A complete listing of all business articles published on XML.com
Under the Hood: Oracle Berkeley DB XML
Deepak Vohra
XML Databases, coupled with the power of XQuery, offer a potentially paradigm-changing way of dealing with data. The Oracle Berkeley DB XML database provides a rich XQuery-based engine that can be manipulated via XQuery, opening up possibilities for any web developer. [May. 7, 2008]
Getting Productive with XMLMind
James Elliott, Marc Loy
In the area of technical publishing, there are still challenges to be faced when creating large, complex documents using XML. This week Jim Elliott and Marc Loy provide an excellent introduction to XMLMind, an XML editing environment optimized for complex technical documents. [Jun. 21, 2007]
A Relational View of the Semantic Web
Andrew Newman
Andrew Newman describes SPARQL as a kind of relational query language over the Web itself; or, at least, over RDF and any data that can be mapped into RDF. He suggests that SPARQL is an excellent candidate Web 2.0 technology. [Mar. 14, 2007]
XUL-Enhanced Web Apps
Cedric Savarese
Cedric Savarese offers an interesting guide to using XUL to enhance web apps on Mozilla-compatible browsers. He very helpfully includes performance numbers, including comparisons to equivalent JavaScript widgets. [Feb. 6, 2007]
Tools of Change Conference
Kendall Grant Clark
An announcement of a new O'Reilly conference that will be of interest to XML.com readers. [Dec. 20, 2006]
Semantic Wikis and Disaster Relief Operations
Soenke Ziesche
Dr. Soenke Ziesche describes how to use semantic wikis to provide a kind of queryable database of documents to support disaster response and humanitarian efforts at the United Nations. [Dec. 13, 2006]
Music and Metadata
Chris Mitchell
Chris Mitchell offers an interesting take on music and the Semantic Web, using metadata to find a club with the right style of music. [Nov. 22, 2006]
Introducing OpenLaszlo
Sreekumar Parameswaran Pillai
This week, Sreekumar Pillai begins a two-part series on OpenLaszlo, a zero-install platform for rich web applications. In this first part, Pillai introduces the OpenLaszlo Hello World app. [Oct. 11, 2006]
Introducing WSGI: Python's Secret Web Weapon, Part Two
James Gardner
In Part Two, James Gardner completes his introduction of WSGI, the new Python standard for building reusable web-framework components. [Oct. 4, 2006]
Introducing WSGI: Python's Secret Web Weapon
James Gardner
James Gardner introduces WSGI, the new Python standard for building reusable web-framework components, which just may turn out to be Python's secret web weapon. [Sep. 27, 2006]
RSS and AJAX: A Simple News Reader
Paul Sobocinski
Paul Sobocinski combines RSS and AJAX to build a simple, in-browser news reader that you can deploy on any website. [Sep. 13, 2006]
The XSLDataGrid: XSLT Rocks Ajax
Lindsey Simon
Lindsey Simon describes XSLDataGrid, an approach to dynamic display of tabular data using XSLT and Ajax. [Aug. 23, 2006]
What Is RDF
Joshua Tauberer
Joshua Tauberer updates the classic XML.com article "What Is RDF" by rewriting it from scratch. Tauberer claims that RDF is more relevant than ever in the world of Web 2.0. [Jul. 26, 2006]
Google Web Toolkit
Bruce Perry
Bruce Perry's latest piece introduces GWT, the Google Web Toolkit, which is a kind of Java to Ajax compiler. It's a very interesting new development in the world of very interactive web apps. [Jul. 12, 2006]
Flash to the Rescue
Jason Levitt
Using Flash, Jason Levitt shows another variation of a workaround to the limitations of
XMLHttpRequest object, the foundation of Ajax. [Jun. 28, 2006]Scaling Up with XQuery, Part 1
Bob DuCharme
In Part 1 of this two-part article, Bob DuCharme shows us how to use three popular XQuery implementations to access and query large XML document collections, which is, as he says, "where the real fun begins." [Jun. 14, 2006]
Object-oriented JavaScript
Greg Brown
Greg Brown explains how to use basic object-oriented techniques to build more robust AJAX applications. [Jun. 7, 2006]
ExplorerCanvas: Interactive Web Apps
Dave Hoover
Dave Hoover returns with an update about
canvas-powered web apps, adding interactivity to the method he described in his Supertrain article. [May. 10, 2006]An AJAX Caching Strategy
Bruce Perry
Bruce Perry returns with another AJAX hack; this time he shows us how to use HTTP caching to support an AJAX-enabled web client. [May. 3, 2006]
Putting REST on Rails
Dan Kubb
Rails is as hot as any web technology, and REST is heating up again. Dan Kubb demonstrates his Rails plugin for building RESTful web apps and services. [Apr. 19, 2006]
Query Census Data with RDF
Joshua Tauberer
In his second Hacking Congress column, Joshua Tauberer shows us how to query open data from the U.S. Census Bureau using RDF and Python's RDFLib. [Apr. 12, 2006]
Prototype: Easing AJAX's Pain
Bruce Perry
Bruce Perry introduces us to Prototype, a JavaScript library that makes AJAX development faster and easier. [Apr. 5, 2006]
The Emerging Art of Agile Publishing
Michael Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzgerald returns us to a core XML mission: publishing. The technical questions are mostly well rehearsed, but what about the process questions? Is your publishing process as agile as it could be? Michael gives us some insights into agile publishing. [Mar. 8, 2006]
Seattle Movie Finder: An AJAX- and REST-Powered Virtual Earth Mashup
Dare Obasanjo
Dare Obasanjo shows us how to use Microsoft's Virtual Earth service in an AJAX-powered mashup that locates movies and theaters in Seattle. [Mar. 1, 2006]
GovTrack.us, Public Data, and the Semantic Web
Joshua Tauberer
Joshua Tauberer takes over XML.com's Hacking Congress column to explain how he's using RDF and the Semantic Web to build a site that organizes U.S. federal government data. [Feb. 8, 2006]
All Aboard AJAX, HTML Canvas, and the Supertrain
Dave Hoover
Dave Hoover shows us how to use AJAX, Ruby, and the new HTML
canvas element to add simple animation and interactivity to web apps. [Jan. 18, 2006]JSON and the Dynamic Script Tag: Easy, XML-less Web Services for JavaScript
Jason Levitt
Jason Levitt returns with a piece explaining how to use AJAX and JSON to interact with web services from JavaScript in a seamless, cross-domain, cross-browser fashion. [Dec. 21, 2005]
Tuning AJAX
Dave Johnson
AJAX is all the rage and it's being used for non-trivial applications. But do you know what's fast and what's slow in AJAX? Get ready to tune your AJAX apps. [Nov. 30, 2005]
Introducing SPARQL: Querying the Semantic Web
Leigh Dodds
Leigh Dodds presents the first of a multipart tutorial on SPARQL, a query language for RDF and the Semantic Web, which may also play a role in Web 2.0 apps and services. [Nov. 16, 2005]
Fixing AJAX: XMLHttpRequest Considered Harmful
Jason Levitt
Jason Levitt shows us how to work around XmlHttpRequest restrictions in order to get more joy from third-party web services. [Nov. 9, 2005]
Is AJAX Here to Stay?
Jordan Frank
Jordan Frank takes a high-level look at the way AJAX is changing the Web and whether it's a technology that's going to stick around. [Oct. 5, 2005]
Remote Scripting with AJAX, Part 2
Cameron Adams
In part one of this two-part series, Cameron Adams created an example application that showed how to use remote scripting to implement the AJAX XMLHttpRequest protocol. Now, in part two, he shows how to create a usable interface for the example app. [Aug. 22, 2005]
Remote Scripting with AJAX, Part 1
Cameron Adams
In this two-part series, Cameron Adams demonstrates the advantages of using remote scripting with the AJAX XMLHttpRequest protocol to create web apps and improve website functionality. Here in part one, he creates an example application that shows how to implement XMLHttpRequest. Stay tuned for part two, where he'll show how to create a usable interface for the example app. [Aug. 19, 2005]
Build AJAX-Based Web Maps Using ka-Map
Tyler Mitchell
By using AJAX, Google's maps draw and zoom quickly, pan smoothly, and can be extended to display a wide variety of information. This article by Tyler Mitchell shows how to make similar AJAX-based web mapping sites using an open source toolkit called ka-Map. Tyler is the author of Web Mapping Illustrated. [Aug. 10, 2005]
On the Extreme Fringe of XML
Roger Sperberg
Roger Sperberg describes Extreme Markup Languages 2005, which is ongoing this week in Montreal. Extreme plays an important role in the XML conference ecosystem, as Sperberg explains. [Aug. 3, 2005]
Analyzing the Web
John E. Simpson
In his latest XML Tourist column John E. Simpson asks whether XML has a role to play in reporting website traffic statistics. He finds two applications that use XML to analyze website traffic. [Jul. 27, 2005]
Versa: Path-Based RDF Query Language
Chimezie Ogbuji
Chimezie Ogbuji describes Versa, one of the first RDF query languages to be pathcentric, taking cues from XPath. [Jul. 20, 2005]
Secure RSS Syndication
Joe Gregorio
Joe Gregorio hacks a Greasemonkey script to make his browser decrypt a Blowfish-encrypted RSS channel on the fly. [Jul. 13, 2005]
Padded Downloads
John E. Simpson
John E. Simpson's XML Tourist column returns this month with a look at an XML format with roots that stretch back to the hallowed days of BBSes. [Jun. 29, 2005]
Life After Ajax?
