Sams Teach Yourself XML in 21 Days
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): Simon North
ISBN: 1575213966
Publication Date: 04/13/99

Appendix B
XML Resources

XML is concerned most with the distribution of information over the Internet, so it should hardly come as a surprise that the majority of information about XML is also available on the World Wide Web. I have spent many hours scouring the Web to assemble the listings included here, but it’s impossible to avoid missing something. To try to be as thorough as possible, and to avoid directing you to sites that are already out of date by the time you read this, I have tried to include the addresses of Web sites that include pointers to other sites.

Books

Because XML is so new, there aren’t very many books about it. I have therefore chosen a few selected SGML books that may also be of assistance to someone who is predominantly interested in XML, and is only interested in SGML as far as it affects XML.

(I have not included any books on HTML. There are simply too many books on the subject and often far better sources of information on the Web.)

•  The SGML Handbook, Charles F. Goldfarb, 1990, Oxford University Press (ISBN 0-19-853737-1). This is probably the most definitive book on the SGML standard, and is written by someone who really ought to know. Be warned that this is not light reading, but it makes a very good technical reference thanks to its excellent index.

•  Practical SGML, Eric van Herwijnen, 1994, Kluwer Academic Publishers (ISBN 0-7923-9434-8). This is probably the best and the most accessible introduction to SGML that exists.

•  SGML on the Web Small Steps Beyond HTML, Murray, Maloney, and Yuri Rubinski, 1997, Prentice Hall PTR (ISBN 0-13-519984-0). Apart from being interesting historically and a tribute to the sad loss of Yuri Rubinski, this book gives some interesting insights into the reasons for using SGML, rather than HTML, on the Web. The book includes a copy of SoftQuad’s Panorama SGML Browser/plug-in.

•  Developing SGML DTDs: From Text to Model to Markup, Jeanne El Andaloussi and Eve Maler, 1996, Prentice Hall PTR (ISBN 0-13-309881-8). Although focused entirely on SGML, this is one of the few books that adequately cover the subject of DTD development. It will also be of interest to anyone interested in developing serious XML DTDs.

•  Structuring XML Documents, David Megginson, 1998, Prentice Hall PTR (ISBN 0-13-642299-3). David is one of the leading experts on SGML. Aimed more at programmers, this book is the definitive source for information about architectural forms and DTD manipulation.

•  Presenting XML, Richard Light, 1997, Sams.Net (ISBN 0-7923-9943-9). Although I have to admit to some bias here (I coauthored this book), this was the first book on XML. Although it is somewhat out of date now, it is still one of the best semi-technical introductions to XML.

•  Designing XML Internet Applications, Michael Leventhal, David Lewis and Matthew Fuchs, 1998, Prentice Hall PTR (ISBN 0-13-616822-1). One of the best books currently available on programming XML using Perl and Java.

Online Resources

If you remember only a few addresses after scanning through this appendix, I hope it will be the following. These are probably the most complete reference sites for absolutely anything connected with XML (sometimes quite remotely connected):

•  The SGML Bibliography—Robin Cover has been collecting bibliographic data on SGML and related topics since 1986. Robin claims that the searchable online listings are merely a subset of the database, but even so, the online listings appear to cover nearly every kind of print media. This site is a must and can be reached at http://www.oasis-open.org/sgml/biblio.html.

•  The XML site—This is one of the most definitive sites for XML information and includes Tim Bray’s excellent annotated version of the XML syntax recommendation. It’s at http://www.xml.com.

•  The Whirlwind Guide to SGML Tools and Vendors—Steve Pepper started compiling this guide in 1992, back in the days when it was easy to do so in your spare time. The rapidly expanding market has forced him to become somewhat more selective in his entries, but it is still one of the definitive sources. It can be reached at http://www.infotek.no/sgmltool/guide.htm.

Articles

Some of the articles XML can often seem more like advertisements than serious attempts to inform, but there are still quite a few that are worth reading. The following is a selection of some of the best:

•  “The Case for XML” and others—Dianne Kennedy is an SGML consultant and writer of some repute. She has written several well-informed and highly informative articles about XML matters that can be accessed online at http://www.mcs.net/~dken/xml.htm.

•  “Multidimensional Files: There’s a Bright Future Beyond HTML”—This is a very good article covering not just XML, but CDF and the Document Object Model as well. You can access it online at http://webreview.com/97/05/16/ feature/xmldim.html.

•  “XML: Adding Intelligence to Your Business-Critical Documents”—This white paper from Grif discusses the place for XML in intranets. It can be reached at http://www.grif.fr/newsref/xml.htm.

