instructions for transforming source XML documents to output XML documents.
Style sheets are used to change the structure of the XML document and modify the output.
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XSL and XSLT
Concepts
XSL consists of three languages:
XSL Transformations (XSLT)

XSLT transforms an XML document into another XML document that can actually be understood
and displayed by a computer.
XML Path Language (XPath)

XPath is used as the navigator for XSL. XSL uses XPath to find parts of the source document that
should match a certain predefined template. When XPath finds the node, XSLT takes over and
performs a transformation, turning the source document into a result document.
XSL Formatting Objects (XSL-FO)

An XML language for formatting XML documents. Once XPath has searched through the source
document and used XSLT to transform the source document into the result document, the document
then needs to be formatted so that the Web browser will be able to present the document with the
proper layout and structure. Simply put, XSL-FO is the part of XSL that produces the final output.
Figure 6.2 depicts the structure of XSL.
Figure 6.2: Structure of XSL
6.1.3 XSL Transformations

The transformation component of the XSL style sheet technology is XSLT. Its purpose is to transform XML
documents. It describes the process of transforming an XML document, using a transformation engine
and XSL. The XML document and XSL style sheet are provided as input to the XML transformation
engine, also known as the XSLT processor. The output of the processor is in the form of a result tree
in which the elements of the XML document are converted into nodes having specific text values and
attributes.
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Note: You can transform an XML document into any text-based format, including HTML, plain text, or
another schema of XML using XSLT.
An XSLT processor is an application that connects an XML document with an XSLT style sheet. The
transformation of the XML document is in the form of a node tree, which can be displayed as output or
sent for further transformations.
6.1.4 XSL Processing Model

The XML processor reads an XML document and processes it into a hierarchical tree containing nodes
for each piece of information in a document. After a document has been processed into a tree, the XSL
processor begins applying the rules of an XSL style sheet to the document tree.
The XSL processor starts with the root node in the tree and performs pattern matching in the style sheet.
These patterns are stored within constructs known as templates in XSL style sheets. The XSL processor
analyzes templates and the patterns associated with them to process different parts of the document tree.
When a match is made, the portion of the tree matching the given pattern is processed by the appropriate
style sheet template. At this point, the rules of the template are applied to the content to generate a result
tree. The result tree is itself a tree of data and the data has been transformed by the style sheet.
Figure 6.3 displays the XSL processing model.
Figure 6.3: XSL Processing Model

Note: Pattern matching is the process of using patterns to identify nodes in the tree that are to be
processed according to XSL styles.
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6.1.5 XSLT Structure and Syntax

XSLT follows normal rules of XML syntax. It uses a standard document introduction, matching closing
tags for any opening tags that contain content, and a proper syntax for empty elements.
In XSL, the style rules are written in a file with the extension .xsl. This file is associated with an XML
document by using the statement <?xml-stylesheet href="xsl file" type="text/xsl"?>.
Here, the xml-stylesheet is the processing instruction.
Syntax:
All XSLT style sheets use the xsl:stylesheet element as the document element.
An XSLT document takes the following basic form:
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
</xsl:styleheet>
where,
<xsl:stylesheet>: Root element of the style sheet.
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform": refers to the official W3C XSLT
namespace. You must include the attribute version="1.0" if you use this namespace.
The XSLT namespace must be declared at the top of the document in order to get access to the
XSLT elements, attributes and features.
Note: The <xsl:transform> element holds the same syntactic value as <xsl:stylesheet>. The
<xsl:transform> and <xsl:stylesheet> are completely synonymous and either can be used.
The xsl:stylesheet element is used more commonly than xsl:transform element.
6.1.6 Top Level XSLT Elements

The top level XSLT elements can occur directly inside the xsl:stylesheet element. An element
occurring as a child of an xsl:stylesheet element is called a top-level element. These elements
provide the building blocks for creating XSLT documents.
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The top level elements in the XSLT syntax are listed in table 6.1. These elements can occur directly
inside the xsl:stylesheet or xsl:transform elements.
Element
xsl:decimal-format
xsl:include
xsl:key
xsl:output
xsl:preserve-space
Description
Defines the default decimal format for number to text
conversion.
Used to include one style sheet into another.
Defines a named key to be used with the key() function for
operating on patterns and expressions.
Defines the format of the output created by the style
sheet.
Defines the format of the output created by the style
sheet.
Table 6.1: Top level XSLT Elements
xsl:decimal-format XSLT element

Syntax:
<xsl:decimal-format
decimal-separator="character"
digit="character"
grouping-separator="character" infinity="string" minus-sign="character"
name="name"
NaN="string"
pattern-separator="character"
percent="character" per-mille="character" zero-digit="character"/>
where,
decimal-separator="character": Defines the character that is used to separate the
integer and fraction part of a number. The default is a dot (.).
digit="character": Defines the character that is used to signify that a digit is needed in
a format pattern. The hash (#) is the default.
grouping-separator="character": Defines the character that is used to separate
groups of digits. The default is a comma (,).
infinity="string": Defines the string that is used to represent the infinite value. The
default is the string, "infinity".
minus-sign="character": Defines the character that is used to represent a minus sign.
The default is the hyphen (-).
name="name": Assigns a name to the element.
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NaN="string": Defines the string that is used to indicate that the value is not a number. The
default is string, "NaN".
pattern-separator="character":Define the character that is used to separate positive
and negative sub patterns in a format pattern. The default is semicolon (;).
percent="character": Defines the character that is used to represent a percent sign. The
default is the percent sign (%).
per-mille="character": Defines the character that is used to represent the per thousand
sign. The default is the Unicode per mille character (%).
zero-digit="character": Defines the character that is used to represent the digit zero.
The default is (0).
The following code demonstrates the several numeric format variations.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
version="1.0">
<xsl:decimal-format name="name" digit="D" />
<xsl:output method="html"/>
<xsl:template match="/">
<xsl:value-of select='format-number(45665789, "#.000")' />
<xsl:value-of select='format-number(0.3456789, "###%")' />
<xsl:value-of select='format-number(789, "D.0", "name")' />
<xsl:value-of select='format-number(123456789, "$DDD,DDD,DDD.
DD","name")' />
<xsl:value-of select="format-number(193 div 200, '###.#%')"/>
<xsl:value-of select="format-number(a div 0, '###,###.00')"/>
<xsl:value-of select="format-number(1 div 0, '###,###.00')"/>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
The select statement returns the values 45665789.000, 35%, 789.0, $123,456,789, 96.5%, NaN
and Infinity respectively.
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xsl:include XSLT element
Concepts
Syntax:
<xsl:include href = "uri"/>
where,
href =
included.
"uri": A Uniform Resource Identifier address identifying the XSLT file to be
The following code demonstrates how to include another style sheet file within a style sheet file.
Code Snippet:
version="1.0">
<xsl:include href="ExampleTemplate.xsl"/>
...........
..........
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
In this code, the ExampleTemplate.xsl style sheet file is included within the current style sheet
file.
xsl:key XSLT element