Micah Dubinko
Micah Dubinko says that the way Ajax technologies are presently deployed will eventually run into complexity barriers. It's time, he claims, for more declarative, markup-based alternative strategies. [Jun. 29, 2005]
Introducing SKOS
Peter Mikhalenko
Peter Mikhalenko introduces SKOS, a W3C standard for using RDF to represent thesauri, taxonomies, and other information space structures. [Jun. 22, 2005]
Just Use Media Types?
Joe Gregorio
In his latest Restful Web column, Joe Gregorio implements a set of Python functions for doing the right thing--analyzing, parsing, and matching--with HTTP request media types. [Jun. 8, 2005]
TMQL: A Brief Introduction
Robert Barta
The world of Topic Maps is destined to play a role in the Semantic Web; but nearly all serious TM applications require a query language. Robert Barta introduces TMQL. [Jun. 1, 2005]
Going Native, Part 3
Ronald Bourret
Ronald Bourret, acknowledged XML database expert, concludes a three-part series that makes the case for native XML databases--this time focusing on schema evolution, web services, and hierarchical data. [May. 25, 2005]
Canadian Broadcasting in XML
John E. Simpson
In this month's XML Tourist, John E. Simpson explores industry regulators' use of XML to exchange information about the Canadian broadcast spectrum. [May. 25, 2005]
Forming Consensus
Micah Dubinko
In his latest XML-Deviant column, Micah Dubinko outlines a plan for combining the XForms and Web Forms 2.0 communities. [May. 11, 2005]
Errors and AJAX
Joshua Gitlin
AJAX is hot, but is it real? How mature are the techniques, and can you use them right now? Joshua Gitlin offers a method for trapping client-side JavaScript errors and logging them, server-side, with AJAX. [May. 11, 2005]
Big Lists in Small Spaces
Fabio Arciniegas A.
After a long hiatus, our Sacré SVG columnist, Fabio Arciniegas, returns with a technique for displaying large lists or trees of information in small spaces. [May. 4, 2005]
Forming Opinions, Part 3
Micah Dubinko
In this week's XML-Deviant column, Micah Dubinko concludes his three-part foray into Web Forms 2.0. [May. 4, 2005]
Forming Opinions, Part 2
Micah Dubinko
In his latest column, Micah Dubinko continues his foray into Web Forms 2.0. [Apr. 27, 2005]
Going Native: Making the Case for XML Databases
Ronald Bourret
Ronald Bourret, acknowledged XML database expert, begins a three-part series which makes the case for native XML databases. [Mar. 30, 2005]
Deconstructing Certification
Micah Dubinko
Micah Dubinko asks what business and personal value XML certification might have. [Mar. 16, 2005]
The Google Wake-Up Call
Micah Dubinko
Micah Dubinko explains how Google's excellent assembly of existing pieces is raising the bar for everyone else. [Feb. 23, 2005]
Sarissa to the Rescue
Emmanouil Batsis
Want to build very dynamic web interfaces like Google? Then you'll need to manage cross-browser XML compatability issues. And you'll need Sarissa. [Feb. 23, 2005]
Eat Drink Feel Good Markup Language
Aaron Straup Cope
Aaron Straup Cope describes the pros and cons of making his Eatdrinkfeelgood Markup Language more RDF compatible. [Feb. 16, 2005]
Very Dynamic Web Interfaces
Drew McLellan
Drew McLellan explains how to use XMLHTTPRequest and Javascript to create web applications with very dynamic, smooth interfaces. [Feb. 9, 2005]
SIMILE: Practical Metadata for the Semantic Web
Stephen Garland, Ryan Lee, Stefano Mazzocchi
Digital libraries and generic metadata form part of the background assumptions and forward-looking goals of the Semantic Web. SIMILE is an interesting project aimed at realizing some of those goals. [Jan. 26, 2005]
XML Namespace Processing in Apache
Nick Kew
Nick Kew introduces the Apache XML Namespace API for use in building mix-and-match XML Namespace-aware applications for the Web in Apache. [Dec. 15, 2004]
On Folly
Edd Dumbill
XML-oriented programming languages? Crazy! The Semantic Web? Nuts! Or perhaps not. Edd Dumbill on how the crackpots were right all long. [Dec. 8, 2004]
Of Presidents and Ontologies
Paul Ford
At the pinnacle of election season in the U.S., Paul Ford returns with another Hacking Congress column. This time, Ford says things about the President using RDF and explains why the Semantic Web is about more than ontologies. [Nov. 3, 2004]
Stuck in the Senate
Paul Ford
Paul Ford discovers that creating a clean RDF representation of the United States Senate is harder than he thought, and goes back to fix his mistakes, delving into the mysterious world of URNs along the way. [Oct. 13, 2004]
Lady and the Tramp
Edd Dumbill
If XML's the Lady, then RSS is the Tramp. But while RSS is energetically being refined and embraced, the Lady's ossifying rapidly. [Sep. 29, 2004]
XMP Lowdown
Bob DuCharme
Bob DuCharme introduces XMP, Adobe's RDF-based specification for embedding metadata into digital artifacts. Get ready to mark up your photos and images with Adobe tools. [Sep. 22, 2004]
RDF Roundup
Edd Dumbill
Edd Dumbill's report on XML community discussions covers how to write XML documents as RDF models and more incredulity at the WS-* web services specifications. [Sep. 22, 2004]
Ontology Tools Survey, Revisited
Michael Denny
Michael Denny updates his original survey of tools for creating ontologies, including the W3C's OWL Web Ontology Language. [Jul. 14, 2004]
Eternal Refactoring
Edd Dumbill
A summary of the latest happenings in the XML and RDF developer communities: refactoring specifications, Amazon wishlists in RDF, and XML as art. [Jul. 7, 2004]
The Economics of Web Service Development
Marcia Gulesian
Marcia Gulesian explores the economics and management dimensions of implementing web services in the healthcare field. [Jul. 7, 2004]
A First Look at the Kowari Triplestore
Paul Ford
An introduction to the Kowari open source RDF store. [Jun. 23, 2004]
Something Useful This Way Comes
Kendall Grant Clark
The Semantic Web appears to be powering ahead: so why are there so many doubters in the XML world? [Jun. 9, 2004]
Putting ISBNs to Work
Kendall Grant Clark
Continuing his "Hacking the Library" series, Kendall Clark starts the implementation of a web service tool to retrieve Library of Congress identifiers given the ISBN of a book. [Jun. 2, 2004]
To Tag or Not to Tag
Patrick O'Kelley
The fascinating story of the new world of opportunities opened by bringing the New Variorum Shakespeare Editions into XML. [May. 26, 2004]
WWW2004 Semantic Web Roundup
Paul Ford
Reporting from the WWW 2004 conference, Paul Ford surveys the state of the art in client and server side semantic web technology. [May. 26, 2004]
The Courtship of Atom
Kendall Grant Clark
The Atom syndication specification may move to a new home at the W3C. We look at the advantages this would bring to all concerned. [May. 19, 2004]
News Standards: A Rising Tide of Commoditization
Jo Rabin
How can news providers persuade customers to accept new standard formats? Does RSS threaten or present opportunity to the news industry. Jo Rabin comments on the state of standards in the news industry. [May. 5, 2004]
UBL: A Lingua Franca for Common Business Information
Dale Waldt
The essential facts on the Universal Business Language, the nuts and bolts for business documents in XML. [Apr. 28, 2004]
Six Steps to LCC@Home
Kendall Grant Clark
Continuing "Hacking the Library", Kendall Clark shows how to use the Library of Congress Classification on your own book collection. [Apr. 28, 2004]
Getting in Touch with XML Contacts
John E. Simpson