•  “Some Thoughts and Software on XML”—Bert Bos provides this very short article containing some public thoughts about XML and links to some software. You can reach it at http://www.w3.org/XML/notes.html.

•  “XML: A Professional Alternative to HTML”—Aimed at HTML authors, this technical article by Ingo Macherius gives a fairly thorough picture of XML as an HTML replacement. You can access it online at http://www.heise.de/ix/ artikel/E/1997/06/106/artikel.htm.

•  “Building Blocks, Turning the Web Into a Data Source”—This is a brief description of how XML (and WebMethod’s server software) can bridge the gap between HTML and databases. You can access it online at http://tni.webmethods.com/news/stories/turning.html.

•  “XML, Java, and the Future of the Web”—This is Jon Bosak’s milestone article, originally written in October 1996, and has been updated since then. You can access it at http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/sun-info/standards/xml/why/ xmlapps.htm.

•  “XML White Paper”—This is Microsoft’s policy on XML, but still is an excellent description of what XML is and how it works. It can be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/standards/xml/xmlwhite.htm.

•  “An Introduction to Structured Documents”—This is Peter Murray-Rust’s extremely readable discussion of the reasons for using XML and CML, and can be accessed at http://www.sil.org/sgml/murrayRustECHET.html.

•  BUILDER.COM, “20 Questions on XML”—Gives a fairly useful overview for developers at http://www.cnet.com/Content/Builder/Authoring/ Xml20/.

•  Developer Zone, “XML Basics”—Has a fairly good introduction to the basics of XML at http://www.projectcool.com/developer/xmlpub/xmlbasics/.

•  Project Cool XML Zone—Contains a lot of useful XML information, but is also one of the very best sites for developers. Contains a lot of useful XML code examples. It can be found at http://www.projectcool.com/developer/xmlpub/.

•  “WebDeveloper.com’s Guide to XML”—A very professional XML introduction that can be found at http://www.webdeveloper.com/categories/html/.

•  What the ?XML! Home Page—A very accessible introduction to XML that can be found at http://www.oocities.org/SiliconValley/Peaks/5957/xml.html.

•  “XML Reference Guide”—Close to a definitive description, which can be found at http://webreview.com/xml/.

•  “XML for Structured Data”—This is a very interesting open discussion about the use of XML for representing structured data. It can be reached at http://207.201.154.232/murray/specs/xml-sd.html.

Applications

These are the Web sites containing descriptions of the XML applications as of this writing. New applications are being added all the time, which is hardly surprising when you review this short list and consider the incredibly wide and varied assortment of application fields it represents.

•  Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language (BSML)—This is concerned with the encoding and exchange of genetic information using XML. It can be found at http://www.topogen.com/sbir/rfc.html.

•  CDIF Home Page—The Computer Aided Software & Systems Engineering (CASE) Data Interchange Format is intended to facilitate the exchange of software development information between CASE software tools. This site can be found at http://www.cdif.org/.

•  CHIP Info Production’s Hypertext Management System (HTM-S)—This is a commercial initiative to use XML to manage Web sites. Details can be found at http://www.chipinfo.com/products/htms.htm.

•  Chrome—Microsoft’s two- and three-dimensional XML modeling technology. Details can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/imedia/chromeffects/down_default.asp.

•  Conceptual Knowledge Markup Language DTD—This is concerned with applying XML to artificial intelligence. It can be found at http://wave.eecs.wsu.edu/ WAVE/Ontologies/CKML/CKML-DTD.html.

•  Development Markup Language (DML)—An XML application for the exchange of information between agencies and organizations concerned with providing assistance to developing countries. Information can be found at http://resources. bellanet.org/xml/index.cfm.

•  Document Interchange Initiative—An XML application for the electronic interchange of documents. Details can be found at http://interaction.in-progress.com/interchange/index.

•  Extensible Log Format Initiative—The use of XML to encode Web server logs to make them easier to process and interrogate. Details can be found at http://www.docuverse.com/xlf/.

•  FlixML Home Page—A semi-serious attempt by XML author John E. Simpson to represent his database of B-movie reviews in XML. Details can be found at http://www.flixml.org/.

•  Genealogical Data in XML (GedML)—An attempt to use XML to make it easier to trace and record your family tree. Details can be found at http://home. iclweb.com/icl2/mhkay/gedml.html.

•  Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML)—A miniature version of HTML in XML that would allow PDAs and cellular phones to be used for email and Web applications. The home page is at http://www.uplanet.com/pub/hdml_w3c/.

•  HL7 SGML SIG—A massive initiative to present health information (patient, medical, treatment, insurance, and financing information) in XML. The major starting point can be found at http://www.mcis.duke.edu/standards/HL7/ committees/sgml/.