Syntax:
<xsl:key match="pattern" name="qname" use="expression">
</xsl:key>
where,
match="pattern": Defines the nodes to which the key will be applied.
name="qname": Specifies the qualified names of the key.
use="expression": Used to determine the value of the key for each node.
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The following code contains the XML file and demonstrates how to use the xsl:key element.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="key.xsl"?>
<APTstaff>
<Developer name="David Blake" address="B-602, East West Coast" phone="567877-9766"/>
<Developer name="Roger Blake" address="B-345, East West Coast" phone="345865-9777"/>
</APTstaff>
The following code contains the style sheet file and demonstrates how to use the xsl:key
element.
Code Snippet:
version="1.0">
<xsl:key name="stafflist" match="Developer" use="@name"/>
<xsl:for-each select="key('stafflist', 'David Blake')">
NAME: <xsl:value-of select="@name"/>
ADDRESS: <xsl:value-of select="@address"/>
PHONE: <xsl:value-of select="@phone"/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
The result upon execution would be:
NAME: David Blake ADDRESS: B-602, East West Coast PHONE: 567-8779766
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xsl:output XSLT element
Syntax:
<xsl:output cdata-section-elements="namelist" doctype-public="string"
doctype-system="string" encoding="string" indent="yes" | "no" mediatype="mimetype" method="html" | "name" | "text" | "xml" omit-xmldeclaration="yes" | "no" standalone="yes" | "no" version="version_number"
/>
The details of the attributes are given in table 6.2.
Attribute
Description
cdata-section-elements Optional. A white space delimited list of elements whose text contents
should be written as CDATA sections.
doctype-public
Optional. Specifies the public identifiers that go in the document type
declaration.
doctype-system
Optional. Specifies the system identifiers that go in the document type
declaration.
encoding
Optional. Sets the value of the encoding attribute in the output.
indent
Optional. Specifies whether or not to indent the output. If set to "yes",
the XML and HTML outputs are step-indented to make them more
readable.
media-type
Optional. Defines the MIME type of the output. The default is "text/
xml".
method
Optional. Defines the type of output. The three permitted values are
HTML, text and XML. The default is XML. However, if the first child
element of the root node is the HTML <html> tag and there are no
preceding text nodes, then the default output type is set to HTML.
omit-xml-declaration
Optional. A "yes" specifies that the XML declaration (<?xml...?>) should
be ignored in the output. The "no" specifies that the XML declaration
should be included in the output. The default is "no".
standalone
Optional. Specifies whether the XSLT processor should output a
standalone declaration. Yes specifies that a standalone declaration
should occur in the output. No, the default, signifies that a standalone
declaration should occur in the output.
version
Optional. Provides the W3C version number for the output format. If
the output is XML, the default version is 1.0. Or if the output type is
HTML, the default version is 4.0.
Table 6.2: xsl:output element Attributes
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The following code demonstrates the use of xsl:output element. It shows that the output will be
an HTML document, version 4.0 and indented for readability.
Code Snippet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsl:output method="html" version="4.0" indent="yes"/>
...
...
</xsl:stylesheet>
xsl:preserve-space XSLT element

Syntax:
<xsl:preserve-space elements="names"/>
where,
elements: Specifies a white space separated list of element names for which white space
should be preserved or removed.
The following code demonstrates the use of xsl:preserve-space element and shows that the
white space is preserved for name and address elements.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/
Transform">
<xsl:preserve-space elements="name address"/>
<xsl:for-each select="Company/Programmer">
<xsl:value-of select="name"/>
<br/>
<xsl:value-of select="age"/>
<br/>
<xsl:value-of select="address"/>
<br/>
<xsl:value-of select="company"/>
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<br/>
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
6.1.7 CSS and XSL

XSL and CSS are two different style languages recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C). XSL is more powerful and complex than CSS. Some of the differences between CSS and XSL
are listed in table 6.3.
CSS
Style sheet language to create a style for HTML
and XML documents
Determines the visual appearance of a page,
but does not alter the structure of the source
document
Does not support decision structures and it
cannot calculate quantities or store values in
variables
Uses its own notation
Highly effective and easy to learn for simple
applications
XSL
Style sheet language to create a style for XML
documents
Provides a means of transforming XML documents
Supports decision structures and can calculate

quantities or store values in variables
Uses an XML notation
Designed to meet the needs of more complex
applications for richer style sheets
Table 6.3: Difference between CSS and XSL
Knowledge Check 1
1.
The steps to process an XSL style sheet and apply it to an XML document are given here. Can you
arrange the steps in sequence to achieve the processing?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Apply the rules of an XSL style sheet to document tree.

Portion of a tree matching the given pattern is processed by appropriate style sheet
template.
XSL processor starts with root node in tree and performs pattern matching.
XML processor reads an XML document.
XML processor creates a hierarchical tree containing nodes for each piece of information.
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Concepts
2.
Can you match the XSL elements against their corresponding description?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
3.
XSL and XSLT
Description
Used to add one style sheet to another
Allow to set a variable in the xsl file
Allow the style sheet to alias one namespace prefix
for another in the result tree
Used to build templates
Allow style sheet authors to specify how they wish the
result tree to be output
(1)
(2)
(3)
XPath Node
xsl:template
xsl:output
xsl:import
(4)
(5)
xsl:namespace-alias
xsl:variable
Which of the statements about CSS and XSL style sheet languages are true and which statements
are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
CSS uses complex elements to format the documents.

XSL describes how the XML document should be displayed.
XSL elements can be used to perform complex calculations.
XSL is a style sheet application specifically for HTML.
CSS is a simple, styling-based approach that does not require advanced programming
skills.
6.2 Working with XSL

In this last lesson, Working with XSL, you will learn to:
Explain XSL templates.
Describe the use of select attribute.
State how to use xsl:value-of element.
Describe how to use xsl:for-each element.
Explain briefly how to use xsl:text element.
Describe how to use xsl:number element.
Describe how to use xsl:if element.
Describe how to use xsl:choose element.
Explain how to perform sorting using XSL.
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6.2.1 XSL Templates
A template is the main component of a style sheet. Templates are defined with the help of rules. A
template rule is used to control the output of the XSLT processor. It defines the method by which an
XML element node is transformed into an XSL element node. A template rule consists of a pattern that
identifies the XML node and an action that selects and transforms the node.
Each template rule is represented by the xsl:template element. The xsl:template is an element
that defines an action for producing output from a source document.
Figure 6.4 shows an example of XSL template.
Figure 6.4: XSL Template
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The built-in template rules are as follows:
Built-in template rule for modes: Ensures that elements and roots in any mode are processed.
The built-in template rule for modes is as follows:
<xsl:template match="*|/" mode="x">
<xsl:apply-templates mode="x"/>
</xsl:template>
Built-in template rule for element and root nodes: Processes the root node and its children.
The built-in template rules for element and root nodes are as follows:
<xsl:template match="*|/">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>
Built-in template rule for text and attribute nodes: Copies text and attribute nodes to the result
tree. The built-in template rules for text and attribute nodes are as follows:
<xsl:template match="text()|@*">
<xsl:value-of select="."/>
</xsl:template>
Built-in template rule for comment and processing instruction nodes: Does not perform any
function. It is applied to the comments and processing instructions in the XML document. The
built-in template rules for comment and processing instruction nodes are as follows:
<xsl:template match="comment()|processing-instruction()"/>
Built-in template rule for namespaces node: Does not perform any function. It is applied to the
namespaces node in the XML document. The built-in template rule for namespaces node is as
follows:
<xsl:template match="namespace()"/>
Note: The Built-in rules have a lower priority than the other template rules.
While traversing an XML document, template rules are activated in the order in which they match
the elements. A template can change the order of traversal, and it can also prevent particular
elements from being processed. The xsl:apply-templates element allows the user to choose
the order in which the document is to be traversed.
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For example, consider an element Order having child elements as OrderNumber, ItemInfo,
and Price. The ItemInfo element has further child elements as ItemName and Quantity. The
ItemName element comes before the Quantity element in the tree structure.
To get an output where Quantity is displayed before ItemName, the following template can be
used:
<xsl: template match= "ItemInfo">
<xsl: value-of select= "Quantity"/>
<xsl: value-of select= "ItemName"/>
</xsl: template>
6.2.2 The xsl:template Element

