WEEK 1: Introduction, and Overview

Reading assignments
BOOK	PAGES
XML for the World Wide Web	CH 1

LINKS TO XML RELATED SITES

Directions for online students:

There are many ways to learn a new language, and XML is no different. I personally learn by reading, dissection, and then coding. Examples are -really- important. So I have set up a course with three ways to learn.

Purchase the QuickStart Guide XML for teh World Wide Web. Start reading as much as you can, and practice as many exercises as you can. The first edition of this book will take you through XMLSchema. Also check into downloading XML Spy Home Edition from here.
I learn by dissection. For weeks I scavenged the Web, looking for the ideal files, hoping that it would all be laid out for me. Nope. I -did- find over 100 files, most of them broken, and I fixed as much as I could. We used those for guidance, inspiration, but mostly as examples of what others had done. Then we got smart, and created an archive of all our assignments, final projects, and other cool stuff. It's a "body of work", and can be found in the files directory. Remember that these are "buyer beware", but all will give you benefit of some kind. You can choose among 30 "themes" for your final project, should you choose to go that route.
My personal XML mentor, Salim Madjd, put together a wonderful step-by-step class, and we are collaborating on a tutorial for this course. So that you don't get -too- confused, you can choose two outcomes for this class. The theme for this tutorial is an address book, and you may use that for assignments 1 -5. The second approach is to develop your own theme for your assignments. See the example files for ideas. For online students, you will probably use the address book, but I have an open mind, and you can choose your final subject as well.

Outcomes:

Either way, your goal in this course is to produce a final project that contains an .xml file, a .dtd file, a .css file, an .xsd file, and an .xsl file. You also have a "wild card" that can include embedded XML in HTML, DOM, or whatever. The goal of this online course is to help you succeed in learning XML. Your final project may be a *substantially* modified address book, or any theme of your choice. Be creative and imaginative.

So let's get started! By the book, a book, or whatever XML book you enjoy reading, and read about writing well formed and valid XML. That will get us through the first three weeks. After that it's CSS, schema, XSL and XPath, ending with XLink and XPointer, and coverage of special topics including ebXML and SOAP.

Homework: Take a tour through the tutorials, skim quickly through the book, and check out the example files. Download simple.xml and follow Assignment Zero. You are all invited to attend the first evening course at Foothill, where we will show an XML video. Welcome aboard!

Click here to return to the course outline.