•  Information & Content Exchange (ICE)—An attempt to provide a more usable description of a Web site’s contents. The home page can be found at http://www.vignette.com/.

•  Internationalization and Localization Tools (ILE)—The use of XML for software and software documentation localization into foreign languages. Details can be found at http://www.ile.com/tools/.

•  Instructional Management System (IMS) Meta-data—An initiative to use XML to support Internet-based learning. The project home page is at http://www.imsproject.org/md_overview.html.

•  Java Speech Markup Language—Sun’s effort to use XML to encode voice data. Details and software can be found at http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/speech/forDevelopers/JSML/.

•  MathML—A DTD application to (finally!) allow mathematics to be marked up in XML. Other than the Web site itself (http://www.w3c.org), useful extra information can be found at http://www.nag.co.uk/projects/OpenMath/mml-files.

•  Motorola VoxML—Motorola’s application of XML to voice data application development. Details can be found at http://VoxML.mot.com/.

•  The News Industry Text Format initiative (NITF) —An application for using XML to transmit news reports. Details can be found at http://www.iptc.org/iptc/ orddocs.htm#nitf.

•  NuDoc Technology Brief—Bitstream’s application of XML to encode document font information. Discussion papers and press releases can be found at http://www.bitstream.com/nudoc/nudoctb.html.

•  OpenFilter—A means of exchanging filter information. Details can be found at http://www.ile.com/tools/openfilter.htm.

•  Open Financial Exchange Specification—Microsoft’s application of XML for the exchange of financial transaction information. Details and specifications can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/finserv/ofxdnld.htm.

•  Open Software Description (OSD)—An application of XML to allow software to be distributed via the Internet. Details can be found at http://www. microsoft.com/standards/osd/.

•  OpenTag—An application of XML that allows the exchange of translation database information. The home page can be found at http://www.opentag.org/.

•  Open Trading Protocol—XML applied to the exchange of commercial information. Details can be found at http://www.otp.org:8080/.

•  OMG TC Work in Progress—The Object Management Group (OMG) is one of the leading bodies in the field of component-based software. This is an initiative to use XML to implement distributed software components. The project home page can be found at http://www.omg.org/library/schedule/Stream-based_Model_Interchange.htm.

•  Process Interchange Format - XML—An attempt to use XML to encode commercial process information. Details can be found at http://www.xmls.com/pif/.

•  Python/XML How-to—The application of the Python scripting language to processing XML data. Details can be found at http://www.python.org/doc/ howto/xml/.

•  Q&A Markup Language (QAML)—A semi-serious attempt to use XML to make it easier to author and exchange Internet Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) documents. Details can be found at http://www.faq.org/qaml/.

•  RDF Made (Fairly) Easy—An excellent attempt to explain the Resource Description Format (RDF) in an accessible manner. The base page can be found at http://www.ccil.org/~cowan/XML/RDF-made-easy.html.

•  Schema for Object-Oriented XML—One of the many possible XML schemas vying to be the successor to the DTD. The home page can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-SOX/.

•  Software Component Interface Description in SGML—An academic project to apply XML to the description of software component interfaces. The project home page can be found at http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/Projects/ meta/sgml97/mmccool/index.html.

•  TCIF Information Product Interchange Committee—A commercial initiative to apply XML to product information interchange. Details can be found at http://www.atis.org/atis/tcif/ipi/5tc60hom.htm.

•  VXML (now 3DXML)—An attempt to use XML to publish VRML (virtual reality modeling language) information. The discussion papers can be found at http://www.ultrablue.com/dan/vxml/printable.html.

•  X-ACT—ActiveX Content Technologies’ approach to the use of XML for business activities. Details can be found at http://www.x-act.org/.

•  XML/EDI Group’s Home Page—SGML has long been used for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and this is an initiative aimed at doing the same with XML. Details can be found at http://www.oocities.org/WallStreet/Floor/5815/.

•  XML File System—A proposal to use XML to describe computer file system organization. Details can be found at http://www.gefen.co.il/xml/whole.html.

•  Extended Forms Description Language (XFDL)—An application of XML to expand on HTML’s limited form-handling capabilities. The home page can be found at http://www.uwi.com/xfdl/.

•  XML-Based Components - Coins—An initiative to apply XML to the management of Java components. The home page can be found at http://www.jxml.com/ coins/presentations/Coins980616/index.htm.

•  XML-QL: A Query Language for XML—An initiative to implement the capabilities of the SQL database query language in XML. The draft proposal can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-xml-ql/.

