YOUR FIRST HTML PAGE - IWritten by Amrit Hallan
I often hear and read about various web authoring tools available that can help you create coolest web pages in a jiffy, for example, FrontPage2000, Dreanweaver, CoffeeCup etc. But let me tell you one thing, there is nothing like using a simple text editor for creating web pages, and believe me, you can come up with better pages through hand-coding. Most of GUI-based web page authoring tools have their own fancy ways of generating HTML code, and by time they are through, you have a page three times size of what you would have had, had you simply written HTML commands. Mathematically, if you generate a page through FrontPage2000, for instance, and it's size is 30 units [bytes, kilobytes], you can have SAME look by hand-coding, and size will be 9-10 units. Yes, this is amount of junk code generated. On Net, size does matter. When for first time I saw source-code of an HTML page, I got so scared that I quickly closed window. Then gradually, my web developer friends talked me into learning ropes line by line, and within a week, I felt like an HTML dude. I'm not exaggerating. It really is so easy. So if you are psychologically ready, and would like to give it a try, follow these steps and in about 10 minutes, you'll have your first [if you have never done it before] hand-coded HTML page. Don't get disheartened with look, I understand you could be used to fancy-frills of your tool. Just remember one thing, an HTML page is mostly made of tags. There is a beginning tag: , and an ending tag . Note forward slash in ending tag. In this first article, we'll be discussing basic tags. In proceeding articles, we'll go deeper and deeper. Another thing before we progress: get hold of HomeSite, if you can. It's a very neat HTML coder - very humble. It let's you run amuck with your hand-coding, but now and then, provides help in form of drop-down menus, so that you do not have to memorize all those spooky options associated with HTML tags. It automatically pops out closing tag so you don't miss it. Check it out at http://www.allaire.com.
| | Beginning XML - Part II (XML Style Language)Written by Amrit Hallan
In order to work with XML, it becomes necessary to know a little about XML Style Language.XSL provides for two forms of output flow objects. The first set is set of displayable objects defined for HTML, which allows XML data to be mapped into HTML-aware browsers. The second set is based on DSSSL-O specifications (Document Style Semantics and Specification Language - Online), and allows XML data to be mapped to DSSSL-based text formatters, such as JADE. Both sets of flow objects are described using XML markup. XSL defines a set of rules which define a set of actions that are to be associated with various patterns of target elements. The selection of target elements can be qualified in a number of ways. For example, XSL allows different rules to be applied to same element type dependent on what its ancestors, siblings or contents are. In addition, processing rules can be specified for application when particular attribute values have been associated with an element, or when element has specific contents. This means that specific rules can be applied to elements with unique identifiers or identified content types (classes). XSL allows for definition of sharable sets of style rules. A style rule applies a set of processing characteristics to a target element without creating a new flow object. Where same style is to be applied to a number of elements, a uniquely named style can be defined for future reference. This provides XSL with facilities for creating cascading sets of style sheet specifications similar in effect to those defined in more limited Cascading Style Sheet specification used to process HTML documents. XSL style sheets can use ECMAScript programming language to evaluate contents of elements or attributes prior to or during creation of flow objects. ECMAScript is a variant of JavaScript and Jscript that has been formally defined by European Computer Manufacturers Association. It allows tools containing a Java Virtual Machine to process data contained within an XML document. The language has been designed to support only a limited set of processing side-effects to ensure that evaluation cannot inhibit progressive rendering of large documents. Now coming back to XML, it was originally developed to allow structured documents of type typically encoded in SGML to be delivered over Internet as an integrated part of World Wide Web of documents. Typically these documents require specification of element types over and above those permitted in HTML (e.g. specific elements for parts number and other forms of article identification, prices and other forms of calculable measurements, and special classes of displayable text such as health warnings and controlled task lists). XML allows users to define their own sets of document elements and describe how each of these elements should be displayed on a screen in conformance with supplier's house style.
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