The xsl:template element is used to define a template that can be applied to a node to produce
desired output.
The match attribute in xsl:template is used to associate the template with an XML element. You
can also define a template for a whole branch of the XML document by using the match attribute (for
example, match="/" defines the whole XML document).
Syntax:
<xsl:template
match="pattern"
mode="mode"
name="name"
priority="number"
>
</xsl:template>
where,
match: Is a pattern that is used to define which nodes will have which template rules applied to
them. If this attribute is omitted there must be a name attribute.
mode: Allows the same nodes to be processed more than once.
name: Specifies a name for the template. If this attribute is omitted there must be a match
attribute.
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priority: Is a real number that sets the priority of importance for a template. The higher the
number, the higher the priority.
The syntax for the some of the match patterns are represented as follows:
The <xsl:template match ="/"> represents the root element in the XML document, <xsl:
template match = "name of the element"> represents all the elements in the XML document
that have the specified name, <xsl:template match = parent1/child> represents the child
element by specifying the exact parent element and <xsl:template match = "/ | *"> matches
the entire document.
The code in figure 6.5 demonstrates the usage of xsl:template element in style sheets.
Figure 6.5: XSL Template Element

An XSL style sheet is an XML document itself, it always begins with the XML declaration: <?xml
version="1.0" ?>.
The next element, <xsl:stylesheet>, defines that this document is an XSLT style sheet document. It
also contains the version number and XSLT namespace attributes.
The <xsl:template> element defines a template. The match="/" attribute associates the template
with the root of the XML source document.
The content inside the <xsl:template> element defines some HTML to write to the output.
The last two lines define the end of the template and the end of the style sheet.
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6.2.3 The xsl:apply-templates Element
The xsl:apply-templates element defines a set of nodes to be processed. This element, by default,
selects all child nodes of the current node being processed, and finds a matching template rule to apply
to each node in the set.
Figure 6.6 shows the syntax for xsl:apply-templates.
Figure 6.6: xsl:apply-templates Syntax

where,
select
Used to process nodes selected by an expression.
mode
Allows the same nodes to be processed more than once. Each time the nodes are processed, they
can be displayed in a different manner.
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Figure 6.7 shows the code for style rules that are defined in GEM_Stylesheet.xsl file.
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Figure 6.8 depicts the GEM_Stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.8: GEM_Stylesheet.xsl File

where,
match="GEMEmployees/Designer"
Represents the Designer child element by specifying the GEMEmployees parent element.
xsl:apply-templates select="Name"
Applies the template on Name element.
xsl:apply-templates select="DOJ"
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Applies the template on DOJ element.

xsl:value-of
Used to extract the value of a selected node.
xsl:template match="Name"
If the template is matched with Name element, the value of the Name element is displayed in green
color with font size 22 pixels.
xsl:template match="DOJ"
If the template is matched with DOJ element, the value of the DOJ element is displayed in blue
color.
Figure 6.9: Output of Using Templates
6.2.4 The select Attribute

The select attribute can be used to process nodes selected by an expression instead of processing all
children. The xsl:apply-templates with a select attribute can be used to choose a particular set
of children instead of all children.
Figure 6.10 shows the syntax for select Attribute.
Figure 6.10: select Attribute Syntax
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select
Uses the same kind of patterns as the match attribute of the xsl:template element. If select attribute
is not present, all child element, comment, text, and processing instruction nodes are selected.
Figure 6.11 shows the code for style rules that are defined in book_stylesheet.xsl file.
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Figure 6.12 depicts the style sheet for book_style sheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.12: book_stylesheet.xsl File

where,
select="Title"
Applies the template on Title element.
select="Author"
Applies the template on Author element.
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Figure 6.13: Output of Using Select
6.2.5 The xsl:value-of element

The xsl:value-of element is used to write or display in the result tree a text string representing the
value of the element specified by the select attribute. A xsl:value-of element can only have one
node assigned to it.
Figure 6.14 shows the syntax for xsl:value-of element.
Figure 6.14: xsl:value-of Syntax

where,
select
A mandatory attribute that assigns the node (by name) to the element.
disable-output-escaping
Specifies how special characters should appear in the output string.
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yes
Indicates that special characters should be displayed as is (for example, a < or >).
no
Indicates that special characters should not be displayed as is (for example, a > is displayed as
>).
Figure 6.15 shows the code for style rules that are defined in person_stylesheet.xsl file.
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Figure 6.16 depicts the style sheet for person_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.16: person_stylesheet.xsl File

where,
xsl:value-of select="FirstName"
Display the value of the element FirstName.
xsl:value-of select="LastName"
Display the value of the element LastName.
Figure 6.17: Output of Using xsl:value-of
6.2.6 The xsl:for-each element

The xsl:for-each element can be used to iterate through the XML elements of a specified node set.
It applies a template repeatedly to each node in a set.
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Figure 6.18 shows the syntax for xsl:for-each element.
Figure 6.18: xsl:for-each Syntax

select="expresion"
The expression is evaluated on the current context to determine the set of nodes to iterate over.
Figure 6.19 shows the code for style rules that are defined in APTEmployees_stylesheet.xsl file.

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Figure 6.20 depicts the style sheet for APTEmployees_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.20: APTEmployees_stylesheet.xsl File

where,
xsl:for-each select="Employee"
Iterates through the Employee node and applies a template.
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xsl:value-of select="Department"
Displays the value of Department element.
xsl:value-of select="Name"
Displays the value of Name element.
xsl:value-of select="Salary"
Displays the value of Salary element.
xsl:value-of select="Language"
Displays the value of Language element.
</xsl:for-each>
End of for-each loop.
Figure 6.21: Output of Using xsl:for-each
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6.2.7 The xsl:text element
The xsl:text element is used to add literal text to the output. This element cannot contain any other
XSL elements. It can contain only text.
Figure 6.22 shows the syntax for xsl:text element.
Figure 6.22: xsl:text Syntax

disable-output-escaping
Turns on or off the ability to escape special characters.
yes
If the value is yes, a > will appear as a >.
no
If the value is no, a > will appear as a > in the text.
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Figure 6.23 shows the code for style rules that are defined in Orders_stylesheet.xsl file.

Figure 6.24 depicts the style sheet for orders_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.24: Orders_stylesheet.xsl File

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where,
xsl:for-each select="Orders/Item"
Iterates through the Item element.
xsl:value-of select="Name"
Displays the value of Name element.
<xsl:text>,</xsl:text>
Inserts a comma (,) after each name value.
<xsl:text>!!!!</xsl:text>
Inserts four exclamation marks (!) at the end of the output.
Figure 6.25: Output of Using xsl:text
6.2.8 The xsl:number element

The xsl:number element can be used to determine the sequence number for the current node. It can
also be used to format a number for display in the output.
Figure 6.26 shows the syntax for xsl:number element.
Figure 6.26: xsl:number Syntax
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where,
count="pattern"
Indicates what nodes are to be counted. Only nodes that match the pattern are counted.
format="{ string }"
Sequence of tokens that specifies the format to be used for each number in the list.
value="expression"
Specifies the expression to be converted to a number and output to the result tree.
Figure 6.27 shows the code for style rules that are defined in item_stylesheet.xsl file.
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Figure 6.28 depicts the style sheet for item_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.28: item_stylesheet.xsl File

where,
position()
The current node's position in the source document.
format="1."
User-provided number starts with 1.
format="I."
User-provided roman number starts with I.
Figure 6.29: Output of Using xsl:number

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Concepts
where,
1.Water Bottle, I.Water Bottle
The first item is numbered with number 1 and roman number I.
4.Mobile Phone, IV. Mobile Phone
The fourth item is numbered with number 4 and roman number IV.
6.2.9 The xsl:if element

The xsl:if element evaluates a conditional expression against the content of the XML file. The test
attribute of xsl:if element contains a conditional expression that evaluates to a boolean value of true
or false.
Figure 6.30 shows the syntax for xsl:if element.
Figure 6.30: xsl:if Syntax
where,
test=expression
The condition in the source data to test with either a true or false answer.
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Figure 6.31 shows the code for style rules are that defined in Librarybooks_stylesheet.xsl file.
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Figure 6.32 depicts the style sheet for librarybooks_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.32: Librarybooks_stylesheet.xsl File

where,
<xsl:for-each select="Catalog/Book">
Iterates through the Book node.
<xsl:if test="Price > 50">
Checks if the price of the book is greater than 50. If true, Author, Title and Year are
displayed.
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Figure 6.33: Output of Using xsl:if
6.2.10 The xsl:choose element