In March's XML Q&A column John E. Simpson describes some of the options for working with personal contact information in XML. [Mar. 31, 2004]
Growing Interest in XML Seen at AIIM Conference on Content and Records Management
Dale Waldt
A report from the AIIM Content and Records Management conference and exposition from Dale Waldt, at which the interest and usage of XML grows ever stronger. [Mar. 24, 2004]
The Library of Congress Comes Home
Kendall Grant Clark
Embarking on his journey to organize our media collections, Kendall Clark explains how the Library of Congress classification system can be brought into our homes. [Mar. 17, 2004]
BumbleBee, the XQuery Test Harness
Jason Hunter
Jason Hunter introduces a testing framework for XQuery, which lets you write tests for your own queries and verify query engine interoperability. [Mar. 10, 2004]
XBRL: The Language of Finance and Accounting
Dale Waldt
In the first of our new series reviewing industry XML standards, Dale Waldt takes a look at the what, where, who, and how of XBRL, the eXtensible Business Reporting Language. [Mar. 10, 2004]
Semantic Web Interest Group
Kendall Grant Clark
Reporting from the first W3C Semantic Web Interest Group meeting in Cannes, France, Kendall Clark describes the wealth of activity in the semantic web world. [Mar. 3, 2004]
Getting Reacquainted with dbXML 2.0
Tom Bradford
The second version of dbXML is much improved over its predecessor, offering transactions, security features, new APIs and query mechanisms. Tom Bradford gives us an update. [Feb. 25, 2004]
Lightweight XML Search Servers, Part 2
Jon Udell
Jon Udell enhances his lightweight XML search server by adding database backed storage, using the Berkeley DB XML database, and retrieving and indexing all of the weblogs he reads. [Feb. 18, 2004]
Television Listings and XMLTV
Kyle Downey
On a quest to build a DIY personal video recorder, Kyle Downey gets to grips with XMLTV, a toolkit for screen-scraping TV listings data into XML. [Feb. 18, 2004]
Geeks and the Dijalog Lifestyle
Kendall Grant Clark
Much as we'd like, our personal media collections will never be purely digital. Kendall Clark embarks on a new column dedicated to the application of geek know-how to managing the hybrid analog and digital media collections that we own. [Feb. 18, 2004]
Googling for XML
Bob DuCharme
Google's index includes well over a million XML files. Bob DuCharme shows some strategies for using Google to find the XML, RSS and RDF files that you want. [Feb. 11, 2004]
An Introduction to FOAF
Leigh Dodds
Friend-of-a-friend, FOAF, is an RDF vocabulary for machine-readable homepages. It enables the expression of decentralized social networks akin to the centralized ones seen in Friendster and Orkut. Leigh Dodds provides an introduction to FOAF and its use. [Feb. 4, 2004]
Lightweight XML Search Servers
Jon Udell
Jon Udell creates a lightweight XML search server using Python and the libxml/libxslt libraries. [Jan. 21, 2004]
Translating XML Documents with xml:tm
Andrzej Zydron
In order to reduce translation costs in an environment where documentation can change frequently the best answer is the use of translation memory, which works by aligning previously translated text in a target language with the source language. This article describes an improvment, known as "text memory", which allows translation and source text to reside in the same XML document. [Jan. 7, 2004]
The Social Life of XML
Jon Udell
In this write-up of his keynote address to the XML 2003 conference, Jon Udell explains that the key thing about XML is the way anXML document can become a shared construct, a tangible thing that processes and people can pass around and interact with. [Dec. 23, 2003]
Intelligent Documents Headline XML 2003
Edd Dumbill
A report from the opening plenary session of IDEAlliance's XML 2003 conference and exposition in Philadelphia, PA, USA. [Dec. 9, 2003]
Styling RDF Graphs with GSS
Emmanuel Pietriga
Visualising RDF graphs is a hard problem, as they can quickly become unwieldy. This article introduces a solution in the form off GSS (Graph Style Sheets), an RDF vocabulary for describing rule-based style sheets used to modify the visual representation of RDF models represented as node-link diagrams. [Dec. 3, 2003]
Working with Bayesian Categorizers
Jon Udell
Bayesian classification has proved a powerful weapon against spam. Jon Udell tries to find out whether it can be put to use in other spheres of content categorization. [Nov. 19, 2003]
Enterprise Application Integration using Apache Cocoon 2.1
Tony Culshaw
A case study of using Cocoon to build a web-based travel agency desktop system, integrating several backend systems. [Nov. 12, 2003]
The Long, Long Arm of SGML
Kendall Grant Clark
Commenting on Tim Bray's "UTF-8+names" proposal for creating memorable shortcuts for some Unicode code points, Kendall Clark sees the effort as part of XML's continuing struggle against the legacy of its SGML ancestry. [Nov. 5, 2003]
XForms and Microsoft InfoPath
Micah Dubinko
Micah Dubinko, author of XForms Essentials, compares W3C XForms and Microsoft InfoPath, the data gathering technology shipping with Microsoft Office 2003. [Oct. 29, 2003]
The XML Book Business
Kendall Grant Clark
Kendall Clark comments on a recent discussion among XML developers about the unfortunate state of the XML technical book business. [Oct. 29, 2003]
The Impact of Site Finder on Web Services
Steve Loughran
VeriSign's recently Site Finder service, now temporarily suspended, caused many problems for internet users and web applications. Particularly at risk from the Site Finder changes are web services applications. This article examines the difficulties caused by Site Finder, and what users and developers of web services can do about it. [Oct. 28, 2003]
A Web of Rules
Kendall Grant Clark
In his second report from the International Semantic Web Conference, Kendall Clark discusses the importance of rules to the deployment of the Semantic Web, and highlights the importance of interaction between the academic and free software communities. [Oct. 23, 2003]
Commercializing the Semantic Web
Kendall Grant Clark
In the first of his reports from the 2nd International Semantic Web Conference, Kendall Clark discusses the path forward for successfully selling and developing Semantic Web technology into industry. [Oct. 22, 2003]
Using Embedded XML Databases to Process Large Documents
Mark Wilcox
What do you do when you want the convenience of DOM programming, but your document size is more suited to using SAX? This handy tip shows that an embedded XML database can be just the ticket for processing such documents. [Oct. 22, 2003]
Marking Up Bureaucracy
Paul Ford
Needing to cope with its enormous needs for document and data exchange, the United States is looking more and more to XML. Paul Ford explains what happens when Washington meets markup. [Sep. 24, 2003]
An XQuery Update
Per Bothner
A report on the changes made to the W3C's XML Query Language in the recent August 2003 XQuery drafts. [Sep. 10, 2003]
A Report From Extreme Markup Languages 2003
James Mason
Jim Mason, one of the co-chairs of the Extreme Markup Languages conference, reports on this recent annual gathering of deeply involved XML enthuasiasts and innovators. [Aug. 27, 2003]
Escaped Markup Considered Harmful
Norman Walsh
How do you carry HTML or XML around inside an XML document? Not by using CDATA sections or escaping special characters, says Norm Walsh. Find out why embedding markup this way is wrong, and what alternatives there are. [Aug. 20, 2003]
Why Choose RSS 1.0?
