A3. XML and XML Editors
This assignment introduces you to XML using the XML Spy or the oXygen
XML editors. Its purpose is to get you familiar with one of the two
editors and understand how an XML instance, schema, and transform fit
together.
XML Spy
XML Spy is an award-winning XML editor and development environment
that has been generously provided to the ISchool for use in courses and
projects, but it runs only on Windows or on Mac/Linux using a Windows
emulator. XML Spy is installed on all of the computers in the
computing lab on the 2nd floor of South Hall and in the Master's lounge.
You can use XML Spy as the primary tool for creating XML, XML schemas,
XML stylesheets and transforms, and so on. You can use XML Spy in the
lab or you can use the I School's license https://www.ischool.berkeley.
"enterprise edition" or the "standard edition" - the former has way more
functionality than you'll ever need, and the latter is so simple that
if you get more into XML you might need more than it provides.
oXygen
If you don't use Windows, an alternative is an editor called oXygen
XML. It runs within a Java Virtual Machine, so it runs on any platform
with a Java Runtime Environment. You can use the I School's license (https://www.ischool.berkeley.
Assignment Instructions
1. Find XML Spy or oXygen and start it up. You can get licenses for both through the I School Intranet: https://www.ischool.berkeley.
https://www.ischool.berkeley.
You will be working with three files: Report.xml, Report.dtd, and
Report.xsl. Just download the zip file attached at the end of this
assignment page, or if you have trouble doing so, the three files are linked below individually as well.
Make sure to download them into the same directory.
You may not understand the messages your browser displays when you
grab each of these files (getting you there is part of why we're doing
this assignment). Just "save as" with the appropriate file name.
2. Open an XML instance in the editor. (Report.xml)
3. Open the XML instance in a browser (IE or Mozilla). Why is it rendered this way? ("View > Source" on menu bar).
4. Back in the editor, check the XML instance for "well-formedness" -
conformance to the syntax rules for XML (F7 in XML Spy; in oXygen,
click the blue-checked document icon in the tool bar).
5. Delete the beginning <Name> tag. Is the instance still
well-formed? Change <Para> to <para>. Is the instance
well-formed? XML is enforcing more restrictive syntax rules than HTML.
Or put another way, XML doesn't allow bad practices that browsers
typically forgive with HTML. Undo these changes so that your instance
is well-formed again.
6. Specify an XML Document Type Definition for the XML instance by
inserting <!DOCTYPE Report SYSTEM "Report.dtd"> directly below the
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> declaration at the top of
the file.
7. Validate the XML instance. (F8 in XML Spy; in oXygen, use the
red-checked document icon, near the well-formedness icon). Insert a
second author element containing your name and email. Is this valid?
8. Insert a <Phone> tag, your phone number, and </Phone> after your email element. Is this valid?
9. Open the XML DTD in the editor. The syntax is a little strange
but has some resemblance to the BNF you probably know from programming
languages. Try to figure out how you could have answered the previous
two questions by examining the DTD rather than by experimentation.
10. Specify a style transformation for the XML instance by inserting
as the third line of the instance <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl"
href="Report.xsl"?>
11. Open the XML instance in a browser again (in XML Spy, you can do
this by clicking the "Browser" button at the bottom of the editor pane;
in oXygen, click the red-triangle-in-a-circle icon to the right of the
well-formedness icon). It should be formatted this time.
12. Delete the DTD specification. Does the style transform still work? What does this imply about XML transformation programs?
13. Open the XML transformation file (Report.xsl) in the editor. The
third line of the program (where "xsl:template" occurs) matches the
element named "Report" in the instance and then passes through as output
everything up to the next "xsl:template" tag. Can you see how these 20
lines or so create the HTML "scaffold" for the formatted report?
14. Now that you know your way around XML and an XML editor, you can
use them to do some real work. Rename a copy of Report.xml to
YourlastnameA3.xml (e.g., GlushkoA3.xml). Change the Author information
to your own. In the Body section of the report, change the Section title
to "Reflections on Assignment 3" and write a paragraph (100 words or
so, don't stress over this) assessing your confidence in being able to
use an XML editor to turn in other homework assignments. Please be
honest - if you say "I could do this in my sleep" we won't have to worry
about you, but if you say "I can barely spell XML" we'll know to look
out for you and offer you more help.
15. Make sure that your XML instance is valid (so it has to contain a
document type declaration) and that it can be transformed to HTML (so
it has to contain a specification to do that).
16. Submit your XML instance through the course website. (For more, see the How To section). Make sure to name your Assignment Submission page: "A3: Your Name". The assignment is due by 9am on Monday, September 26.
NOTE: Lecture on Wednesday, 9/21 will be about XML, and Bob has
offered to teach a supplementary section on Thursday afternoon, 9/22 —
so if
you're having trouble with this assignment you can get help then.