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79 lines
3.7 KiB
79 lines
3.7 KiB
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<!-- Created with AOLpress/2.0 -->
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<TITLE>XML for Dummies, Forward</TITLE>
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<BODY>
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<P>
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We finally got Tim Berners-Lee to tell us why he invented the Web one day:
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first, the Web, this universal information space, stimulates and empowers
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each person that gets access to it. Sharing information is fun! Second, it
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facilitates understanding that is so critical to working in groups--groups
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of all sizes, from a family to an enterprise to a nation. Finally, the machines
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in this information space can eliminate the tedium of working with
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information--printing it out, copying it, finding it--and free people to
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use their creative energy. His gut feeling was that as the computers take
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on more of the work, it will revolutionize our ability to solve problems.
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And he was right. The Web is the driving force in the digital age.
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<P>
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It's based on a simple model: global hypertext. Start with the sort of every-day
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documents that people are used to, and add one killer feature: links that
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take you anywhere in the world.
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<P>
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The early success of HTML--before tables, fonts, and scripting--shows that
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links are more critical than all the powerful desktop publishing features.
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<P>
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Of course the desktop publishing features came: after HTML 2.0 came HTML
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3.2 with tables and fonts. HTML was designed for use with stylesheets, but
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they didn't hit the scene until HTML was at version 4.0. By then, the black
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art of page design using stupid HTML tricks and images had become quite mature,
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and stylesheets faced stiff competition.
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<P>
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But have no fear: stylesheets are here to stay. They're indispensible for
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good information management.
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<P>
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And that's the name of the game: <EM>information management</EM>. Expect
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to hear it more than "money management" pretty soon.
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<P>
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The electronic commerce revolution is simply a result of businesses exploiting
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the increase in efficiency of using the web over traditional media like paper
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and the phone.
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<P>
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Stylesheets are an example of this increase in efficiency: they preserve
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your investment in design, and this is work you can't <EM>afford</EM> to
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throw away and re-create time after time. Re-use is more than just a good
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idea: it's a survival tactic.
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<P>
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This is where XML comes in. You see, it's not just that being linked to the
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community is critical and you can't afford not to use stylesheets: unless
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you're doing the most mundane tasks, you probably can't afford to force-fit
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your information into HTML and sift it back out again all the time.
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<P>
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XML is the evolutionary successor to HTML, in a "less is more" sort of way.
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If you're thinking that XML is all the stuff from HTML plus a few more things,
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think again. It's the same pointy-brackets, tags, and attributes, but when
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it comes to tag names, the slate is wiped clean. It's like taking the training
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wheels off.
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<P>
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That can be a little scary. Until you get the hang of it: structured documents.
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Then it sets you free!
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<P>
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That's where this book comes in.
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<P>
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XML isn't really new technology--it's based on SGML and similar systems that
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date back to the 1960s. These systems have always been very powerful, but
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they have also been costly. So they were only worth the trouble for projects
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like aircraft manuals. But as the world goes digital, almost everybody is
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taking on information management tasks nearly the size of an aircraft manual.
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And XML is simpler--and cheaper--because it benefits from all this experience:
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the parts of SGML that didn't prove critical just aren't in XML at all!
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<P>
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XML is just the right tool for modern information management. It's been in
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the shop for years and years in one form or another, but now it's hitting
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the Web scene in force. I hope you learn to use this tool like a pro.
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<P>
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Dan Connolly<BR>
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W3C Architecture Domain Lead<BR>
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Austin, TX<BR>
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February, 1998
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</BODY></HTML>
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