The xsl:choose element is used to make a decision when there are two or more possible courses
of action. The xsl:choose element is used in conjunction with xsl:when and xsl:otherwise to
express multiple conditional tests.
Figure 6.34 shows the syntax for xsl:choose element.
Figure 6.34: xsl:choose Syntax

where,
xsl:when test="expression"
The xsl:when element is examined in the order of occurrence. If the test expression is true, the
code contained in that element is executed.
xsl:otherwise
If all the test conditions in any xsl:when element are false, then the xsl:otherwise element is
automatically selected and the code associated with that element is executed.
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Figure 6.35 shows the code for style rules that are defined in Publisherbooks_stylesheet.xsl
file.
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Figure 6.36 depicts the style sheet for publisherbooks_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.36: Publisherbooks_stylesheet.xsl File
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where,
xsl:when test="Price > 100"
Checks whether the price of the book is greater than 100. If true, the details like Author, Price
and Year are displayed with magenta as the background color.
xsl:otherwise
If all the conditions are false, this block is executed. Here, all other book details are printed in
normal background color.
Figure 6.37: Output of Using xsl:choose
6.2.11 Sorting in XSLT

The xsl:sort element in XSLT can be used to sort a group of similar elements. The sorting can be
done in various ways by using the attributes of this element.
Figure 6.38 shows the syntax for xsl:sort element.
Figure 6.38: xsl:sort Syntax
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case-order
Indicates whether the sort will have upper or lowercase letters listed first in the sort output. The default
option is to list uppercase first.
data-type
Specifies the data type of the strings.
number
Sort key is converted to a number.
qname
Sort is based upon a user-defined data type.
text
Specifies that the sort keys should be sorted alphabetically.
order
The sort order for the strings. The default value is "ascending".
select
Expression that defines the key upon which the sort will be based. The expression is evaluated and
converted to a string that is used as the sort key.
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Figure 3.69 shows the code for style rules that are defined in products_stylesheet.xsl file.
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Figure 6.40 depicts the style sheet for products_stylesheet.xsl file.
Figure 6.40: Products_stylesheet.xsl File

Explanation for highlighted areas in the style sheet:
select="UnitPrice"
Sort is based on UnitPrice element.
order="descending"
The sorting order for UnitPrice is descending in that the higher value will be displayed first.
Figure 6.41: Output
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Knowledge Check 2
1.
Can you identify the correct code to display the following output "March 20, 2001 The west
coast of Atlanta some 150 dolphins" ?
XML File
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="stylesheet.xsl" ?>
<Article>

<Date>March 20, 2001</Date>

<Para>

The west coast of

<Place>Atlanta</Place>

some 150 dolphins

</Para>
</Article>
(A) Style sheet File
<xsl:template match="Article">

<xsl:apply-templates />
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="Date">
<xsl:template match="Para">
</xsl:stylesheet>
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XML File
<Article>

<Para>

The west coast of


some 150 dolphins

</Para>
</Article>
(B) Stylesheet File

</xsl:template>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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XML File
<Article>


<Para>

The west coast of


some 150 dolphins

</Para>
</Article>
(C) Style sheet File

</xsl:template>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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XML File
<Article>


<Para>

<Place>The west coast of</Place>


<Place>some 150 dolphins</Place>

</Para>
</Article>
(D)
Stylesheet File

</xsl:template>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
2.
Can you match the XSL elements against their corresponding description?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
Description
Puts a conditional test against the content of the XML file
Adds literal text to the output
Extracts the value of a selected node
Applies a template repeatedly
Inserts a multiple conditional test against the XML file
XML Simplified
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
XPath Node
xsl:value-of
xsl:for-each
xsl:text
xsl:choose
xsl:if
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3.
XSL and XSLT
Can you identify the correct code to display the following output "A. David Blake18/11/1973"?
XML File
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="stylesheet.xsl"?>
<MichiganStaff>
<Faculty>
<Name>David Blake</Name>
<DOB>18/11/1973</DOB>
</Faculty>
</MichiganStaff>
(A) Style sheet File
<xsl:stylesheet
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
version="1.0">


<xsl:for-each select="MichiganStaff/Faculty/Name">
<xsl:for-each select="MichiganStaff/Faculty">

<xsl:number value="position()" sequence="A."/>

<xsl:value-of select="Name"/>

<xsl:value-of select="DOB"/>

</xsl:for-each>

</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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XML File
<MichiganStaff>
<Faculty>
<DOB>18/11/1973</DOB>
</Faculty>
</MichiganStaff>
(B) Stylesheet File
<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0">

<xsl:for-each select="MichiganStaff/Faculty/Name">
<xsl:for-each select="MichiganStaff/Faculty/DOB">

<xsl:number value="position()" format="A."/>



</xsl:for-each>

</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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XML File
<MichiganStaff>
<Faculty>
<DOB>18/11/1973</DOB>
</Faculty>
</MichiganStaff>
(C) Style sheet File
<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0">


<xsl:for-each select="MichiganStaff">




</xsl:for-each>

</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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XML File
<MichiganStaff>
<Faculty>
<DOB>18/11/1973</DOB>
</Faculty>
</MichiganStaff>
(D) Style sheet File
<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0">


<xsl:for-each select="MichiganStaff/Faculty">




</xsl:for-each>

</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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Module Summary
In this module, XSL and XSLT, you learnt about:
Introduction to XSL
XML provides the ability to format document content. XSL provides the ability to define how
the formatted XML content is presented. An XSL Transformation applies rules to a source
tree read from an XML document to transform it into an output tree written out as an XML
document.
Working with XSL

An XSL template rule is represented as an xsl:template element. You can process
multiple elements in two ways: using the xsl:apply-templates element and the xsl:
for-each element. The xsl:stylesheet element allows you to include a style sheet
directly in the document it applies to. The xsl:if element produces output if, and only if,
its test attribute is true.
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More on XSLT
Module Overview
Welcome to the module, More on XSLT. This module aims at giving a clear understanding on
XPath, and identifying the various nodes of XPath. This module lists the different operators used
with XPath and describes the various XPath expressions and functions. Finally, this module
explains how to switch between styles and how to transform XML documents into HTML using
XSLT.
XPath
XPath Expressions and Functions
Working with different styles
7.1 XPath
In this first lesson, XPath, you will learn to:
Define and describe XPath.
Identify nodes according to XPath.
List operators used with XPath.
Describe the types of matching.
7.1.1 XPath
XPath can be thought of as a query language like SQL. However, rather than extracting information from
a database, it extracts information from an XML document. XPath is a language for retrieving information
from a XML document. XPath is used to navigate through elements and attributes in an XML document.
Thus, XPath allows identifying parts of an XML document.
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XPath provides a common syntax as shown in figure 7.1 for features shared by XSLT and XQuery.
Figure 7.1: XPath
XSLT
XSLT is a language for transforming XML documents into XML, HTML, or text.
XQuery
XQuery builds on XPath and is a language for extracting information from XML documents.
7.1.2 Benefits of XPath

XPath is designed for XML documents. It provides a single syntax that you can use for queries, addressing,
and patterns. XPath is concise, simple, and powerful.
XPath has many benefits:
Syntax is simple for the simple and common cases.
Any path that can occur in an XML document and any set of conditions for the nodes in the path
can be specified.
Any node in an XML document can be uniquely identified.
XPath is designed to be used in many contexts. It is applicable to providing links to nodes, for searching
repositories, and for many other applications.
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7.1.3 XML Document in XPath
In XPath, an XML document is viewed conceptually as a tree in which each part of the document is
represented as a node as shown in figure 7.2.
Figure 7.2: XML Document in XPath