Tony Hammond
Part of RSS 1.0's value is in retaining its roots as primarily a metadata specification. A journal publisher explains why they chose RSS 1.0 as the basis for distributing RSS feeds of their publications. [Jul. 23, 2003]
Extending RSS
Danny Ayers
The RDF foundations of the RSS 1.0 specification make it easy to extend and mingle with other RDF vocabularies. This article shows how, and explains how these benefits can be reaped in RSS 2.0 feeds as well. [Jul. 23, 2003]
Writing and Debugging XQuery Web Apps with Qexo
Per Bothner
A tutorial on writing, installing, and debugging a web application written with the W3C XQuery language. The software used includes the open source Qexo XQuery implementation and the Tomcat application server. [Jun. 11, 2003]
Designing a New Schema with XML Design Patterns
Kyle Downey
Following on from our articles on XML schema design patterns, this article applies these patterns to the design of a new schema, leveraging existing XML languages such as XHTML and RDF along the way. [Jun. 4, 2003]
XML Transactions for Web Services, Part 3
Faheem Khan
In the third and final part of our series on web services transactions, Faheem Kham examines the WS-Transaction spec's Business Activities, a way of handling long lived collections of transactions. [May. 27, 2003]
Berkeley DB XML: An Embedded XML Database
Paul Ford
Paul Ford introduces Sleepycat Software's Berkeley DB XML database, an XML-aware version of the popular Berkeley DB libraries, embedded in many software products. [May. 7, 2003]
RSS on the Client
John E. Simpson
In this month's Q&A column John E. Simpson explains what to do with RSS feeds, reviewing some of the available RSS client applications. [Apr. 30, 2003]
At Microsoft's Mercy
Kendall Grant Clark
The future of XML editing is pretty much in Microsoft's hands, writes Kendall Grant Clark, reporting on community reaction to the news that Microsoft Office 2003's much-hyped XML features will be restricted to the higher-end versions of the suite. [Apr. 23, 2003]
The Semantic Blog
Jon Udell
One of XML's promises is fine-grained, specific searching, but this doesn't come without a lot of effort in data preparation. Jon Udell looks for the sweet spot that marries spontaneity and structure. [Apr. 15, 2003]
The Liberty Alliance
Paul Madsen
As parts of our lives are increasingly managed via online applications, the resulting morass of different logon and profile information is becoming unmanageable. This is the problem the Liberty Alliance project sets out to solve. [Apr. 1, 2003]
XML Standards for Financial Services
Ayesha Malik
Ayesha Malik provides an overview of the state of XML standardization in the financial services industry, and explains the benefits it is set to realize from the use of interoperable standards. [Mar. 26, 2003]
The ebXML Messaging Service
Pim van der Eijk
The ebXML Messaging Service specification (ebMS) extends the SOAP specification to provide the security and reliability features required by many production enterprise and e-business applications. [Mar. 18, 2003]
The Social Meaning of RDF
Kendall Grant Clark
The W3C is about to undertake a discussion of what the social meaning of RDF is -- what the real world import is of an RDF statement. Kendall Clark previews the debate and recent related discussion. [Mar. 5, 2003]
Using Topic Maps to Extend Relational Databases
Marc de Graauw
Relational databases are fast and efficient ways to store data, but they can often be inflexible when application requirements change. Augmenting them with the capabilities of Topic Maps can solve this problem, and enhance interoperability between databases. [Mar. 5, 2003]
Special Characters, Database Mappings
John E. Simpson
In this month's XML Q&A column, John E. Simpson examines the XML special character issue again and also briefly introduces SQLX. [Feb. 26, 2003]
XML at Five
Edd Dumbill
To celebrate five years of XML, Edd Dumbill interviews a selection of XML old-timers and experts about their experiences of XML and hopes for the future. [Feb. 12, 2003]
Building Metadata Applications with RDF
Bob DuCharme
After some time wondering what to do with RDF, Bob DuCharme found RDFlib, a Python RDF processing library, and "the lightbulb finally went on." Bob describes his experiences. [Feb. 12, 2003]
BrownSauce: An RDF Browser
Damian Steer
Damian Steer introduces BrownSauce, his project to create a generalised browser for RDF/XML encoded data. [Feb. 5, 2003]
Databases and Element Names
John E. Simpson
In this month's XML Q&A column John Simpson examines some database and XML integration issues. [Jan. 29, 2003]
Introduction to XFML
Peter Van Dijck
Peter van Dijck introduces XFML -- eXchangeable Faceted Metadata Language -- a lightweight and easy to understand XML language for sharing faceted metadata. [Jan. 22, 2003]
Creative Comments: On the Uses and Abuses of Markup
Kendall Grant Clark
The way Creative Commons recommends linking its machine-readable licenses into HTML pages makes little sense, says Kendall Clark, and proposes alternatives. [Jan. 15, 2003]
Business at XML 2002
Alan Kotok
Rounding up the news from the business side of the recent XML 2002 conference, Alan Kotok reports an increase in government clients for XML businesses. [Jan. 8, 2003]
Generating XML and HTML using XQuery
Per Bothner
Often perceived mainly as a query language, XQuery can actually be used to generate XML and HTML. Per Bothner provides a worked example, and compares XQuery with XSLT. [Dec. 23, 2002]
What Is RSS
Mark Pilgrim
In Mark Pilgrim's inaugural Dive Into XML column, he reviews the history and technical details of the varieties of RSS on the Web. He also describes a method for parsing most active RSS feeds. [Dec. 18, 2002]
RDF Update
Shelley Powers
The W3C's Resource Description Framework (RDF) Working Group recently released a slew of new specifications. Shelley Powers provides an overview of each draft. [Nov. 27, 2002]
RPV: Triples Made Plain
Kendall Grant Clark
Kendall Grant Clark looks at a recent proposal for an alternative XML syntax for RDF: Tim Bray's RPV syntax. [Nov. 20, 2002]
RDF, What's It Good For?
Kendall Grant Clark
Kendall Grant Clark ponders the hidden benefits of RDF, and examines the XML-DEV community response to a recent XML.com article on making XML documents RDF-friendly. [Nov. 13, 2002]
Standards For Electronic Instructional Materials
Alan Kotok
A bill proposed to the U.S. Congress seeks to create an electronic standard for instruction materials that will help visually disabled schoolchildren. [Nov. 6, 2002]
Ontology Building: A Survey of Editing Tools
Michael Denny
Ontologies, structured depictions or models of known facts, are being built today to make a number of applications more capable of handling complex and disparate information. Michael Denny surveys the tools available for creating and editing ontologies. [Nov. 6, 2002]
Make Your XML RDF-Friendly
John Cowan, Bob DuCharme
As the volume of RDF-consuming applications grow, the authors demonstrate how XML documents can be made useful to RDF processors as well as normal XML parsers. [Oct. 30, 2002]
XML and Database Mapping in .NET
Niel Bornstein
Continuing his look at .NET's XML processing from a Java point of view, Niel Bornstein discovers .NET's facilities for binding XML to databases. [Oct. 23, 2002]
The Digital Talking Book
Ken Pittman
An investigation of how XML is being used to implement the Digital Talking Book and enhance talking book facilities available to the visually impaired. [Oct. 16, 2002]
What Are Topic Maps
Lars Marius Garshol
An introduction to XML Topic Maps, an XML standard that can be used to index and capture relationships between concepts, improving the findability of information. [Sep. 11, 2002]
Business Maps: Topic Maps Go B2B
Marc de Graauw
Marc de Graauw shows how topic maps can be used to help solve interoperability problems between XML B2B vocabularies. [Aug. 21, 2002]
Look Ma, No Tags
Kendall Grant Clark
XML's success can be measured not only in terms of deployment, but also in terms of inspiring competitors. Kendall Clark examines one such tagless competitor, YAML. [Jul. 24, 2002]
The True Meaning of Service
Kendall Grant Clark
