XML - XHTML - HTML etc.

[addle_brains]

Okay, I'm learning XML. I know advanced HTML, and I know that XHTML is basically a stricter version of HTML 4, implemented to ensure that HTML is used better. I have an XML document with an internal DTD. I have validated it with xmllint and it's fine. My question is: What the hell am I supposed to with now? How do I get a proper webpage out of it? Thanks.

 

[Cromewell]

That's the thing with XML, I wouldn't use it to make a webpage. If you want to turn it into a nicely rendered webpage you need to use CSS/XSL

 

[addle_brains]

Thanks. This is for uni, and the resources aren't out yet, so I'm getting a headstart. I've made the XML document and I know CSS and HTML. What do I do with the XML document? What's it's purpose/how do i integrate it into the design?

 

[Cromewell]

XML is just to hold data, it's like a flat file database. Some programs use XML as a saving format (ie OpenOffice). It's useless on it's own, you need something to parse it and turn the data into something useful.

 

[addle_brains]

Okay, I've got a .dtd file which defines my XML language. I also have a CSS file which describes how it's supposed to be output. I've included Some XML data in an html file. How do I link all the bits together so that the browser will display it properly. I've got some examples but they don't make much sense. How do I tell my html file and my CSS file about the specifications I set out in the dtd file?

 

[Cromewell]

Can I see what you have? If you've done it right, opening the xml in a web broswer should render it how you specified not in the normal handle/tree way.

 

[addle_brains]

Well, I noticed in the examples from uni each of them have a reference to http://www.sci.usq.edu.au/courses/CSC2406/ns/mov. The dtd file, the xhtml code and the CSS file all reference this URL, so what would it most likely point to? "mov" stands for the namespace of the XML. It's a simple movie database language.

 

[Cromewell]

Sorry, I kind of forgot about this, I've been a little busy the last few days.

I'm not sure what they would be pointing at but I was never real big on the whole XML thing. I've used it a bit but not for making a webpage like I think you are trying to do