Length: 2 Days

OVERVIEW

IBM, Sun, Microsoft and the Open Source movement are supplying developers with parsers and standardized interfaces for manipulating XML data. This workshop begins with a brief overview of several parsing combinations and shows why Java has become the preferred way to develop XML projects.

By the end of the course, the students will know how to:

  • Find and download XML/Java software development tools
  • Install and test XML/Java parsers
  • Parse XML data using the SAX, DOM and JDOM models
  • Be able to intelligently make a choice between the three parsing models when developing their XML projects.

PRE-REQUISITES This course is an intermediate course with defined prerequisites. Students are expected to have a basic understanding of XML syntax and Java syntax before registering for the class.

  • At a minimum, a student attending this workshop should have taken the following workshops or had real world experience in the subjects:
  • Understanding XML
  • Basic Java programming
  • Basic HTML

TOPICS:
1. Review of XML
2. Parsing XML on the Server (alternatives
3. Downloading Components
4. Setting up the Working Environment
5. SAX: Simple API for XML
6. DOM: Document Object Model
7. JDOM: Java Document Model
8. Summary/Conclusion

COURSE OUTLINE

1. REVIEW OF XML

  • XML
  • DTD/Schema
  • XSL
  • Hands-on: Build a basic set of XML documents

2. PARSING XML ON THE  SERVER (alternatives)

  • JavaScript and XML
  • ASP and XML
  • Perl and XML
  • Java and XML

3. DOWNLOADING COMPONENTS

  • Java Virtual Machine
  • Selecting an XML Parser
  • IBM
  • Sun
  • Xerces
  • MSXML
  • SELECTING A WEB SERVER
  • IIS
  • Apache
  • MS Personal Server
  • Netscape Enterprise
  • ‘Hands-on’: Download the selected components

4. SETTING UP THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

  • Installing the latest JDK
  • Installing the selected parser
  • Installing a webserver
  • Configuring the path and classpath
  • ‘Hands-on’: Test the working environment

5. SAX: Simple API for XML

  • ‘event’ based parsing
  • Uses of an ‘event’ based parser
  • API for a SAX parser
  • Examples: SAX parser output
  • ‘Hands-On’: Parse XML data with SAX model
  • Resources for this section

6. DOM: Document Object Model

  • ‘tree’ based parsing
  • Implications of ‘DOM’ based parsing
  • API for a DOM based parser
  • Examples: DOM parser output
  • ‘Hands-on’: Parse XML data with the DOM model
  • Resources for this section

7. JDOM: Java Document Model

  • A Java specific parsing model
  • How does it work
  • Comparison with SAX and DOM
  • Pros and cons
  • Examples: JDOM parser output
  • ‘Hands-On’: Parse XML data with the JDOM model
  • Resources for this section

8. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION

  • Downloading XML/Java components
  • Setting up the development environment
  • Using the SAX model
  • Using the DOM model
  • Using the JDOM model
  • Where to go from here
  • Links to resources