Standards

ISO standards are copyrighted documents and represent a major source of income for ISO, so it is understandable that copies are not too easy to find in the public domain. For paper copies of the definitive versions of these standards, you should contact your local national standards organization (all national bodies are authorized to sell copies of ISO and other international standards documents). Having said that, drafts of some of the ISO and non-ISO standards are readily available on the Internet. The following are some of the most important standards and other semi-official documents available online:

•  Submissions to W3C—All new proposals to the W3C are listed at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Submission/.

•  Extensible Markup Language Proposal, Version 1.0—The definitive W3C source can be reached at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/PR-xml.

•  Action Sheets—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-AS.

•  Cascading Style Sheets, level 1—http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/PR-CSS1.

•  Cascading Style Sheets, Level 2—http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2.

•  Comparison of SGML and XML—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-sgml-xml.html.

•  Draft specification on channel definition format—http://www.microsoft. com/standards/cdf.htm.

•  Document Content Description for XML—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-dcd.

•  Document Object Model Specification—http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-DOM/.

•  The Annotated XML Specification—http://xml. com/axml/axml.html.

•  HDML Language Specification—http://www.uplanet.com/pub/ hdml_w3c/hdml20-1.html.

•  User’s Guide to ISO/IEC 15445:1998 HTML (Work in progress)—http://www.ornl.gov/sgml/wg8/document/n1966/UG.html.

•  HTML 3.2 Reference Specification—http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD-html.

•  HTML 4.0 Specification—http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-html40/.

•  Hyper Graphics Markup Language (HGML)—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-HGML.

•  Mathematical Markup Language (MathML)—http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-MathML.

•  Meta Content Framework Using XML—http://www.textuality.com/sgml-erb/w3c-mcf.html.

•  Namespaces in XML—http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-xml-names.

•  Open Software Description Specification—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-OSD.html.

•  Open Financial Exchange Specification—http: //www.microsoft.com/finserv/ofxdnld.htm.

•  P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences)—http://www.w3c.org/TR/WD-P3P10-syntax.

•  PICS-NG Metadata Model and Label Syntax (Platform for Internet Content Selection)—http://207.201.154.232/murray/specs/WD-pics-ng-metadata-970514.html.

•  Precision Graphics Markup Language (PGML)—http://www.w3.org/TR/ 1998/NOTE-PGML.

•  Resource Description Framework (RDF) Model and Syntax—http://www.w3.org/ TR/WD-rdf-syntax/.

•  SDML - Signed Document Markup Language – Version 2.0—http://www.w3.org/ TR/NOTE-SDML/.

•  Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language—http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-smil.

•  Translation Memory Exchange (TMX) Format Specifications—http://www. lisa.org/tmx/tmx.htm.

•  Unicode Home Page—http://www.unicode.org/.

•  WebBroker - Distributed Object Communication on the Web—http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-webbroker-19980511/.

•  Schematic Graphics—http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-WebSchematics/.

•  WebCGM Profile—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-WebCGM/.

•  Web Interface Definition Language (WIDL)—http://www.oasis-open.org/sgml/xml.html#widl.

•  Web Collections using XML Submission—http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/NOTE-XMLsubmit.html.

•  XAPI-J - Standardized XML API in Java—http://www.datachannel.com/channelworld/xml/dev/.

•  XML-Arch—http://home. sprynet.com/sprynet/dmeggins/xml-arch.html.

•  XML in HTML Meeting Report—http://www.w3c.org/TR/NOTE-xh.

•  XML Object Model—http://www.microsoft.com/msdn/sdk/inetsdk/ help/inet5017.htm.

•  XML-Data Spec—http://www.microsoft.com/standards/xml/xmldata.htm.

•  XML Linking Language (XLink)—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-xlink.

•  XML Linking Language (XLink) Design Principles—http://www.w3.org/ TR/NOTE-xlink-principles.

•  XML Pointer Language (XPointer)—http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-xptr.

•  A Proposal for XSL—http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-XSL.html.

•  HyTime Working Group FTP Archive—This is the official working group’s site for the interchange of files. You can get it at ftp://infosrv1.ctd.ornl.gov/ pub/sgml/WG8/HyTime/TC/.

•  HyTime: ISO 10744 Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language—This is a public copy of the official standard. You can find it at http://dmsl.cs.uml.edu/ standards/hytime.html.

•  ISO/IEC 10744 HyTime (Second Edition)—This is the unofficial, but as good as definitive, copy of the latest revision of the standard from Eliot Kimber (Dr. Macro). You can reach it at http://www.drmacro.com/hythtml/is10744r.html.

•  Unicode Home Page—This is the official Unicode site, and can be reached at http://www.unicode.org/.