XPath have seven types of nodes. They are:
Root
The XPath tree has a single root node, which contains all other nodes in the tree.
Element
Every element in a document has a corresponding element node that appears in the tree under
the root node. Within an element node appear all of the other types of nodes that correspond
to the element's content. Element nodes may have a unique identifier associated with them that is
used to reference the node with XPath.
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Attribute
Each element node has an associated set of attribute nodes; the element is the parent of each of
these attribute nodes; however, an attribute node is not a child of its parent element.
Text
Character data is grouped into text nodes. Characters inside comments, processing instructions
and attribute values do not produce text nodes. The text node has a parent node and it may be
the child node too.
Comment
There is a comment node for every comment, except for any comment that occurs within the
document type declaration. The comment node has a parent node and it may be the child node
too.
Processing instruction
There is a processing instruction node for every processing instruction, except for any
processing instruction that occurs within the document type declaration. The processing
instruction node has a parent node and it may be the child node too.
Namespace
Each element has an associated set of namespace nodes. Although the namespace node has
a parent node, the namespace node is not considered a child of its parent node because they
are not contained in a parent node, but are used to provide descriptive information about their
parent node.
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Node Type
root
element
attribute
String Value
Determined by concatenating the stringvalues of all text-node descendents in
document order.
Determined by concatenating the stringvalues of all text-node descendents in
document order.
The normalized value of the attribute.
text
The character data contained in the text

node.
comment
The content of the comment (not
including ).
processing instruction The part of the processing instruction that
follows the target and any whitespace.
namespace
The URI of the namespace.
Expanded Name
None.
The element tag, including

the namespace prefix (if
applicable).
The name of the attribute,
including the namespace
prefix (if applicable).
None.
None.
The target of the processing
instruction.
The namespace prefix.
Table 7.1: Different Types of Nodes
7.1.4 XPath Representation

An XPath query operates on a well-formed XML document after it has been parsed into a tree structure.
Figure 7.3 depicts a simple XML document along with its generated XPath tree.
Figure 7.3: XML Document

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A summary of different types of nodes in XPath is given in table 7.1.
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Concepts
The corresponding XPath tree that is generated is shown in figure 7.4.
Figure 7.4: XPath Tree of XML Document
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7.1.5 Operators in XPath
An XPath expression returns a node set, a boolean, a string, or a number. XPath provides basic floating
point arithmetic operators and some comparison and boolean operators.
The XPath expressions are constructed using the operators and special characters as shown in
table 7.2.
Operator
/
//
.
..
*
@
:
Description
Child operator; selects immediate children of the left-side collection
Recursive descent; searches for the specified element at any depth
Indicates the current context
The parent of the current context node
Wildcard; selects all elements regardless of the element name
Attribute; prefix for an attribute name
Namespace separator; separates the namespace prefix from the element or attribute
name
Table 7.2: XPath Operators
Note: In floating point operators, instead of / and % the keywords div and mod are used respectively.
7.1.6 Examples of XPath Operators

Table 7.3 shows few examples along with their description that use XPath operators in an expression.
Expression
Refers to
Author/FirstName All <FirstName> elements within an <Author> element of the current context
node
BookStore//Title All <Title> elements one or more levels deep in the <BookStore> element
BookStore/*/
All <Title> elements that are grandchildren of <BookStore> elements
Title
BookStore//Book/ All <Work> elements anywhere inside <Excerpt> children of <Book> elements,
Excerpt//Work
anywhere inside the <BookStore> element
.//Title
All <Title> elements one or more levels deep in the current context
Table 7.3: Examples of XPath Operators
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Additionally, a list of the operators that can be used in XPath expressions is given in table 7.4.
Operator
|
Description
Example
Computes two node-sets //book | //cd
+
*
div
=
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Division
Equal
!=
<
<=
>
>=
or
and
mod
Not Equal
less than
less than or equal to
greater than
greater than or equal to
or
36+14
36-14
6*4
28 div 14
price=9.50
Return value
Returns a node-set with all
book and cd elements.
50
22
24
2
true, if price is 9.50
price!=9.50
false, if price is 9.60

price<9.50

price<=9.50

price>9.50

price>=9.50

price=9.50 or
price=9.90
and
price=9.50 and
price=9.90
Modulus (division
remainder)
15 mod 4

3
Table 7.4: List of Operators
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7.1.7 Types of Matching
XPath is used in the creation of the patterns. The match attribute of the xsl:template element supports
a complex syntax that allows to express exactly which nodes to be matched. The select attribute of
xsl:apply-templates, xsl:value-of, xsl:for-each, xsl:copy-of, and xsl:sort supports
an even more powerful superset of this syntax that allows to express exactly which nodes to selected and
which nodes not to be selected.
Some important types of matching are:
Matching by name
The source element is simply identified by its name, using the match attribute. The value given to
the match attribute is called the pattern. The following code demonstrate the example.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:template match = "Greeting">
matches all greeting elements in the source document.
Matching by ancestry
As in CSS, a match can be made using the element's ancestry. The following tag will match any 'EM'
element that has 'P' as an ancestor.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:template match = "P//EM">
Matching the element names

The most basic pattern contains a single element name which matches all elements with that
name. The following code demonstrate the example. This template matches Product elements
and marks their Product_ID children bold.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:template match="Product">
<xsl:value-of select="Product_ID"/>
</xsl:template>
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Matching the root

To enable all the descendant nodes to inherit the properties on the root of document, use a single
forward slash to represent the root. The following code demonstrate the example.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:template match = "/">
will select the root pattern.
Matching by attribute
The syntax used to match the attribute is:
Syntax:
<xsl:template match = " element name['attribute' (attribute-name)=attributevalue]">
This syntax uses square brackets to hold the attribute name and value.
The following code demonstrate the example.
Code Snippet:
<xsl:template match="Product">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@Units"/>
</xsl:template>
The given example applies the templates to the non-existent Units attributes of Product elements.
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1.
Which of these statements about XPath are true and which of these are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
XPath provides multiple syntax that can be used for queries, addressing and patterns.
XPath can be thought of as a query language like SQL.
In XPath, the structure of an XML document is viewed conceptually as a pyramid.
XPath provides a common syntax for features shared by XSLT and XQuery.
XPath is used to navigate through elements and attributes in an XML document.
Can you match the XPath nodes against their corresponding description?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
3.
Concepts
Knowledge Check 1
Description
Has a parent node and it may be the child node too
Contains all other nodes in the tree
Is not considered a child of its parent node because they are not
contained in a parent node
May have a unique identifier associated with them, which is useful
when referencing the node with XPath
Has a parent node that is either an element or root node
XPath Node
Element
(1)
(2) Attribute
(3) Text
(4) Namespace
(5) Root
Can you match the different types of matching against their corresponding description?
Description
(A) <xsl:template match="/">
...
</xsl:template>
(B) <xsl:template match = "Greeting">
(C) <xsl:template match = "P//EM">
(D) <xsl:template match="Product">
<xsl:apply-templates select="@Unit"/>
</xsl:template>
(E) <xsl:template match="Product">
<xsl:value-of select="Product_ID"/>
</xsl:template>
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Types of Matching
(1) Matching by name
(2) Matching by ancestry

(3) Matching the element
names
(4) Matching the root
(5) Matching by attribute
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7.2 XPath Expressions and Functions

In this second lesson, XPath Expressions and Functions, you will learn to:
State and explain the various XPath expressions and functions.
List the node set functions.
List the boolean functions.
State the numeric functions.
Describe the string functions.
Explain what result tree fragments are.
7.2.1 XPath Expressions

