Extensible Extensions
So, lately I've been teaching myself more about Web design, and one of the biggest things that I've been trying to learn is XML. The reason I've been trying to teach myself XML is because it is the parent language to XHTML, which will soon replace HTML as the basic web page designing language.
XML, however, is more than just a language to create web pages. XML is a language that allows code writers to develop their own "tags" (technically called elements) to better define the content within the page. These elements can then be defined within an XSL document to change the format of the elements. The really nifty thing about XSL is its ability to "transform" one XML document into a multitude of different XML vocabularies, like XHTML.
Anyhow, for the past few weeks, in my fleeting spare time, I have been studying XML and how to use it to my advantage. I have only made two XML pages, and each has its own XSL style sheet to go along with it, but I am well on my way to better understanding basic XML. I would like to learn a little more, however, and will hopefully have time to learn more this summer.
The neatest thing that I've come into contact with has to be XForms. XForms are a new type of Web forms meant to replace basic HTML forms, which are out of date and difficult to manage without knowing JavaScript. As I do not know much about JavaScript, the idea of being able to use a form without knowing JavaScript intrigued me. I am hoping to learn more about JavaScript this summer, but as of now my knowledge is slim. Either way, I have been tinkering with XForms a little lately, and even though they first upset me because they did not seem to make sense, I quickly found my error and have been attempting to learn more. The problems currently are numerous: XForms are not supported on IE7, so I had to download Firefox; XForms are very new, so finding examples is very difficult; and finally, the only good source of information of XForms is the World Wide Web Consortium, but the language used on the site is impossibly technical and difficult to read. Needless to say, as of right now, my knowledge of XForms is so slim that I do not even know enough to post anything online yet.
Otherwise, my life has been fairly ordinary lately. Besides missing Megan way too much, school has been progressing on a much more normal basis. I'm sleeping again, though still not as much as I should be. I'm finally getting back on my feet financially, and I think that I should be able to stop saying I'm broke by this time next month.
I come home for spring break on February 25, and I will very much enjoy the much needed break.
Well, once again, I was unable to be brief, but I am finally finished talking.
Later,
Joshua
XML, however, is more than just a language to create web pages. XML is a language that allows code writers to develop their own "tags" (technically called elements) to better define the content within the page. These elements can then be defined within an XSL document to change the format of the elements. The really nifty thing about XSL is its ability to "transform" one XML document into a multitude of different XML vocabularies, like XHTML.
Anyhow, for the past few weeks, in my fleeting spare time, I have been studying XML and how to use it to my advantage. I have only made two XML pages, and each has its own XSL style sheet to go along with it, but I am well on my way to better understanding basic XML. I would like to learn a little more, however, and will hopefully have time to learn more this summer.
The neatest thing that I've come into contact with has to be XForms. XForms are a new type of Web forms meant to replace basic HTML forms, which are out of date and difficult to manage without knowing JavaScript. As I do not know much about JavaScript, the idea of being able to use a form without knowing JavaScript intrigued me. I am hoping to learn more about JavaScript this summer, but as of now my knowledge is slim. Either way, I have been tinkering with XForms a little lately, and even though they first upset me because they did not seem to make sense, I quickly found my error and have been attempting to learn more. The problems currently are numerous: XForms are not supported on IE7, so I had to download Firefox; XForms are very new, so finding examples is very difficult; and finally, the only good source of information of XForms is the World Wide Web Consortium, but the language used on the site is impossibly technical and difficult to read. Needless to say, as of right now, my knowledge of XForms is so slim that I do not even know enough to post anything online yet.
Otherwise, my life has been fairly ordinary lately. Besides missing Megan way too much, school has been progressing on a much more normal basis. I'm sleeping again, though still not as much as I should be. I'm finally getting back on my feet financially, and I think that I should be able to stop saying I'm broke by this time next month.
I come home for spring break on February 25, and I will very much enjoy the much needed break.
Well, once again, I was unable to be brief, but I am finally finished talking.
Later,
Joshua
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