Kendall Grant Clark investigates the DAML-Services ontology, which ties together web services with the semantic web and could well play a key part in the web of the future. [Jul. 17, 2002]
Interoperability Summit: Good Intentions, Little Action
Alan Kotok
Alan Kotok reports from the second interoperability summit organized by e-business standards groups. He finds that it's still early days for e-business interoperability, and many more players need to come to the table. [Jul. 10, 2002]
Go Tell It On the Mountain
Kendall Grant Clark
As part of the re-framing of the W3C's Resource Description Framework a primer has been produced to accompany the new RDF specifications. Kendall Clark reviews the new document. [May. 15, 2002]
DAML Reference
Uche Ogbuji, Roxane Ouellet
The third part of our series on the DARPA Agent Markup Language takes the form of a quick reference to RDF, RDFS and DAML. [May. 1, 2002]
Privacy and XML, Part 2
Carlisle Adams, Paul Madsen
The second and concluding part of our look at XML and Privacy examines XML standards initiatives aimed at giving users and businesses control over privacy. [May. 1, 2002]
If Ontology, Then Knowledge: Catching Up With WebOnt
Kendall Grant Clark
An examination of the aims and achievements to date of the W3C's Web Ontology Working Group, who are tasked with creating an ontology language for the Semantic Web. [May. 1, 2002]
Government and Finance Industry Urge Caution on XML
Alan Kotok
The XML world recently received a double-dose of sobering news, as reports from both the U.S. General Accounting Office and NACHA, an electronic payments organization, urged their constituents to move cautiously on any commitment to XML. [Apr. 24, 2002]
Privacy and XML, Part I
Carlisle Adams, Paul Madsen
This first installment of a two-part series on privacy and XML introduces the issues at stake in online privacy and gives an overview of privacy concepts. [Apr. 17, 2002]
Introduction to DAML: Part II
Uche Ogbuji, Roxane Ouellet
The second part of our introduction to the DARPA Agent Markup Language covers advanced restrictions that can be placed on properties and classes. [Mar. 13, 2002]
Web Services Pitfalls
David Orchard
The web services vision of automated business sometimes sounds too good to be true. This article puts web services in the context of real business concerns, showing there's some way to go to achieve the vision. [Feb. 13, 2002]
U.S. Federal XML Guidelines
Alan Kotok
The US Government's guidelines for use of XML in Federal agencies shows an encouraging appreciation of XML, but also highlights the difficulties inherent in drafting such guidelines. [Feb. 6, 2002]
Introduction to DAML: Part I
Uche Ogbuji, Roxane Ouellet
The first of a three-part series examining the DARPA Agent Markup Language, an XML/RDF application intended to provide tools for building the Semantic Web. [Jan. 30, 2002]
An Introduction to the XML:DB API
Kimbro Staken
The growing number of native XML databases all have different programming interfaces. The XML:DB API is an open source project to provide a unified API for native XML databases. [Jan. 9, 2002]
Making XML Work in Business
Alan Kotok
In this report from the XML 2001 conference, Alan Kotok describes where XML is really working inside businesses. [Jan. 2, 2002]
XQuery Questioned
Leigh Dodds
The XML-Deviant asks whether the XQuery specification should be refactored, and whether it should be released without specifying significant parts of the expected feature set? [Jan. 2, 2002]
Patents and Web Standards Town Hall Meeting
Michael Champion
A report from the "town hall" meeting at XML 2001 on patents and their interaction with W3C standards. [Dec. 19, 2001]
Interoperate or Evaporate
Alan Kotok
Last week's business standards interoperability summit resulted in a clear message to standards groups from vendors: learn to work together or lose your support. [Dec. 12, 2001]
Introduction to dbXML
Kimbro Staken
Following on from his introduction to native XML databases, Kimbro Staken introduces the dbXML open source native XML database. [Nov. 28, 2001]
ScrollKeeper: Open Source Document Management
Kendall Grant Clark
Building on the Open Source Metadata Framework and Dublin Core, ScrollKeeper sets out to unify the diverse world of open source documentation. [Nov. 28, 2001]
XML in Electronic Court Filing
Ken Pittman
An overview of how XML is finding application in several electronic court filing pilot schemes throughout the US. [Nov. 14, 2001]
High Hopes for the Universal Business Language
Edd Dumbill
The Universal Business Language (UBL) is a new effort to standardize XML business documents, being spearheaded by Jon Bosak. In this interview, Bosak describes UBL's aims and its relationship to ebXML. [Nov. 7, 2001]
Introduction to Native XML Databases
Kimbro Staken
Native XML databases are an important part of the emerging XML software infrastructure. This article explains their features, strengths and weaknesses. [Oct. 31, 2001]
XML and Databases? Follow Your Nose
Leigh Dodds
Leigh Dodds explores the sometimes pungent, often sweet world of XML-database integration requirement smells. [Oct. 24, 2001]
Patent Wars: The W3C Strikes Back
Kendall Grant Clark
In response to massive public comment on their proposed patent policy, the W3C has responded, inviting noted open source advocates to help them shape the policy. [Oct. 17, 2001]
When the Going Gets Tough: Real World XML
Alan Kotok
When XML gets deployed in businesses, it's modeling and interoperability that prove key. But is that enough to meet the demands posed by today's economic circumstances? [Oct. 3, 2001]
Modeling XML Vocabularies with UML: Part I
Dave Carlson
In the first of a three-part series Dave Carlson describes how UML can be put to use in modeling XML vocabularies. [Aug. 22, 2001]
Using XML to Implement E-Commerce Marketing Strategies
Brian Buehling
Brian Buehling explores the ways that companies can better leverage their e-commerce investment by using XML. [Aug. 15, 2001]
An Introduction to XML Digital Signatures
Carlisle Adams, Paul Madsen, Ed Simon
The W3C and IETF's XML Signature specification allows the verification of the authenticity of XML-based transactions, a vital part of the emerging electronic business infrastructure. [Aug. 8, 2001]
The RDF Calendar Task Force
Leigh Dodds
Dodds describes the goals and methodology of the RDF Calendar Task Force, a practical Semantic Web development effort. [Jul. 25, 2001]
RDF Applications with Prolog
Bijan Parsia
In the second article in our series on RDF and Prolog, we compare the use of Prolog and XSLT to render RDF into HTML. [Jul. 25, 2001]
Using XML to Configure Groove
Brian Buehling
Groove is a peer-to-peer groupware solution, launched earlier this year. Brian Buehling investigates how XML is used to support the creation of custom Groove applications. [Jul. 11, 2001]
P2P and XML in Business
Brian Buehling
An overview of the application of peer-to-peer technology in the enterprise, and the role played by XML. [Jul. 11, 2001]
Three Myths of XML
Kendall Grant Clark
XML has it all, not only an interoperable syntax but a solution to bring world peace, end poverty and deter evil dictators. Kendall Clark debunks these and other popular myths of XML. [Jun. 13, 2001]
DIDL: Packaging Digital Content
Vaughn Iverson, Todd Schwartz, Mark Walker
Internet applications generally fall short in their ability to transfer multimedia content. This article describes an XML vocabulary for packaging digital content, breaking the one-to-one mapping between the notion of a content item and an individual file. [May. 30, 2001]
The State of XML: Why Individuals Matter
Edd Dumbill
A survey of the progress of XML over the last year, emphasizig that in an industry increasingly dominated by large vendors, individual contributors are still key. [May. 30, 2001]
Using the Jena API to Process RDF
Joe Verzulli
Jena is a freely-available Java API for processing RDF. This article provides an introduction to the API and its implementation. [May. 23, 2001]
ebXML: It Ain't Over 'til it's Over
Alan Kotok
The final meeting of the Electronic Business XML initiative in Vienna marked the 18-month deadline set for the project, yet there is still plenty left to do. [May. 16, 2001]
Can XML Help Write the Law?