XPath Expressions are statements that can extract useful information from the XPath tree. Instead of just
finding nodes, one can count them, add up numeric values, compare strings, and more. They are much
like statements in a functional programming language. Every XPath expression evaluates to a single
value.
There are four types of expressions in XPath. They are:
Node-set
A node-set is an unordered group of nodes from the input document that match an expression's
criteria.
Boolean
A boolean has one of two values: true or false. XSLT allows any kind of data to be transformed
into a boolean. This is often done implicitly when a string or a number or a node-set is used
where a boolean is expected.
Number
XPath numbers are numeric values useful for counting nodes and performing simple arithmetic.
The numbers like 43 or 7000 that look like integers are stored as doubles. Non-number values,
such as strings and booleans, are converted to numbers automatically as necessary.
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String
A String is a sequence of zero or more Unicode characters. Other data types can be converted
to strings using the string() function.
Note: The XPath expression syntax includes literal forms for strings and numbers as well as operators
and functions for manipulating all four XPath data types.
7.2.2 XPath Functions

XPath defines various functions required for XPath 2.0, XQuery 1.0 and XSLT 2.0. The different functions
are Accessor, AnyURI, Node, Error and Trace, Sequence, Context, Boolean, Duration/Date/
Time, String, QName and Numeric.
XML Path Language (XPath) functions can be used to refine XPath queries and enhance the programming
power and flexibility of XPath. Each function in the function library is specified using a function prototype
that provides the return type, function name, and argument type. If an argument type is followed by a
question mark, the argument is optional; otherwise, the argument is required. Function names are casesensitive.
The default prefix for the function namespace is fn.
7.2.3 Node-set Functions

Node-set functions take a node-set argument. These return a node-set, or information about a
particular node within a node-set. The different node-set functions are name(), local-name(),
namespace-uri() and root().
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Figure 7.5 shows the syntax for node-set functions.
Figure 7.5: Node-set Functions

where,
name()
The function returns the name of the current node or the first node in the specified node-set.
local-name()
The function returns the name of the current node or the first node in the specified node-set without
the namespace prefix.
namespace-uri()
The function returns the namespace URI of the current node or the first node in the specified
node-set.
root()
The function returns the root of the tree to which the current node or the specified node belongs.
This will usually be a document node.
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Figure 7.6 shows the code and schema.
Figure 7.6: Code and Schema

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Figure 7.7 depicts the style sheet.
Figure 7.7: Style sheet
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The output is shown in figure 7.8. The formatted output gets displayed as shown here.
Figure 7.8: Output of Using Node-set Functions
7.2.4 Boolean Functions

The XML Path Language (XPath) syntax supports boolean functions that return true or false, and can be
used with comparison operators in filter patterns. Some of these functions are boolean, not, true and
false.
boolean(arg)
The function returns a boolean value for a number, string, or node-set. The syntax, code, and
output are shown.
Syntax:
fn:boolean(arg)
Code Snippet:
<ul>
<li><b>boolean(0)</b> = <xsl:value-of select="boolean(0)"/>

</li>
<li><b>boolean(1)</b> = <xsl:value-of select="boolean(1)"/>
</li>
<li><b>boolean(-100)</b> = <xsl:value-of select="boolean(-100)"/>
</li>
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<li><b>boolean('hello')</b> = <xsl:value-of select="boolean('hello

')"/>
</li>
<li><b>boolean('')</b> = <xsl:value-of select="boolean('')"/>
</li>
<li><b>boolean(//book)</b> = <xsl:value-of select="boolean(//book)"/>
</li>
</ul>
Output:
boolean(0) = false
boolean(1) = true
boolean(-100) = true
boolean('hello') = true
boolean('') = false
boolean(//book) = false
not(arg)
The sense of an operation can be reversed by using the not() function. The syntax and code is
shown.
Syntax:
fn:not(arg)
Code Snippet:
This template rule selects all Product elements that are not the first child of their parents:
<xsl:template match="PRODUCT[not(position()=1)]">
</xsl:template>
The same template rule could be written using the not equal operator != instead:
Code Snippet:
<xsl:template match="PRODUCT[position()!=1]">
</xsl:template>
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true()
The true() function returns the boolean value true. The syntax, code, and output are shown.
Syntax:
fn:true()
Code Snippet:
<xsl:value-of select="true()"/>
Output:
true
false()
The false() function returns the boolean value true. The syntax, code, and output are shown.
Syntax:
fn:false()
Code Snippet:
The code snippet shows how to use true() and false() in XSL.
<xsl:value-of select="false() or false()"/>
<xsl:value-of select="true() and false()"/>
<xsl:value-of select="false() and false()"/>
Output:
true
false
false
The value derived from an expression depends on some rules as shown in table 7.5.
Expression Type
Node-set
String
Rule
True if the set contains at least one node, false if it is empty.
True unless the string is zero-length.
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Number
True unless the value is zero or NaN (not a number).
Result tree fragment Always true, because every fragment contains at least one node, its root node.
Table 7.5: Boolean Conversion Rules
Certain operators compare numerical values to arrive at a Boolean value. All the nodes in a node-set are
tested to determine whether any of them satisfies the comparison or not. The Comparison operators are
shown in table 7.6.
Operator
expr = expr
expr != expr
expr < expr
Returns
True if both expressions (string or numeric) have the same value, otherwise false.
True if the expressions do not have the same value (string or numeric), otherwise false.
True if the value of the first numeric expression is less than the value of the second,
otherwise false.
expr > expr True if the value of the first numeric expression is greater than the value of the second,
otherwise false.
expr <= expr True if the value of the first numeric expression is less than or equal to the value of the
second, otherwise false.
expr >= expr True if the value of the first numeric expression is greater than or equal to the value of
the second, otherwise false.
Table 7.6: Comparison Operators
Note: To use some of the comparison operators inside an XML document such as an XSLT style sheet
or a schema, one must use character references < and > instead of < and >.
The different functions that return Boolean functions are shown in table 7.7.
Function
expr and expr
expr or expr
true()
false()
not(expr)
Returns
True if both Boolean expressions are true, otherwise false.
True if at least one Boolean expression is true, otherwise false.
True.
False.
Negates the value of the Boolean expression: true if the expression is
false, otherwise false.
Table 7.7: Boolean Functions
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7.2.5 Numeric Functions
XPath syntax supports number functions that return strings or numbers and can be used with comparison
operators in filter patterns. The different numeric functions are number(arg), ceiling(num),
floor(num) and round(num).
The rules for converting any expression into a numeric value are listed in table 7.8.
Expression Type
Node-set
Boolean
String
Result-tree fragment
Rule
The first node is converted into a string, then the string conversion
rule is used.
The value true is converted to the number 1, and false to the
number 0.
If the string is the literal serialization of a number (i.e., -123.5), it is
converted into that number. Otherwise, the value NaN is used.
Like node-sets, a result-tree fragment is converted into a string,
which is then converted with the string rule.
Table 7.8: Expressions into Numbers Conversion Rules

To manipulate numeric values, there are a variety of operators and functions as shown in table 7.9.
Function
expr + expr
expr - expr
expr * expr
expr div expr
expr mod expr
round(expr)
sum(node-set)
Returns
The sum of two numeric expressions.
The difference of the first numeric expression minus the second.
The product of two numeric expressions.
The first numeric expression divided by the second expression.
The first numeric expression modulo the second expression.
The value of the expression rounded to the nearest integer.
The sum of the values of the nodes in node-set. Unlike the other
functions in this table, this function operates over a node-set instead
of expressions.
Table 7.9: Numeric Operators and Functions
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Figure 7.9 shows the syntax for numeric functions.
Figure 7.9: Numeric Functions

where,
number(arg)
The function returns the numeric value of the argument. The argument could be a boolean, a string,
or a node-set.
ceiling(num)
The function returns the smallest integer that is greater than the number argument.
floor(num)
The function returns the largest integer that is not greater than the number argument.
round(num)
The function rounds the number argument to the nearest integer.
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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="Number.xsl"?>
<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/
Transform">
<html>
<body>
<h3>Numeric Functions</h3>
<ul>
<li>
<b>number('1548')</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="number('1548')"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>number('-1548')</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="number('-1548')"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>number('text')</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="number('text')"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>number('226.38' div '1')</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="number('226.38' div '1')"/>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<b>ceiling(2.5)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="ceiling(2.5)"/>
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The following code depicts the style sheet for numeric functions.
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</li>
<b>ceiling(-2.3)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="ceiling(-2.3)"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>ceiling(4)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="ceiling(4)"/>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<b>floor(2.5)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="floor(2.5)"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>floor(-2.3)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="floor(-2.3)"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>floor(4)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="floor(4)"/>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<b>round(3.6)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="round(3.6)"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>round(3.4)</b>
=
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</li>
<li>
<b>round(3.5)</b>
=
</li>
<li>
<b>round(-0.6)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="round(-0.6)"/>
</li>
<li>
<b>round(-2.5)</b>
=
<xsl:value-of select="round(-2.5)"/>
</li>
</ul>
</body>
</html>