Information Sources

The following sites contain general information about SGML and XML:

•  SGML and XML Resources—This is a very useful set of links and pointers. You can access it at http://www.arbortext.com/linksgml.html.

•  What Is XML?—The Graphical Communications Association (GCA) are the main organizers of SGML and XML conferences around the world. This site has some useful pointers and can be reached at http://www.gca.org/conf/xml/ xml_what.htm.

•  Commonly Asked Questions About the Extensible Markup Language—This is maintained on behalf of the W3C and is the definitive site for a lot of those nagging questions that aren’t answered by the official documents. You can access it at http://www.ucc.ie/xml/.

•  XML (W3C site)—This is more or less the focus of all XML activity. You can reach it at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/XML/.

•  XML (Robin Cover’s site)—This SGML Web site is an Aladdin’s cave of useful XML information. It can be reached at http://www.oasis-open.org/sgml/ xml.html.

•  XML: The Extensible Markup Language (James K. Tauber’s site)—This very useful source of information be accessed at http://www.jtauber.com/xml/.

Software Packages

The following software packages are known to support XML:

•  AElfred XML Parser:
http://www.microstar.com/XML/index.htm

•  Agave—SQml-Publisher:
http://www.agave.com/html/products/sqml_pub.htm

•  AgentSoft—XML Technology Demonstration:
http://www.agentsoft.com/xml/

•  Balise Home Page:
http://www.balise.berger-levrault.fr/current/index.htm

•  BCC XML Tools:
http://www.mygale.org/07/jcalles/XML/

•  Bjondi (Unicode Utilities):
http://www.bjondi.com/

•  Channel Maker—Download:
http://www.anyware.co.uk/anyware/cm/download.html

•  Chris Stevenson’s Java Applets:
http://www.users.on.net/zhcchz/java.html

•  Chrystal Software Astoria & XML Bulletin:
http://www.chrystal.com/xml.htm

•  Clip XML Editor:
http://xml.t2000.co.kr/product/clip.html

•  Copernican Solutions Incorporated—XML Developer’s Toolkit (XDK):
http://www.copsol.com/products/xdk/index.html

•  Crane Softwrights Ltd.—Shareware:
http://www.cranesoftwrights.com/shareware/

•  CSSize v0.9b1, Add CSS Attributes to HTML and XML Code:
http://lara0.exp.edf.fr/glazman/CSSize/cssize.en.htm

•  DataChannel—Datachannel RIO & WebBroker:
http://www.datachannel.com/

•  DTD2HTML, Perl Tools for Making DTDs Navigable:
http://www.ogc.uci.edu/indiv/ehood/PerlSGML.html

•  XML Import Filter for Lotus Domino:
http://www.digitome.com/download.htm

•  Docproc:
http://javalab.uoregon.edu/ser/software/docproc/

•  DSSSLTK, DSSSL toolkit:
http://www.copsol.com/products/index.html

•  Excosoft—Documentor XML/SGML editor:
http://www.excosoft.se/welcome/home_welcome.html

•  Expat (XML parser used in Mozilla):
http://www.jclark.com/xml/expat.html

•  EzDTD DTD editor:
http://www.download.com (search for “ezdtd”)

•  Free XML tools:
http://birk105.studby.uio.no/www_work/xmltools/index.html

•  General Picture’s CiaoXML Demo:
http://www.generalpicture.com/

•  GRIF S.A.—SGML and HTML Solutions:
http://www.grif.fr/

•  GroveWare Home:
http://www.groveware.com/

•  HEX—The HTML Enabled XML Parser:
http://www-uk.hpl.hp.com/people/ak/java/hex.html

•  HXA—Hubick’s XML Analyzer:
http://www.hubick.com/software/HXA/

•  HyBrick (DSSSL viewer):
http://collie.fujitsu.com/hybrick

•  Hypermedic—XML Tools:
http://www.hypermedic.com/style/tools/tools.htm

•  IRIS XML Editor & DTD Generator:
http://www.cabinfo.com/download.htm

•  jade—DSSSL Engine:
http://www.jclark.com/jade

•  Scientific Information Components Using Java/XML:
http://ala.vsms.nottingham.ac.uk/vsms/java/jumbo/ index.html

•  Junglee Technology—Virtual Databases:
http://wpreal.junglee.com/tech/index.html

•  Java XML (jxml) Home Page:
http://www.jxml.com/

•  Lark—Non-validating parser:
http://www.textuality.com/Lark/

•  LTG Software—LT XML Tools and Developers’ API:
http://www.ltg.ed.ac.uk/software/xml/

•  Majix (TetraSix)—MS-Word to XML Converter:
http://www.tetrasys.fr/ProduitsFrame.htm

