Re: XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements

Subject: Re: XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements
From: Lou Quillio <public -at- quillio -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Sat, 07 May 2005 00:12:18 -0400


I wrote:

If you don't feel like doing all that extracting of archives, or don't have OO.o (because it's sOO.o expensive), some example files are here:
http://revectored.com/postedElsewhere/TECHWR-L/oo_xml_example/

I must stress that MS Internet Explorer is not a suitable viewer of the XML files linked above. I'm sure it's suitable for something, just don't know what.

To see the document tree of these files in a useful way, ya gotta use something else. Mozilla or Firefox will do fine, KHTML-based web browsers (Safari, Konqueror) will just show unformatted text.

There are a ton of free XML viewers for Windows, so grab one, save-off the files, and enjoy. There's no need to spend $500US on XMLSpy.

http://tinyurl.com/aqhha

Or just browse the files with Firefox.


# # # # # # # # # # # #

Boring part -- Here's why MSIE chokes:

In contravention of Postel's Law, MSIE's XML parser is not "liberal in what it accepts". It throws an error, first because most MSIE users' security settings prohibit viewing a document in one domain that relies on another document in a second domain. The second reason there's an error is because namespaces in the OO XML files don't resolve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Postel
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/01/08/postels-law

Mozilla's XML parser (or a desktop XML viewer/editor's) doesn't care. Even if it can't get the referenced DTDs, it still knows you're trying to view an XML document, so it JUST SHOWS THE TREE.

What's absurd about the MS XML parser "friendly error message" is that the data's there. View Source on the error page. Whoop, dere it is (not pretty, though).

If you're confused by XML for documents, don't despair. It's simpler than it seems, but commercial forces would like to keep it complicated (I'm looking at you, Altova). As others have mentioned, XML schemas can be very elaborate -- as elaborate as you want. But they can also be simple, so you can clear the hump and get started. There's a shortage of that.

And let's not forget Postel's Law:

"Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others."

MS XML fails miserably here. Wonder why.

LQ

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lou Quillio
Cambridge, NY USA
public -at- quillio -dot- com
louquillio -at- mac -dot- com (IM)
http://quillio.com/
http://stc-techvalley.org/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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References:
XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements: From: Sean Hower
Re: XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements: From: Lou Quillio
Re: XML Primer Re: TECHWR-L Premium Jobs, Events, and Announcements: From: Lou Quillio

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