Alan Kotok
A report from the Conference on Congressional Organizations' Application of XML, where both the mechanics and the public benefits of making legislation available in XML were discussed. [May. 9, 2001]
Building a Semantic Web Site
Eric van der Vlist
By simple use of XML vocabularies like XMLNews and RSS, Eric van der Vlist shows how you can build dynamic indexes to web site content. [May. 2, 2001]
An Introduction to Prolog and RDF
Bijan Parsia
In the first of a series on creating Semantic Web applications with Prolog, Bijan Parsia introduces Prolog and its use in processing RDF. [Apr. 25, 2001]
ComicsML: A Simple Markup Language for Comics
Jason McIntosh
ComicsML came to life as a result of a comics artist and fan starting to work with XML. Read all about this useful and fun XML application, and how it could change the face of online comics. [Apr. 18, 2001]
Top 10 Interview Questions When Hiring XML Developers
Brian Buehling
XML.com's guide for managers faced with the task of filling positions within their organizations that require a solid understanding of the foundations of XML-related technologies. [Apr. 11, 2001]
XML Hype Down But Not Out In New York
Edd Dumbill
Signs of reality were setting in this week at XML DevCon 2001 in New York City. As vendors and professionals were feeling the pinch of the economic conditions, the cloud of dust raised by recent overmarketing was starting to settle. [Apr. 11, 2001]
ebXML Ropes in SOAP
Alan Kotok
Our report on the latest happenings in ebXML covers their adoption of SOAP, and takes stock as ebXML nears the end of its project. [Apr. 4, 2001]
Overcoming Objections to XML-based Authoring Systems
Brian Buehling
When deploying an XML-based content management system, common misconceptions must be corrected. This article helps IT professionals do just that. [Mar. 21, 2001]
Tim Berners-Lee on the W3C's Semantic Web Activity
Edd Dumbill
The World Wide Web Consortium has recently embarked on a program of development on the Semantic Web. This interview outlines the vision behind the new Activity, and how it relates to XML in general. [Mar. 21, 2001]
Knowledge Technologies 2001: Conference Diary
Edd Dumbill
The inaugural Knowledge Technologies conference brought together members of diverse communities, all concerned with managing knowledge: from RDF and Topic Maps to AI. [Mar. 7, 2001]
Building the Semantic Web
Edd Dumbill
Tim Berners-Lee's vision of the Semantic Web is undoubtedly exciting, but its success will lie in the extent to which it solves real world problems. [Mar. 7, 2001]
The Politics of Schemas: Part 2
Kendall Grant Clark
Having established in the first half of this essay that schemas are essentially political, this second installment examines the relevance of this to the XML community, and avenues for further consideration. [Feb. 7, 2001]
The Politics of Schemas: Part 1
Kendall Grant Clark
As the world is codified one schema at a time, what are the consequences and implications? This first half of a two-part essay examines why schemas are essentially political. [Jan. 31, 2001]
What Is RDF
Tim Bray
An introduction to the W3C's Resource Description Format, a standard for exchanging metadata, and a key technology for the W3C's "Semantic Web". [Jan. 24, 2001]
A Scalable Process for Information Standards
Jon Bosak
The Chair of the OASIS Process Advisory Committee explains how OASIS has developed a standards process to cater for the fast-moving world of XML. [Jan. 17, 2001]
XML-related Activities at the W3C
C.M. Sperberg-McQueen
This report from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) on the development of XML-related specifications highlights the diverse paths that XML has taken since its invention a few years ago. [Jan. 3, 2001]
OASIS Technical Committee Work
Karl F. Best
The mission of OASIS is to promote and encourage the use of structured information standards such as XML and SGML. This report describes the work in which OASIS is currently engaged. [Jan. 3, 2001]
Converging Protocols
Leigh Dodds
Jon Bosak's comments at XML 2000 about the respective roles of ebXML and SOAP have sparked discussion on convergence between ebXML's transport, routing and packaging layer and the W3C's XML Protocol Activity. [Dec. 20, 2000]
Getting Topical
Simon St. Laurent
At the recent XML 2000 conference the XML Topic Maps (XTM) specification made an impressive debut. Simon St.Laurent reviews the development and prospects of XTM. [Dec. 20, 2000]
XML 2000 Show Floor Review
Simon St. Laurent
New and interesting technologies from the show floor at XML 2000, including Schemantix, Fourthought, Kinecta, Ontopia and Architag. [Dec. 7, 2000]
Berners-Lee and the Semantic Web Vision
Edd Dumbill
In a keynote session at XML 2000 Tim Berners-Lee, Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, outlined his vision for the Semantic Web. [Dec. 6, 2000]
Developers' Day at XML 2000
Edd Dumbill
The XML Developers' Day at XML 2000, chaired by Jon Bosak, was composed of "late-breaking" developments in XML, and provided many valuable insights into developing XML systems. [Dec. 5, 2000]
What's in a Name?
Leigh Dodds
The XML-Deviant looks at best practices for identifying XML resources; then wonders why more developers aren't taking advantage of entity management systems. [Nov. 29, 2000]
XML DevCon Fall 2000 Coverage
Edd Dumbill, Simon St. Laurent
Collected coverage from XML.com of the XML DevCon Fall 2000 conference, held November in San Jose. [Nov. 22, 2000]
XMLDevCon2000 Showfloor highlights
Simon St. Laurent
Simon St. Laurent uncovers a few gems on the XMLDevCon 2000 trade floor and explains their relevance to developers. Discoveries include XML Spy 3.5, XML Authority 2.0, and <xml>Transport and <xsl>Composer. [Nov. 18, 2000]
Embracing Web Services
Edd Dumbill
Delivering a talk entitled "Web Services: Requirements, Challenges and Opportunities," Greg Hope laid down the future of web business as Microsoft sees it, and especially the role of XML technologies. [Nov. 14, 2000]
Primed for the Semantic Web
Leigh Dodds
Last week's article on the Semantic Web has sparked discussion among the RDF developer community, who are considering the nature of the Semantic Web and how it might be implemented. [Nov. 8, 2000]
XML Protocol Technology Reference
Edd Dumbill
A quick reference to the most important technologies and initiatives in the XML protocols area, with links to specifications, white papers, and developer communities. [Nov. 1, 2000]
The Semantic Web: A Primer
Edd Dumbill
The question "What is the Semantic Web?" is being asked with increasing frequency. While mainstream media is content with a high level view, XML developers want to know more, and discover the substance behind the vision. [Nov. 1, 2000]
An Introduction to Dublin Core
Eric Miller, Stuart Weibel
You may have heard of the Dublin Core metadata element set before, but who is behind it, and what do they want to achieve? The leaders of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative explain what they do and where they're headed. [Oct. 25, 2000]
Dublin Core in the Wild
Dale Dougherty
The recent Dublin Core Metadata Initiative meeting provided an opportunity for O'Reilly Network to discover more about Dublin Core and to explore its relationship with RSS. [Oct. 25, 2000]
Of Standards and Standard Makers
Leigh Dodds
The debate over who makes XML standards and how they are made rumbles on. This week the XML-Deviant examines the W3C and asks whether its Semantic Web initiative informs or hinders comprehension of their mission. [Oct. 25, 2000]
The Rush to Standardize
Leigh Dodds
Keeping track of the number of consortia in the XML space is rapidly requiring the effort needed to track the burgeoning number of specifications. Is all this "standardization" too premature? XML-Deviant covers the recent debate. [Oct. 18, 2000]
RIL: A Taste of Knowledge
Uche Ogbuji
An innovative part of 4RDF is the RDF Inference Language (RIL), which provides a way of viewing an RDF model as an Expert System knowledge base. [Oct. 11, 2000]
4RDF: A Library for Web Metadata
Uche Ogbuji
One of the jewels in the crown of Python's XML support is the 4Suite collection of libraries, the most recent addition to which is 4RDF, a library for the parsing, querying, and storage of RDF. [Oct. 11, 2000]
Super Model
Leigh Dodds
Growing interest in RDF is seeing renewed work to increase understanding of the specification, including a move to separate RDF's simple data model from its oft-maligned syntax. [Sep. 20, 2000]
Going to Extremes
Liora Alschuler
Geeks in tweed and metadata maniacs, shapers of the future of structured information representation. The recent Extreme Markup Languages conference had it all. Liora Alschuler was there and reports back on the Topic Maps and RDF head-to-head. [Sep. 13, 2000]
Distributed XML
Edd Dumbill
In this speech to the XML World 2000 conference in Boston, XML.com Editor Edd Dumbill gives an overview of the integrated future of XML and the Web, and the role that SOAP and RDF will play in that vision. [Sep. 6, 2000]
Instant RDF?
Leigh Dodds
RDF has some devoted followers, but is yet to hit the XML mainstream. Many believe this is because of its complicated syntax. XML-Deviant investigates the quest for "instant RDF". [Aug. 30, 2000]
ebXML: Assembling the Rubik's Cube
Alan Kotok
The fourth meeting of the Electronic Business XML working group sees the intiative make good progress. But will the group be able to meet its self-imposed 18-month deadline? [Aug. 16, 2000]
Putting RDF to Work
Edd Dumbill
Tool and API support for the Resource Description Framework is slowly coming of age. Edd Dumbill takes a look at RDFDB, one of the most exciting new RDF toolkits. [Aug. 9, 2000]
Investigating the Infoset
Leigh Dodds
XML's syntax was invented before its data model, but the XML Infoset specification is seeking to plug the gap and formalize the data model. The XML-Deviant examines what the Infoset is, and what people think of it so far. [Aug. 2, 2000]
Even More Extensible
Alan Kotok
Since our first survey of XML business vocabularies in February this year, the number of entries in our tables has more than doubled, highlighting the large push forward in vertical and cross-industry standardization activity. [Aug. 2, 2000]
Syndicating XML
Edd Dumbill
This special issue of XML.com focuses on XML's application in syndication, including XML news formats, ICE, and syndicating web site headlines with RSS. [Jul. 21, 2000]
XML in News Syndication
Edd Dumbill
XML has found many applications in the news industry for overcoming the challenges posed by the Web. This article examines the technologies, and looks at the future of news syndication with XML. [Jul. 17, 2000]
eSyndication: Heterogeneity Rules!
