1. XML: Extensible Markup Language BA 471 3-6-06 Presented by: Tara Barnes, Lauren Jones, Ryan Kline

2. Agenda What is XML? Who invented XML, when and why. Goals for XML. Different kinds of XML documents. Tools developed around XML. Pegasus Solutions Inc.

3. What is XML? It is an Extensible Markup Language, it describes a class of data objects called XML documents and partially describes the behavior of computer programs which process them. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. XML is a meta-language, which is a language that describes new markup languages.

4. Who Invented XML? XML was developed by an XML working group know as the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Formed under the World Wide Web Consortium. The Consortium was founded in October of 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee. It was made up of participants from all over the world.

5. When and Why? The initial XML draft was presented in 1996 at a conference in Boston. The official W3C specification (XML 1.0) was presented in 1998. It was created so that richly structured documents could be used over the web.

6. Goals for XML There are 10 design goals for XML: 1. XML shall be straightforwardly usable over the internet. 2. XML shall support a wide variety of applications. 3. XML shall be compatible with SGML. 4. It shall be easy to write programs which process XML documents. 5. The number of optional features in XML is to be kept to the absolute minimum, ideally zero.

7. Goals Continued… 6. XML documents should be human-legible and reasonably clear. 7. The XML design should be prepared quickly. 8. The design of XML shall be formal and concise. 9. XML documents shall be easy to create. 10. Abbreviation in XML markup is of minimal importance.

8. XML Documents These documents are composed of markup and content. There are five kinds of markup that occur in an XML document: 1. Elements 2. Entity References 3. Comments 4. Processing Instructions 5. Document Type Declarations

9. Elements The most common form of markup. Delimited by angle brackets, most elements identify the nature of the comments they surround. Example: Tove Jani Reminder Don't forget me this weekend!

10. Document Type Declarations A large % of XML specification deals with various sorts of declarations. These declarations allow a document to communicate meta-information to the computer program about its content. There are 4 types of declarations: 1. Element type 2. Attribute list 3. Entity 4. Notations

11. Tools Developed Around XML XBRL: Extensible Business Reporting Language Internet Explorer: built to automatically identify XML documents. SQL Server capabilities: able to import and export XML. Java Programs. Microsoft Office.

12. XBRL It is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data. Allows accountants and regulatory agencies to identify items that are unique to the business reporting environment. XML-based template that focuses specifically on the requirements of business reporting.

13. Microsoft & XML Microsoft starting integrating XML into the software in 2004. By integrating XML into Microsoft Office it has helped to improve customers productivity. Jean Paoli, Senior Director, XML Architecture, Microsoft. Paoli: “XML is everywhere today. People no longer ask, "Should we use XML?" Instead they're asking, "How do we use XML?“ ”

14. Pegasus Solutions Inc. The Dallas-based company currently provides links to more than 38,000 hotels. By switching to an XML based network, travel agencies and hotels would experience easier connections and the ability to provide more in depth data about individual hotels. Andrew Hastings, a hotel analyst at Gomez Advisors Inc. in Waltham, Mass., said he believes XML "is becoming the default standard of the industry that's going to allow [hotels] to become much more nimble and reach much wider audiences."

15. Lessons Learned XML is a meta-language. XML is a markup language much like HTML. XML was designed to describe data. XML supports a wide variety of applications. XML is human friendly. XML documents are easy to create.

16. Sources http://www.xml.com/pub/a/98/10/guide0.html?page=2# AEN58 http://www.xml.com/pub/a/98/10/guide0.html?page=2# AEN58 http://xml.silmaril.ie/basics/whatisxml/ http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/ http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-04-1999/jw-04- xml.html http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-04-1999/jw-04- xml.html http://www.xbrl.org/Home/ http://www.online- learning.com/papers/whyxml/N75.html http://www.online- learning.com/papers/whyxml/N75.html