</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
Figure 7.10: Output of Using Numeric Functions

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7.2.6 String Functions

String functions are used to evaluate, format, and manipulate string arguments, or to convert an object to
a string. The different String functions are shown in table 7.10.
Function
concat(string, string, . . .)
Returns
A string that is the concatenation of the string
arguments.
format-number(number, pattern, decimal-format) A string containing the number, formatted
according to pattern. The optional decimalformat argument points to a format declaration
which assigns special characters like the grouping
character, which separates groups of digits in large
numbers for readability.
normalize-space(string)
The string with leading and trailing whitespace
removed, and all other strings of whitespace
characters replaced with single spaces.
substring(string, offset, range)
A substring of the string argument, starting offset
characters from the beginning and ending range
characters from the offset.
substring-after(string, to-match)
A substring of the string argument, starting at the
end of the first occurrence of the string to-match
and ending at the end of string.
substring-before(string, to-match)
A substring of the string argument, starting at the
beginning of string and ending at the beginning of
the first occurrence of the string to-match.
translate(string, characters-to-match, characters- The string with all characters in the string
replace-with)
characters-to-match replaced with their
counterpart characters in the string charactersreplace-with.
Table 7.10: String Functions
Some functions operate on strings and return numeric or Boolean values, are listed in table 7.11.
Function
contains(string, sub)
starts-with(string, sub)
string-length(string)
Returns
True if the given substring sub occurs within the string,
otherwise false.
True if the string begins with the substring sub, otherwise
false.
The number of characters inside the string.
Table 7.11: Other String Functions
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Figure 7.11 shows the syntax for string functions.
Figure 7.11: String Functions

where,
string(arg)
The function returns the string value of the argument. The argument could be a number, boolean,
or node-set. For example: string(314) returns "314".
translate()
The function returns the first argument string with occurrences of characters in the second argument
string replaced by the character at the corresponding position in the third argument string. For
example: translate("bar","abc","ABC") returns Bar.
concat()
The function returns the concatenation of the strings. For example: concat('XPath ','is
','FUN!') returns 'XPath is FUN!'.
substring()
The function returns the substring from the start position to the specified length. Index of the first
character is 1. For example: substring('Beatles',1,4) returns 'Beat'.
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Figure 7.12 shows the code in XML file.
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Figure 7.13 depicts the style sheet for bookdetail.xsl file.
Figure 7.13: BookDetail.xsl File
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Figure 7.14: Output of Using String Functions
7.2.7 Result Tree Fragments

A Result tree fragment is a portion of an XML document that is not a complete node or set of nodes.
The only allowed operation in a result tree fragment is on a string. The operation on the string may involve
first converting the string to a number or a boolean. Result tree fragment is an additional data type other
than four basic XPath data types (such as, string, number, boolean, node-set).
A result tree fragment represents a fragment of the result tree. In particular, it is not permitted to use the
/, //, and [] XPath operators on Result tree fragments.
Knowledge Check 2
1.
Which of these statements about XPath expressions are true and which of these are false?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
2.
XSLT allows any kind of data to be transformed into a boolean value.

A node-set is an unordered group of nodes from the input document.
A string is a sequence of zero or more Unicode characters.
The numbers like 43 or 7000 that look like integers are stored as float.
A string is a sequence of one or more Unicode characters.
Which of these statements about XPath functions are true and which of these are false?
(A) The local-name() function returns the name of the current node or the first node in the
specified node set without the namespace prefix.
(B) The floor(num) function returns the largest integer that is not greater than the number
argument.
(C) The only allowed operation in a result tree fragment is on a number.
(D) In a substring() function, the index of the first character is 0.
(E) The translate() function returns the first argument string with occurrences of characters
in the second argument string replaced by the character at the corresponding position in the
third argument string.
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7.3 Working with Different Styles

In this last lesson, Working with different styles, you will learn to:
Explain how to switch between styles.
Describe how to transform XML documents into HTML using XSLT.
7.3.1 Transformation of XML Documents

Transformation is one of the most important and useful techniques for working with XML. XML can be
transformed by changing its structure, its markup, and perhaps its content into another form. The most
common reason to transform XML is to extend the reach of a document into new areas by converting it
into a presentational format.
Some uses of transformation are:
Formatting a document to create a high-quality presentational format.
Changing one XML vocabulary to another.
Extracting specific pieces of information and formatting them in another way.
Changing an instance of XML into text.
Reformatting or generating content.
Figure 7.15 shows the trasformation of XML document.
Figure 7.15: Transformation of XML Document

Note: Transformation can be used to alter the content, such as extracting a section, or adding a table of
numbers together. It can even be used to filter an XML document to change it in very small ways, such
as inserting an attribute into a particular kind of element.
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7.3.2 Transformation using XSLT Processor

An XSLT processor takes two things as input: an XSLT style sheet to govern the transformation process
and an input document called the source tree. The output is called the result tree.
The XSLT engine begins by reading in the XSLT style sheet and caching it as a look-up table. XPath
locates the parts of XML document such as Element nodes, Attribute nodes, and Text nodes. Thus, for
each node the XSLT processes, it will look in the table for the best matching rule to apply. Starting from
the root node, the XSLT engine finds rules, executes them, and continues until there are no more nodes
in its context node set to work with. At that point, processing is complete and the XSLT engine outputs
the result document.
Figure 7.16 depicts XSLT transformation.
Figure 7.16: XSLT Transformation

Note: The XSLT style sheet controls the transformation process. While it is usually called a style sheet,
it is not necessarily used to apply style. Since, XSLT is used for many other purposes, it may be better
to call it an XSLT script or transformation document.
7.3.3 Transforming XML using XSLT

The transformation of XML document can be done in various steps:
Step 1
Start by creating a normal XML document:
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Step 2
Concepts
Then add the lines shown to create an XSL style sheet:

Code Snippet:
version="1.0" >
...
</xsl:stylesheet>
Step 3
Now, set it up to produce HTML-compatible output:
Code Snippet:
<xsl:stylesheet>
...
</xsl:stylesheet>
To output anything besides well-formed XML, an <xsl:output> tag should be used like the one
shown, specifying either "text" or "html". (The default value is "xml".). Figure 7.17 depicts XML
transformation.
Figure 7.17: XML Transformation

Note: When an XML output is specified, the indent attribute can be added to produce nicely indented
XML output. The specification looks like this: <xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>.
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7.3.4 Transforming XML using XSLT Example

An example code of transforming XML documents into HTML using XSLT processor has been provided
to explain the process.
Figure 7.18 shows the code in XML file.

where,
Company
The root Company element contains Product child elements.
Units
A Units attribute specifies the units for the respective products melting point and boiling point.
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Figure 7.19 depicts the style sheet for productioninfo.xsl file.
Figure 7.19: ProductInfo.xsl File