Mani Manickam
Syndication is a growing force in Internet business, and XML is right at the heart of this new technology. This article looks at syndication applications and the requirements for a scalable syndication solution. [Jul. 17, 2000]
RSS Modularization
Leigh Dodds
The popularity of RSS, the lightweight XML headline syndication format, is provoking moves to extend and advance its feature set. XML-Deviant reports on proposals and their connection with RDF and Namespaces. [Jul. 5, 2000]
XML DevCon 2000 Reports
XML DevCon 2000 took place in June 2000 in New York. XML.com reported live from the show, covering the latest vendor and product news. [Jul. 5, 2000]
Vendor Update: IBM and Sun
Edd Dumbill
Vendors IBM and Sun are both committed to XML, and have donated substantial code to the XML community through Apache. We talked to both organizations about their plans for XML product support, and what they have lined up for the rest of this year. [Jun. 26, 2000]
XML Europe 2000 Reports
Edd Dumbill
Held from 12th-16th June in Paris, France, the XML Europe 2000 conference demonstrated the continuing increase in innovation and application of XML. We reported daily from the show all week. [Jun. 21, 2000]
XML: A Disruptive Technology
Simon St. Laurent
XML is placing increasingly heavy loads on the existing technical infrastructure of the Internet. This article charts some of the pressure points, and speculates on the benefits of an XML-specific foundation to the Internet. [Jun. 21, 2000]
Designing Schemas for Business to Business E-Commerce
Leigh Dodds
In a fast-paced session at XML Europe, Arofan Gregory, Lead Scientist and Manager of the XML Common Business Library, provided an overview of the role of XML Schemas in e-commerce and gave some guidelines for good design. [Jun. 15, 2000]
Standards and the Vendor
Leigh Dodds
This week, XML-Deviant comes from the XML Europe vendor panel discussion. Representatives from IBM, Sun and Microsoft fielded questions on their support for XML standards. [Jun. 15, 2000]
Getting Personal With CPExchange
Edd Dumbill
On Wednesday afternoon at XML Europe 2000, Brad Husick of Vignette introduced the work being done by the CPExchange group on XML descriptions for customer profiles. [Jun. 14, 2000]
Reconstructing DTD Best Practice
Leigh Dodds
In a presentation at XML Europe 2000, Henry Thompson examined current "best practice" in DTD design and provided a reinterpretation using XML Schemas. [Jun. 13, 2000]
ebXML Gathers Pace
Alan Kotok
A recent meeting of the ebXML initiative was able to demonstrate proof-of-concept technology of some of its early specifications. A third of the way through its allotted 18-month timetable, ebXML has made definite progress, but still has a long way to go. [May. 24, 2000]
Shaken, But Not That Stirred
Edd Dumbill
Although the XML Protocols Shakedown Panel at WWW9 in Amsterdam last week clarified the positions of the various participants, the session did not result in any clear consensus. [May. 24, 2000]
XML and Portals
Edd Dumbill
This month's XML.com Special Edition focuses on the role of XML in portals. XML plays a natural part in the process of aggregation and transformation of data that is core to the operation of a portal. [May. 15, 2000]
XML Portal Content Aggregation
Bryan Caporlette
Not all the information you need in your portal will be in XML. Sequoia's EXTRA schema allows routing of both XML and non-XML content into a portal server. [May. 15, 2000]
Speaking Your Language
Leigh Dodds
This week's column addresses the issue of internationalization in XML DTDs and schemas, as well as reporting on the latest initiative of the SML-DEV group to produce a simplified XML. [Apr. 19, 2000]
Moving Home: Portable Site Information
Lynn C. Rees
Web development frameworks are many and varied, but why should you have to rebuild your site structure for each one? XML comes to the rescue, in the form of the Portable Site Information project. [Mar. 22, 2000]
Being Resourceful
Leigh Dodds
Forget about making XML simpler, what about RDF? While some may love this specification, many others find it impenetrable. XML-Deviant probes the grumblings of XML-DEV about this controversial technology. [Mar. 8, 2000]
When XML Gets Ugly
Simon St. Laurent
What are the security consequences for a Web full of XML? Co-chair David Megginson used his keynote speech at XTech 2000 to focus on this issue. [Mar. 2, 2000]
Extensible and More
Alan Kotok
Two years after the XML 1.0 Recommendation, we see XML being applied in many areas—especially e-business. Alan Kotok takes a snapshot of XML e-business activity. [Feb. 23, 2000]
webMethods IPO Highlights Benefits Of Interoperability
Edd Dumbill
webMethods' IPO success underlines the promise of application interoperability through XML. But are vendors and standards bodies doing enough to promote XML interoperability? [Feb. 16, 2000]
Object Design becomes eXcelon Corp.
Simon St. Laurent
XML is here to stay: Object Design has renamed itself after its flagship XML product, eXcelon. Simon St.Laurent reports on the name change and eXcelon Corp.'s new range of XML products. [Feb. 2, 2000]
Schema Repositories: What's at Stake?
Liora Alschuler
Why exactly are schema repositories useful? How do Microsoft's BizTalk and OASIS's XML.org compare, and are they both missing the point? [Jan. 26, 2000]
XML E-Business Standards: Promises and Pitfalls
Robert Worden
The author analyzes the potential dangers of competing "standard" XML e-business vocabularies, and proposes a way forward that allows companies to tread a middle ground. [Jan. 5, 2000]
XML.com's Year in Review
Edd Dumbill
During this year we have seen the establishment of essential core technologies and the formation of several wide-reaching XML initiatives in the business world. We review what has been achieved in 1999, and what must come next in 2000. [Dec. 22, 1999]
Which Mailing List Should You Join?
Edd Dumbill
Some of the best and most up to date help on programming with XML can be found in mailing lists and newsgroups. Our guide can help you to choose the right forum in which to get involved. [Dec. 1, 1999]
Less Is More In E-Business: The XML/edi Group
David Webber, Alan Kotok
The XML/edi Group's "XML for E-Business Initiative" seeks to deliver on the promise of XML for the many businesses currently unable to use established electronic business mechanisms. In this article, the authors explain the initiative and argue strongly for simplicity in XML specifications. [Nov. 10, 1999]
The XML/edi Group's XML for E-Business Initiative
Alan Kotok, David Webber
[Nov. 10, 1999]
Examining CommerceNet's eCo Framework
Edd Dumbill
The eCo Framework Project from CommerceNet will provide a fundamental level of integration and interoperability among e-commerce applications that are written for different vertical markets. Edd Dumbill analyzes the project's two key documents: the eCo Semantic Recommendations and the eCo Framework Specification. [Oct. 27, 1999]
The Making of the DocBook DTD
Dale Dougherty
The DocBook DTD grew out of the Davenport Group, and many of the people who contributed to this DTD for computer documentation have gone on to take leading roles in XML development. [Oct. 20, 1999]
XML Inter-Application Protocols
Edd Dumbill
Last week, XML.com reported on a talk by Tim O'Reilly, in which he discussed the next-generation of web-centric applications. This week, Edd Dumbill presents a case why XML is already in a position to form the links between these services. [Oct. 13, 1999]
Tracing XML-based Bank Transactions
Alan Kotok
Does XML make money laundering easier? Alan Kotok looks into how the Web's new banking and investment services, many based on XML vocabularies, might help to catch the bad guys. [Sep. 29, 1999]
Using XML for Object Persistence
Ralf Westphal
In this tutorial on object persistence and XML, Ralf Westphal explains object persistence and details some of the issues involved in maintaining an object's data, hierarchy, and structure. He then shows how to create your own XML data format for serializing objects. [Sep. 8, 1999]
CBL: Ecommerce Componentry
Dale Dougherty
In this audio interview, Bob Glushko of Commerce One talks about the Common Business Library (CBL) as a set of building blocks for XML document types and schemas used in ecommerce. [Aug. 18, 1999]
Bluestone Software's XML Suite: Promising App, Rough Around the Edges
Barry Nance
Our reviewer tested Bluestone's XML Suite (XML Server and Visual XML) on the Windows NT platform, simulating a two-way exchange of business information between a book publisher and book stores. The results were encouraging (with a few caveats). [Aug. 18, 1999]
Building an XML-based Metasearch Engine on the Server
Ralf Westphal
Ralf shows you how to move the metasearch process to the server and deliver browser independent HTML to any client. [Jul. 8, 1999]
Validity
Norman Walsh
What does it mean for a document to be valid? [Jul. 1, 1999]
Syntax
Norman Walsh
What does an XML schema look like, then? [Jul. 1, 1999]
DTDs
Norman Walsh
Aren't DTDs the Schema for XML? [Jul. 1, 1999]
Getting Started with XML Programming, Part II
Norman Walsh
Norman Walsh looks at how to program to use the DOM as programming-language-independent interface to documents. He shows how to interact with the DOM using Java. [May. 5, 1999]
P3P: An Emerging Privacy Standard
Lisa Rein
The W3C has released the latest draft of a privacy protocol that should let agents work smoothly between browsers and web sites, in accordance with the user's preferences. Also, Microsoft and Trust-E have developed a wizard to help site owners create privacy guidelines. [May. 5, 1999]
Privacy Statement for Lisa Rein
Lisa Rein
An example Privacy Policy generated by the Privacy Wizard. [May. 5, 1999]
Getting Started with XML Programming
Norman Walsh
How is processing an XML document really different than processing a plain old text file? [Apr. 21, 1999]
Sun, Adobe Post $90,000 Prize for XSL Implementation
Liora Alschuler
Frustrated with the slow pace of application development for rendering XML content, Sun Microsystems and Adobe are offering $90,000 in grants to individuals or corporations who can deliver applications to jumpstart XSL. [Mar. 15, 1999]
Low-Rent Virtual Reality with XML
Tim Bray
3DML is almost XML - though you wouldn't know it from its creator's marketing information. This 'economy' virtual reality language has some benefits that VRML doesn't, and proves that you can use XML to do some surprising things. [Jan. 19, 1999]
An Introduction to 3DML
Tim Bray
A detailed description of this alternative to VRML. [Jan. 19, 1999]
Understanding XSL
Norman Walsh
In part 3 of this tour of XSL, Norm looks at the XSL features needed to write a simple style sheet, and provides some exercises for continued learning about XSL. [Jan. 19, 1999]
XML Namespaces by Example
Tim Bray
The hows and whys of XML namespaces explained by a co-author of the specification, XML.com's technical editor Tim Bray. [Jan. 19, 1999]
XML and Standards Rescue Ship-to-Shore Telemedicine
Lisa Rein
Using XML and other standards-based technologies, seafarers are no longer out to sea when it comes to specialized medical care. [Dec. 19, 1998]
Proof of Concept: JABR Technologies' Consult98 Implementation
Lisa Rein, Tim Bray
Using XML and other standards-based technologies, seafarers are no longer out to sea when it comes to specialized medical care. (Part 3) [Dec. 19, 1998]
The doctor will see you now
Lisa Rein, Tim Bray
Using XML and other standards-based technologies, seafarers are no longer out to sea when it comes to specialized medical care. (Part 5) [Dec. 19, 1998]
Standards to the rescue!