•  The Microsoft XSL Processor:
http://www.microsoft.com/xml/xsl/msxsl.htm

•  Microsoft XML Parser in Java:
http://www.microsoft.com/standards/xml/xmlparse.htm

•  Microstar—Near&Far Graphic DTD Development Tool:
http://www.microstar.com/Products-And-Technologies/index.html

•  MONDO—Modeling Technologies:
http://www.chimu.com/projects/mondo/2

•  NXP XML Parser:
http://www.edu.uni-klu.ac.at/~nmikula/NXP

•  Object Design, Inc.—XML Downloads:
http://www.odi.com/content/products/pse/XMLDownload.htm

•  OmniMark Konstructor:
http://www.techmall.com/techdocs/NP980330-1.html

•  OVIDIUS MetaMorphosis SGML/XML Processor:
http://www.ovidius.com/efs-mm.html

•  QORX—Express and SQL Query as an XML Document:
http://www.griffinbrown.co.uk/tools.shtml

•  Roustabout, QuarkXPress-to-XML/SGML Translator:
http://www.attd.com/xml/products.html#roustabout

•  SAX—The Simple API for XML:
http://www.megginson.com/SAX/

•  SAX—DOM Bridge:
http://www.docuverse.com/personal/saxdom.html

•  SAXON—A Java class library for XML Applications:
http://home.iclweb.com/icl2/mhkay/saxon.html

•  SCHEMA.NET—For DTDs and Other XML Schemata:
http://www.schema.net/

•  Sean Russell’s XML Package:
http://jersey.uoregon.edu/ser/software/

•  Silfide – EN – SXP – Frames—Xsilphide client/server environment for distributing language resources:
http://www.loria.fr/projets/XSilfide/EN/sxp/

•  Stilo WebWriter XML Editor:
http://www.pimc.com/WebWriter/download.html

•  Symposia Web Browser/Editor:
http://symposia.inria.fr/symposia/download-symposia.html

•  Tcl Support for XML:
http://tcltk.anu.edu.au/XML/

•  UWI.Com—The Internet Forms Company:
http://www.uwi.com/

•  Visual XML:
http://www.pierlou.com/visxml/

•  webMethods—Automate the Web:
http://www.webmethods.com/home.html

•  Web Publishers—Tools and Utilities Home Page:
http://www.webpub.com/tools/home.html

•  Woodstock XML Editor:
http://www.vtopia.com/

•  XML in Mozilla:
http://www.mozilla.org/rdf/doc/xml.html

•  XML Viewer Applet:
http://capita.wustl.edu/xmlres/examples/MSJavaParser/XMLViewer.htm

•  XML Application—Prototype:
http://www.cam.org/~pierlou/prototype/

•  XED—An XML Document Instance Editor:
http://www.ltg.ed.ac.uk/~ht/xed.html

•  XML::Parser:
http://www.netheaven.com/~coopercc/xmlparser/intro.html

•  XML Parser Component for Delphi:
http://www.icom-dv.de/xml.htm

•  XML Pro (Vervet Logic) XML editor:
http://www.vervet.com/

•  Xpublish (Mac):
http://interaction.in-progress.com/xpublish/index

•  XMLSOFTWARE.COM—The XML Software Site:
http://www.xmlsoftware.com/

•  XML Styler—Early XSL style sheet editor (now obsolete):
ftp://ftp.arbortext.com/pub/downloads/xmlstyler2c.exe

•  XML for Java—A collection of free IBM software for processing XML data:
http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/formula/xml

•  XML Viewer Demo:
http://208.204.84.117/XMLTreeViewer/demo.html7

•  Xparse—XML parser in JavaScript:
http://www.jeremie.com/Dev/XML/index.phtml

•  Xpose XML Editor:
http://www.intravenous.com/products/

•  xslj—An XSL to DSSSL Translator:
http://www.ltg.ed.ac.uk/~ht/xslj.html

•  XSLProcessor—The first package to support the revised XSL (XSL2) proposal:
http://www.mygale.org/07/jcalles/XML/xslProcessor.html

•  XT—Free XML parser that implements the tree construction part of the XSL draft:
http://www.jclark.com/xml/xt.html

•  Zydeco—An XML Development Environment:
http://www.dn.net/zydeco/

Software Companies

The companies listed here either already produce software that supports XML, have already announced software packages that support XML, or can be expected to release software that supports XML in the very near future (most of the software in the following list is discussed in Chapter 16):

•  AIS Berger-Levrault—This company makes SGML and XML processing and database software. You can reach them at http://www.balise.berger-levrault.fr/.