The output displays the transformed HTML from the XML document in the browser.
Figure 7.20: Output Showing Transformed HTML
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Knowledge Check 3
1.
Which of these statements about switching between styles are true and which of these are false?
(A) An XSLT processor takes three things as input such as XSLT style sheet, XML document
and Document Type Declaration.
(B) The XSLT engine begins by reading in the XSLT style sheet and caching it as a look-up
table.
(C) For each node it processes, it will look in the table for the best matching rule to apply.
(D) Starting from the root node, the XSLT engine finds rules, executes them, and continues until
there are no more nodes in its context node set to work with.
(E) XSLT can also be called as XSLT document or transformation script.
2.
Can you specify the correct code snippet for transforming the XML document into HTML using
XSLT?
<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0"
(A) >
......
......
</xsl:stylesheet>
<xsl:stylesheet
(B)
version="1.0"
>
......
</xsl:stylesheet>
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<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0"
(C) >
......
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
<xsl:stylesheet
version="1.0"
(D) >
......
</xsl:stylesheet>
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Module Summary
In this module, More on XSLT, you learnt about:
XPath
XPath is a notation for retrieving information from a document. XPath provides a common
syntax for features shared by Extensible Style sheet Language Transformations (XSLT)
and XQuery. XPath have seven types of node as Root, Element, Attribute, Text, Comment,
Processing instruction and Namespace. XPath is used in the creation of the patterns.
XPath Expressions and Functions

The four types of expressions in XPath are Node-sets, Booleans, Numbers and Strings. The
different functions defined for XPath are Accessor, AnyURI, Node, Error and Trace, Sequence,
Context, Boolean, Duration/Date/Time, String, QName and Numeric. A Result tree fragment is
a portion of an XML document that is not a complete node or set of nodes.
Working with different styles

Transformation is one of the most important and useful techniques for working with XML. To
transform XML is to change its structure, its markup, and perhaps its content into another form.
Transformation can be carried out using an XSLT processor also.
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Answers
Answers to Knowledge
Checks
Module 1
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - True, (B) False, (C) True, (D) True, (E) - True
2.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - False, (D) - True, (E) True
1.
(A) - True, (B) True, (C) True, (D) False, (E) - True
2.
(A) True, (B) False, (C) True, (D) False, (E) - True
3.
(A) True, (B) False, (C) True, (D) False, (E) False
Answers
Knowledge Check 2
Knowledge Check 3
1.
(A)
2.
(C)
Knowledge Check 4
1.
(A) False, (B) False, (C) True, (D) True, (E) - False
2.
(A) False, (B) False, (C) True, (D) True, (E) - False
Module 2
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - True, (D) - False
Knowledge Check 2
1.
(A)
2.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - False, (D) - False, (E) - True
3.
(A) - True, (B) - False, (C) - False, (D) - True, (E) - False
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Module 3
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - (False), (B) - (True), (C) - (True), (D) - (True), (E) - (False)
Answers
Knowledge Check 2
1.
(A) - (False), (B) - (True), (C) - (True), (D) - (True), (E) - (False)
2.
(A) - Declare all the possible elements, (B) - Specify the permissible element children, if any, (C) Set the order in which elements must appear, (D) - Declare all the possible element attributes, (E) Set the attribute data types and values, (F) - Declare all the possible entities.
Knowledge Check 3
1.
(C)
Knowledge Check 4
1.
(A) - (3), (B) - (4), (C) - (5), (D) - (1), (E) - (2)
2.
(A) - (2), (B) - (4), (C) - (5), (D) - (1), (E) - (3)
3.
(D)
Module 4
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - True, (B) - False, (C) - False, (D) - True, (E) - True
2.
(A) (4), (B) - (1), (C) - (5), (D) - (3), (E) - (2)
Knowledge Check 2
1.
(A) (2), (B) - (5), (C) - (4), (D) - (1), (E) - (3)
2.
(A) - <?xml version="1.0"?> <note xmlns="http://www.abc.com", (B) - xmlns:

xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://
www.abc.com mail.xsd">, (C) - <to>John</to> <from>Jordan</from>, (D) <heading>Scheduler</heading> <body>3rd March Monday, 7:30 PM: board meeting!</body>, (E) - </mail>
Knowledge Check 3
1.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - True, (D) - False, (E) - False
2.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - False, (D) - True
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XML Simplified

3.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - True, (D) - False
Knowledge Check 4
1.
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - True, (D) - False, (E) - True
2.
(A) (4), (B) - (1), (C) - (5), (D) - (2), (E) - (3)
Module 5
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - True, (B) - False, (C) - True, (D) - False, (E) - True
1.
Answers
Knowledge Check 2
(A) - False, (B) - True, (C) - True, (D) - True, (E) - False
Knowledge Check 3
1.
(A) - (3), (B) - (4) , (C) - (5) , (D) - (1) , (E) - (2)
2.
display: block;
background-color: blue;
color: white;
border: medium solid magenta; text-indent: 20
3.
(A) - (5), (B) - (3), (C) - (2), (D) - (4) , (E) - (1)
Knowledge Check 4
1.
(A) - True, (B) - True, (C) - False, (D) - True, (E) - False
Module 6
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - XML processor reads an XML document, (B) - XML processor creates a hierarchical tree containing nodes for each piece of information, (C) - Apply the rules of an XSL style sheet to document
tree., (D) - XSL processor starts with root node in tree and performs pattern matching, (E) - Portion
of a tree matching the given pattern is processed by appropriate style sheet template.
2.
(A) - (3), (B) - (5), (C) - (4), (D) - (1), (E) - (2)
3.
(A) - (False), (B) - True, (C) - (True), (D) - (False), (E) - (True)
XML Simplified
page iii

Knowledge Check 2
1.
(C)
2.
(A) - (5), (B) - (3), (C) - (1), (D) - (2), (E) - (4)
3.
(D)
Module 7
Answers
Knowledge Check 1
1.
(A) - False, (B) True, (C) False, (D) True, (E) - True
2.
(A) (3), (B) - (5), (C) - (4), (D) - (1), and (E) - (2)
3.
(A) (4), (B) (1), (C) (2), (D) (5), and (E) (3)
Knowledge Check 2
1.
(A) - True, (B) True, (C) True, (D) False, (E) - False
2.
(A) - True, (B) True, (C) False, (D) False, (E) - True
Knowledge Check 3
1.
(A) - False, (B) True, (C) True, (D) True, (E) - False
2.
(A)
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Scanning the user system and needs assessment

Needs analysis and design of curriculum

Design & development of instructional materials

Strategies for delivery of instruction

Evaluation of instructional process and instructional materials

Aptech New Products Design Model

Scanning the user

XSL and XSLT

Answers to Knowledge Checks

Working with XML

1.1 Introduction to XML

Outline the features of markup languages and list their drawbacks.

Define and describe XML.

State the benefits and scope of XML.

1.1.1 Features of Markup Languages

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Markup languages are categorized into following categories:

Presentational Markup: Presentational markup language focuses on the structure of the

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Figure 1.1 depicts the evolution of markup languages.

Figure 1.1: Evolution of Markup Languages

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1.1.2 Evolution of XML

Figure 1.2: An XML Code

Features of XML are as follows:

XML stands for Extensible Markup Language

XML is a markup language much like HTML

XML was designed to describe data

XML uses a DTD or an XML Schema to describe the data

XML with a DTD or XML Schema is designed to be self-descriptive

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Advantages and Disadvantages of XML

The benefits of XML are as follows:

Reducing Server Load

Web Site Content

Remote Procedure Calls

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XML is more demanding and difficult as compared to HTML.

XML is verbose and wordy as the tags used in it are predefined.

XML was designed to describe data.

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1.2 Exploring XML

Describe the structure of an XML document.

Explain the lifecycle of an XML document.

1.2.1 XML Document Structure

Following are some of the relationships:

Parent: It is an element that contains other elements.

Child: It is an element that is present within another element.

Nesting: It is a process where an element contains other elements.

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Figure 1.3 shows the XML document structure.

Figure 1.3: XML Document Structure

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1.2.2 Logical Structure

Figure 1.4: Logical Structure of XML Document

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The following code demonstrates the use of a DTD.

1.2.3 XML Document Life Cycle