xml tutorial
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML. XML is playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of data on the Web and elsewhere.
- XML Holds Data, Nothing More
- XML Separates Structure from Formatting
- XML Promotes Data Sharing
- XML is Human-Readable
- XML is Free
Parsing
In order for an XML document to be used by an application it must be parsed into a usable structure. XML parsers aka XML processors provide access to the structure and content of XML documents. There are broadly two categories of parsers:
Serial Parsers – This category of parsers analyzes the XML document sequentially and triggers appropriate functions when specific events occur. A common name in this category is the Simple API for XML, SAX.
Tree Parsers – XML document can be represented by tree structure. This category of parsers creates a complete tree structure in memory out of the XML document and provides an API to access the nodes of this tree. A common name in this category is the Document Object Model (DOM).