Lisa Rein, Tim Bray
Using XML and other standards-based technologies, seafarers are no longer out to sea when it comes to specialized medical care. (Part 2) [Dec. 19, 1998]
How it works
Lisa Rein, Tim Bray
Using XML and other standards-based technologies, seafarers are no longer out to sea when it comes to specialized medical care. (Part 4) [Dec. 19, 1998]
XQL: Proposal for a new XML Query Language
Mark Walter
Debate over XML query languages could heat up as a Microsoft-led group proposes XQL as an alternative to XML-QL proposed by AT&T Labs. [Nov. 9, 1998]
Oracle plans XML support in 8i
Mark Walter
Oracle 8i's built-in XML support is the most extensive of any leading relational database to date, and XML.com has the details in this exclusive look at the new release. [Nov. 9, 1998]
The ICE Protocol: Automating the Exchange of Syndicated Content
Victor Votsch
XML.com's managing editor Victor Votsch takes a nuts and bolts look at this XML-based mechanism for automating the flow of digital content between business partners. [Oct. 30, 1998]
ICE Breaker
Dale Dougherty
The ICE 1.0 specification describes a transaction protocol for syndicated content distribution. [Oct. 29, 1998]
Microsoft Outlines XML Support in IE 5 Beta 2
Tim Bray
This week Microsoft announces the next beta of Internet Explorer 5.0. XML.com has the details of the browser's XML support. [Oct. 14, 1998]
A Technical Introduction to XML
Norman Walsh
What is XML? This introduction to XML is geared towards a reader with some HTML or SGML experience, although that experience is not absolutely necessary. This article is an update to A Guide to XML, which originally appeared in the Winter 1997 edition of the World Wide Web Journal. [Oct. 3, 1998]
What Is XML
Norman Walsh
Learn the basics of XML in this tutorial, suitable for beginners with XML. [Oct. 3, 1998]
What Do XML Documents Look Like?
Norman Walsh
Part of our introduction to the basics of XML, suitable for beginners. [Oct. 3, 1998]
Validity
Norman Walsh
[Oct. 3, 1998]
Pulling the Pieces Together
Norman Walsh
[Oct. 3, 1998]
Appendix: Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF)
Norman Walsh
[Oct. 3, 1998]
Building the Annotated XML Specification
Tim Bray
XML.com's technical editor explains the conceptual design and syntactical execution of our popular Annotated XML Specification. [Sep. 12, 1998]
How the Annotated XML Specification Works
Tim Bray
Tim describes the architecture of the AXML system and the design decisions he made. [Sep. 12, 1998]
Entities: What are They Good For?
Norman Walsh
What are entities in XML documents and how do I use them? The XML Q&A column has the answers. [Aug. 28, 1998]
Types of Entities
Norman Walsh
Part 1 of Norman Walsh's XML Q&A column on entities. [Aug. 28, 1998]
Entity Declarations, Attributes and Expansion
Norman Walsh
Part 2 of Norman Walsh's XML Q&A column on entities. [Aug. 28, 1998]
XML is Helping to Solve Real Estate Problem
Lisa Rein
A key application for the real estate industry is using XML to promote the exchange and aggregation of information for buyers of residential properties. [Aug. 12, 1998]
Junglee Tries to Tame the Data Jungle
Mark Walter
Amazon.com's recent acquisition of Junglee has inspired us to dust off a detailed backgrounder by XML.com's managing editor Mark Walter describing the company's products. [Aug. 5, 1998]
Handling Binary Data in XML Documents
Lisa Rein
Binary data can present some interesting problems. This article looks at ways to support binary data such as images in XML documents. [Jul. 24, 1998]
An Introduction to XML Linking
An introduction to the features and benefits of the XML Linking Language specification, by its co-editor Eve Maler. This is a RealAudio presentation. [Jun. 10, 1998]
RDF and Metadata
Tim Bray
Not excited about metadata? XML.com's technical editor Tim Bray thinks you should be and he explains why. He presents RDF, a spec that standardizes how to supply metadata on the Web. [Jun. 9, 1998]
Adobe's PGML Proposal is Built on PDF and XML
Adobe Systems has submitted a proposal to the W3C that could result in better-quality Web-based graphics that do not require specialized plug-ins or viewers. [Apr. 16, 1998]
The Annotated XML Specification
Tim Bray, Jean Paoli, C.M. Sperberg-McQueen
If you want to understand XML, you have to read the specification. However, to really get inside the specification and understand why it says what it does, you need an expert guide. Tim Bray, co-editor of the XML 1.0 specification, shares his knowledge and insights about XML, SGML and the working group behind the specification in this annotated version of the document. [Apr. 15, 1998]
Perspecta takes fresh approach to using XML metadata to navigate content
Liora Alschuler
Perspecta, a San Francisco start-up selling technology first developed at the MIT Media Lab, has added XML support to the company’s SmartContent System, a platform for managing and navigating large information repositories. [Jan. 10, 1998]
Microsoft, Inso, ArborText propose style sheet language for XML
Interest in Extensible Markup Language (XML), or simplified SGML, continued last month as a contingent of vendors, led by Microsoft, proposed to the World Wide Web Consortium a style sheet language for XML documents. [Oct. 20, 1997]
Introduction
Dan Connolly, Rohit Khare
Guest Editor Dan Connolly and Series Editor Rohit Khare team up to herald the appearance of XML and discuss its evolution. [Oct. 2, 1997]
A Guide to XML
Norman Walsh
If you are looking for a good overview of XML, with sufficient technical detail, then this article from the World Wide Web Journal is a good place to start. [Oct. 2, 1997]
Chemical Markup Language
Peter Murray-Rust
In this article, we describe the role of the XM L-LANG specification in supporting this. Examples are supplied explaining how components can be managed and how documents can be processed, with an emphasis on scientific and technical publishing. [Oct. 2, 1997]
Codifying Medical Records in XML
Thomas L. Lincoln, M.D.
This paper was given as a talk at the "XML Mixer" in La Jolla, California in late July '97, before a combined audience of clinicians, computing profess ionals, and vendors of document processing software. [Oct. 2, 1997]
XML: From Bytes to Characters
Bert Bos
This article defines, in some detail, how text is stored in an XML file. It also describes how an XML file is encoded for transportation over the Internet, and upon arrival, decoded again. [Oct. 2, 1997]