•  ArborText Inc.—They make SGML and XML editors, formatters, and conversion software. They can be reached at http://www.arbortext.com/.

•  Chrystal Software Inc.—This document and component management software company can be reached at http://www.chrystal.com/.

•  Copernican Solutions Incorporated—XML, DSSSL, and SGML software is produced here. You can reach them at http://www.copsol.com/.

•  Grif S.A.—This manufacturer of SGML and XML editors, browsers and formatters can be accessed at http://www.grif.fr/.

•  High Text—These Topic Navigation Map experts and SGML and HyTime consultants can be reached at http://www.hightext.com/.

•  Inso Corporation—This manufacturer of SGML and XML conversion and browsing software can be reached at http://www.inso.com/.

•  Language Technology Group—You can reach these makers of DSSSL and XML processing software at http://www.ltg.ed.ac.uk/.

•  Microsoft Corporation—You can reach this manufacturer of XML (and other) software at http://www.microsoft.com/.

•  SoftQuad—These makers of SGML editors and browsers can be accessed at http://www.sq.com/ (an XML version of their HoTMetaL HTML tool, called XmetaL, has already been previewed at various conferences, a release is rumored for early 1999).

•  STILO Technology Ltd.—These makers of SGML, HTML, and XML editors can be reached at http://www.stilo.com.

•  webMethods—This is a manufacturer of WWW server software for XML. You can reach them at http://www.webmethods.com/home.html.

DSSSL

Pointers to the parts of DSSSL that are directly relevant to XML (such as the XS specification) can be found among the main lists of XML sites. The following addresses are for those with wider interests; the first is historical (a copy of the original DSSSL-o draft) and the others are for those who want to follow the development of the DSSSL specification (you will need to refer to this if you want to understand the XS specification):

•  Norm Walsh is the developer of the DocBook DSSSL style sheets. His Web pages can be found at http://www.berkshire.net/~norm/dsssl/.

•  The DSSSL Documentation Project is a voluntary initiative to (finally) create some large scale DSSSL documentation. The latest documents can be reached at http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dsssldoc/.

•  James Clark, the developer of jade, keeps some DSSSL information on his Web site at http://www.jclark.com/dsssl/.

•  The very first proposal for XSL (DSSSL-o), which is not just interesting for historical reasons, can be found at http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/sun-info/standards/dsssl/xs/xs970522.ps.zip.

•  The DSSSL Cookbook is a collection of useful and instructive fragments of DSSSL code. It can be found at http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dsssldoc/cookbook/cookbook.html.

•  DSSSL Online Application Profile—This is the 1996.08.16 draft of the standard for the predecessor to XS. You can see it at http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/sun-info/standards/dsssl/dssslo/do960816.htm.

•  A tutorial on DSSSL—This is one of the best tutorials (and one of the few) that there is on DSSSL. You can access it at http://csg.uwaterloo.ca/~dmg/ dsssl/tutorial/tutorial.html.

•  Introduction to DSSSL—Paul Prescod’s very able introduction to DSSSL’s style language can be reached at http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca:80/~papresco/ dsssl/tutorial.html.

SGML

There are literally thousands of Web sites containing information concerning SGML. The following is an extremely select list of the most useful sites:

•  OASIS—This is the organization for SGML vendors and other companies. You can see it at http://www.oasis-open.org/.

•  SGML FTP Archive—Erik Naggum in Norway has been archiving the comp.text.sgml Usenet group for several years. The complete archive, containing more than 11,000 Usenet postings, can be found at ftp://ftp.ifi.uio.no/ pub/SGML.

•  The SGML University—This very useful repository for SGML bits and pieces can be found at http://www.sgml.com/.

•  The SGML Web Page—This is probably the best online source for SGML information that there is. You can access it at http://www.oasis-open.org/sgml/.

•  ISO/IEC JTC1/SC18/WG8 Home Page—This is the semi-official site for the ISO working group on SGML. You can reach it at http://www.ornl.gov/sgml/ WG8/wg8home.htm.

•  Charles F. Goldfarb’s Web Site—As Charles is one of the inventors of SGML, this is one of the definitive sources for news and information on the subject. You can find it at http://www.sgmlsource.com/.

•  SGML on the Web—This is a useful collection of pointers to Web sites that publish in SGML. You can reach it at http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/ WebSGML/WebSGML.html.

•  W3C SGML Working Group Mailing List—This is the public mailing list for the W3C SGML working group. The messages are archived at http://lists.w3.org/ Archives/Public/w3c-sgml-wg/.

You should note that the Web addresses given here can change at any time. Although I have checked all of these addresses personally, and many have proved to be stable for a period of several years, I cannot absolutely guarantee that they are correct and, if so, for how long.

