Welcome to the XML FAQ
This is the list of Frequently-Asked Questions about the
Extensible Markup Language (XML). It has answers to most of
the common questions people ask about XML. If you are seeking
answers to questions about related areas such as HTML, SGML,
CGI scripts, PHP, JSP, Java, databases, or penguins, you may
find some pointers, but you should probably look elsewhere as
well.
The FAQ is intended as a first resource for users,
authors, developers, and the interested reader. Details of its
organisation, contributors, availability, translations, and
revisions are in the Admin section. Updates to the FAQ are
notified to the mailing lists and newsgroups listed in question A.12, ‘Where can I discuss implementation and development of
XML?’.
The full document is available for download in many
different formats: see the page ‘Availability’ for a list.
Seán
McGrath suggested:
‘It would be great if FAQs had a WTF section to direct
the eyes of the exasperated to Q's with a high desperation
index :-)’, so here are the top
dozen most-wanted:
- question A.1, ‘What is XML?’
- question C.24, ‘How do I control formatting and appearance?’
- question C.11, ‘What's a Document Type Definition (DTD) and where do
I get one?’
- question B.4, ‘Where can I get an XML browser?’
- question A.4, ‘What is SGML?’
- question C.30, ‘What are the special characters in XML?’
- question A.2, ‘What is a markup language?’
- question A.3, ‘What is XML for (aka Where should I use
XML)?’
- question D.6, ‘What XML software is available?’
- question C.16, ‘I keep hearing about alternatives to DTDs. What's a
Schema?’
- question D.5, ‘What's a namespace?’
- question E.3, ‘Not the XML FAQ’
Earlier links
If you are following links from earlier versions of the FAQ,
they should be resolved to questions here. Please check the Address
box at the top of your browser window for the ID reference after the
# sign at the end of the URI. Please update your link to
the new page address.
| Old ID References |
New links |
| attriborelem |
Which should I use in my DTD, attributes or
elements? |
| db |
How do I get XML into or out of my database? |
| documentElement .documentElement |
Can a root element type be explicitly declared in the
DTD? |
| dtdconv |
I've already got SGML DTDs: how do I convert them for
use with XML? |
| edi |
What's the story on XML and EDI? |
| exec |
How do I execute or run an XML file? |
| FAQ-ACRO, acro |
What is XML? |
| FAQ-API, api, dom |
What's my information? DATA or TEXT? |
| FAQ-AUTHOR, Author |
Authors (including writers of HTML and Web page
owners) |
| FAQ-BROWSER, browser |
Where can I get an XML browser? |
| FAQ-CASE, case |
Which parts of an XML document are
case-sensitive? |
| FAQ-CHARENTS, charents |
Can XML use non-Latin characters? |
| FAQ-CSINCLUDES, csincludes |
Can I (and my authors) still use client-side
inclusions? |
| FAQ-DEF, def |
What is XML for (aka ‘Where should I use
XML’)? |
| FAQ-DEVELOPER, Developer |
Developers and Implementors (including WebMasters and
server operators) |
| FAQ-DOCTYPE, doctype |
What's a Document Type Definition (DTD) and where do
I get one? |
| FAQ-DTD, dtd |
What else has changed between SGML and XML? |
| FAQ-EXIST, exist |
How can I make my existing HTML files work in
XML? |
| FAQ-EXTEND, extend |
Why not just carry on extending HTML? |
| FAQ-FORM, app |
Appendices |
| FAQ-GENERAL, General |
Basics: general information about XML |
| FAQ-GRAPH, graph |
How do I use graphics in XML? |
| FAQ-HOWTO, FAQ-MORE, more |
Where do I find more information about XML? |
| FAQ-HTML, html |
What is HTML? |
| FAQ-HYPERTEXT, hypertext |
How will XML affect my document links? |
| FAQ-IMPORT, import |
Why is XML such an important development? |
| FAQ-JAVA, java |
Can I use JavaScript, ActiveX, etc in XML
files? |
| FAQ-LEARN, learn |
I'm used to authoring and serving HTML. Can I learn
XML easily? |
| FAQ-MAILINGLIST, mailinglist |
Where can I discuss implementation and development of
XML? |
| FAQ-MATH, math |
Can I encode mathematics using XML? |
| FAQ-META, metadata |
How does XML handle metadata? |
| FAQ-OWNS, owns |
Who is responsible for XML? |
| FAQ-REPLACE, replace |
Does XML replace HTML? |
| FAQ-SAME, same |
Aren't XML, SGML, and HTML all the same
thing? |
| FAQ-SGML, sgml |
What is SGML? |
| FAQ-SPACE, space |
How does XML handle white-space in my
documents? |
| FAQ-SPEC, spec |
Where's the spec? |
| FAQ-SSINCLUDES, ssincludes |
Can I still use server-side inclusions? |
| FAQ-STYLE, style |
How do I control formatting and appearance? |
| FAQ-SUBSET, subset |
If XML is just a subset of SGML, can I use XML files
directly with existing SGML tools? |
| FAQ-SWCHX, mime |
Do I have to change any of my server software to work
with XML? |
| FAQ-SWITCH, switch |
Do I have to switch from SGML or HTML to XML? |
| FAQ-TERMS, terms |
I'm trying to understand the XML Spec: why does it
have such difficult terminology? |
| FAQ-USER, User |
Existing users (including everyone who uses a
browser) |
| FAQ-USEXML, usexml |
What do I have to do to use XML? |
| FAQ-VALIDWF, validwf |
What are these terms DTDless, valid, and
well-formed? |
| FAQ-WORD, word |
Why should I use XML? (aka ‘What is XML
for?)’ |
| FAQ-XMLDOC, xmldoc |
What does an XML document actually look like (inside)? |
| FAQ-XMLOFFER, xmloffer |
Should I use XML instead of HTML? |
| FAQ-XMLSOFT, xmlsoft |
What XML software is available? |
| htmlxml |
Is there an XML version of HTML? |
| includes |
How do I include one DTD (or fragment) in
another? |
| java-gen |
Can I use Java to create or manage XML files? |
| langs javascript cobol pl/1 pl/i pascal perl python ruby tcl/tk ppl differences |
What is the difference between XML and C or
C++ or Java? |
| makeup |
Does XML let me make up my own tags? |
| namespaces |
What's a namespace? |
| owndtd |
How do I write my own DTD? |
| prelearn |
Do I have to know HTML or SGML before I learn
XML? |
| schemata dtds xsds differences |
I keep hearing about alternatives to DTDs. What's a
Schema? |
| test |
Is there a conformance test suite for XML
processors? |
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The XML FAQ