Usenet Groups

There are several Usenet discussions groups concerned with XML, either directly or by association.

Although it isn’t my place to give anyone any lessons on Netiquette, there is nothing more embarrassing than making a fool of yourself in public. Usenet is public on a scale that few could imagine, and has astounding longevity. (I am constantly amazed—and sometimes embarrassed—to see some of my Usenet postings to SGML groups turning up on informative CD-ROMs many years after I made them.) Generally, the standard of postings is extremely high and the audiences include the world’s leading authorities. Before you leap into the fray, you’d be advised to check out the FAQ (frequently asked questions document) for that newsgroup to make sure your question hasn’t been asked before. It also can’t hurt to read a newsgroup for a couple of days before posting (known as lurking) to get a good feel for what is normal and permissible. Don’t let these admonitions put you off, though. Everyone is welcome to take part in the discussions, offer opinions, ask for help, and offer help. There is no such thing as a stupid question!

•  comp.text.xml—This is the definitive group for all XML-related discussions.

•  comp.text.sgml—This group carries some overflow and some misplaced discussions on XML (comp.text.xml is still too new for some newsgroup providers), but it’s really the home for SGML and related-standard (for example DSSSL and HyTime). Most of the world’s leading experts subscribe to this newsgroup, so although there are few postings, the quality is extremely high.

•  public.microsoft.xml—One of the many of Microsoft’s public Usenet groups.

If you do not have access to a Usenet feed, or if your provider does not carry these groups, point your Web browser to the Deja-News server, which carries almost every Usenet group there is and can be accessed through a normal Web browser at—http://www.dejanews.com.

Mailing Lists

There are quite a few mailing lists for XML and associated topics. Some are completely open, some are closed so that only subscribers can send messages, and a few are moderated to ensure that everyone stays on topic. In general, if you want to find out how to join a mailing list, send an empty email message to the address given (usually majordomo, which is in fact just a software package that responds automatically to certain trigger words) with the word HELP in the subject line.

•  XML Developers’ Mailing List—This is a public mailing list for extremely technical discussions about the development of XML and XML software. The following site keeps hyperlinked archives of all the messages sent to the list (and you will also find joining instructions here)—http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/ hypermail/xml-dev/.

•  XML EDI Mailing List—This is a public mailing list for technical discussions about the use of XML for electronic data interchange (EDI). Send an email message to majordomo@bizserve.com.

•  Java-xml Interest Group—This is a public mailing list for extremely technical discussions about using Java to process XML code. Send an email message to majordomo@cybercom.net.

•  Perl-xml Interest Group—This is a semi-public mailing list for extremely technical discussions about using Perl to process XML code. Send an email message to listmanager@ActiveState.com.

•  XSL List—This is a public mailing list for technical discussions about XSL. Send an email message to majordomo@mulberrytech.com.

•  Python-xml SIG—This is a semi-public mailing list for extremely technical discussions about using Python to process XML code. Send an email message to XML-SIG-REQUEST@python.org.

•  DSSSL List—This is a public mailing list for technical discussions about using DSSSL. Send an email message to majordomo@mulberrytech.com.

•  SGML-HL7—This is a semi-public mailing list for extremely technical discussions about SGML or XML for medical records. Send an email message to sgml-hl7@list.mc.duke.edu.

•  Distributed Objects Mailing List—This is a public mailing list for extremely technical discussions about the development of distributed object software. This site keeps hyperlinked archives of all the messages sent to the list. You can see it at http://www.infospheres.caltech.edu/mailing_lists/dist-obj/.

•  html-future Mailing List—This is a W3C member-only mailing list but, although you cannot take part in any active discussions, the list is archived at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/html-future/.

•  DSSSList—The DSSSL Users’ Mailing List—This is a public mailing list for the highly technical discussion of matters concerned with DSSSL. You can reach it at http://www.mulberrytech.com/dsssl/dssslist/.

Test Data

Once you start seriously experimenting with XML, you may find it useful to have a large amount of XML data to work with. You can either create this data yourself or, thanks to the generosity and hard work of a few individuals, a sizeable amount of public domain XML code can be downloaded from the Web.

•  Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness—http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/dmeggins/texts/darkness/ index.html

•  The Bible, The Koran and The Book of Mormon—http://sunsite.unc.edu/ pub/sun-info/xml/eg/

•  The Works of William Shakespeare (all of his plays, not the sonnets)—http://www.hypermedic.com/style/shakespeare/index.htm

•  CSS2 Test Suite, useful for checking what features of CSS2 your Web browser really supports and how well—http://speckle.ncsl.nist.gov/~boland/css2/