XML
What is XML?
XML is a markup language for documents containing structured information.
Structured information contains both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication of what role that content plays (for example, content in a section heading has a different meaning from content in a footnote, which means something different than content in a figure caption or content in a database table, etc.). Almost all documents have some structure.
A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. The XML specification defines a standard way to add markup to documents.
So XML is Just Like HTML?
No. In HTML, both the tag semantics and the tag set are fixed. An <h1> is always a first level heading and the tag <ati.product.code> is meaningless. The W3C, in conjunction with browser vendors and the WWW community, is constantly working to extend the definition of HTML to allow new tags to keep pace with changing technology and to bring variations in presentation (stylesheets) to the Web. However, these changes are always rigidly confined by what the browser vendors have implemented and by the fact that backward compatibility is paramount. And for people who want to disseminate information widely, features supported by only the latest releases of Netscape and Internet Explorer are not useful.
XML specifies neither semantics nor a tag set. In fact XML is really a meta-language for describing markup languages. In other words, XML provides a facility to define tags and the structural relationships between them. Since there's no predefined tag set, there can't be any preconceived semantics. All of the semantics of an XML document will either be defined by the applications that process them or by stylesheets.
Why XML?
In order to appreciate XML, it is important to understand why it was created. XML was created so that richly structured documents could be used over the web. The only viable alternatives, HTML and SGML, are not practical for this purpose.
HTML, as we've already discussed, comes bound with a set of semantics and does not provide arbitrary structure.
SGML provides arbitrary structure, but is too difficult to implement just for a web browser. Full SGML systems solve large, complex problems that justify their expense. Viewing structured documents sent over the web rarely carries such justification.
This is not to say that XML can be expected to completely replace SGML. While XML is being designed to deliver structured content over the web, some of the very features it lacks to make this practical, make SGML a more satisfactory solution for the creation and long-time storage of complex documents. In many organizations, filtering SGML to XML will be the standard procedure for web delivery.
About Programming
Add cool features to websites, or building custom web applications to make life easier
D3Script offers professional web programming services to build things like:
Searchable Databases
Online Forms & Registration
Surveys
Custom Web Applications
If you're looking for adding some functionality to your website and easier control , look no further !
Just contact us for more details ...
About Designing
Our Web Development Lab designs and builds web sites and web applications. We also offer support for people using Macromedia Dreamweaver, and more.
The best web designers , and the best price.
Here at D3Script , we offer a full range of professional web services, including:
Site Design & Redesign
Usabilty Testing
Accesibility Consulting
Site Maintenance and Updating
UConn Template Conversion
Our professional artists and programmers collaborate to deliver stunning websites that meet the individual requirements of our clients.
Whether you're looking for a traditional UConn look with a few tweaks, or a highly creative identity, D3Script is here to help building a site that is both visually compelling, and in compliance with all University Web Standards.
Take a look at the sites listed in WORKS section, I think you'll find that our work speaks for itself. If you have any questions, you can contact us right now.
How much does it cost?
Unless you are purchasing a fixed price solution, prices can range depending on the caliber of designer you have chosen, and the type and size of solution you are after.
A typical small business website can range from between 1500 LE for a basic site not including hosting and domain name, to over 8000 LE for an integrated e-commerce and business resource planning tool. Larger projects usually begin at around 6000 LE , and quite easily push to 6 or 7 figures, given these projects are quite often integrated to existing (legacy) IT systems or core marketing activities.
If your project has the potential to increase revenues or reduce costs, then work on a return on investment (ROI) basis. A site that costs you 8000 LE to produce, but produces more than 10,000 LE in value to the business over the course of a year is entirely viable for ANY business .
Work with your developer early to discuss the ROI potential for your project.
Some developers also offer convenient payment options to further support the ROI argument.
If you are comfortable with a partnership, then why not suggest a Contra or revenue share arrangement to share both the risk and reward? This is a perfectly legitimate arrangement for online developments and is more common than most would think.
When dealing with potential developers or a chosen partner, provide a definitive brief and request an itemised breakdown of hours and rates. Industry standard rates are anywhere between 80 LE and 400 LE per hour depending on the designer/developer. Remember, you do get what you pay for, but without fully understanding both your requirements and the process to be undertaken, mistakes can be made if the fit between developer and client is inadequate.
Are our works compatible with other browsers ?
We answer proudly with "YES" , it's from our priorities to test our works on alternative browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Netscape, etc... before presenting them to our customers.
How do you shape up?
Use of alternative browsers has only been going up, they are no longer a niche community made up of "techies" and anti-Microsoft advocates, they are your everyday user, your potential customers.
If you haven't done so already I would suggest that you look at your website in some of the other common browsers available. These include:
Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org/download.html): This is currently the top browser after IE6 and it is one of the most feature rich browsers available today. I would personally suggest looking into Firefox Mozilla's next generation browser as apposed to the entire Mozilla suite due to its end users friendliness and feature rich environment.
Opera (http://www.opera.com/): The Opera browser has been making its way up the competitive ladder of the browser arena since 2000 when Opera Software ASA released Opera 5. Though it is free to download and use if you want to access some of the browser's features you are required to pay a small registration fee.
Netscape (http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/): Since Netscape provided the code base for Mozilla in 1998 when they made the source code for their flag ship product Netscape Communicator open-source there is little difference between the two browsers. Still it never hurts to see how things shape up between the two, and since they are ultimately two different browsers checking with them both is not a bad idea.
Additionally there are programs available that can test your site for you in different browsers and screen resolutions and return their findings. One such program is Browser Photo (http://www.netmechanic.com/browser-index.htm) from NetMechanic.
What can you do?
Okay so lets say that our site www.ihaveanerror.com comes up with a couple of errors that cause it to render incorrectly when we look at it in some of the alternative browsers. How are we going to fix the problem? Well the first thing we want to do is stay away from any propriety tags a certain browser type might offer. These tags will only work properly in the browser they are designed for and may cause trouble for you in others. An example of a proprietary tag would be <marquee> in Internet Explorer.
Another thing you should make a habit of is to validate your pages through the World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3c.org/) (W3C for short). Founded in 1994 the W3C has made it its obligation to guide the development of the Web and create a common basis to build upon. One of the services that the W3C offers is syntax validation. This is a useful tool when you are trying to ensure that your visitors will get roughly the same experience when they visit your site. Validation is easy, select the language your site was designed in and use their free validation tools to track down any errors that might occur. If there is an error in your source the validation system will highlight it and provide you with possible solutions for correcting it.
Why should you conform your site to the World Wide Web Consortium's guidelines? The answer is that it is these guidelines that browser developers use as a basis to display pages on the Web. While browsers like Mozilla conform strictly to the W3C's guidelines Internet Explorer is more relaxed. In fact Internet Explorer will render just about anything you throw at it. You can leave out the tags, tags, or forget to close a tag all together and IE will 9 times out of 10 be able to work with what you give it.
Be weary of Microsoft's FrontPage. While Microsoft makes some of the world's most powerful and end user friendly applications in my opinion, FrontPage has a tendency to do things IE's way. What I mean when I say this is that FrontPage will overload a web page with a lot of overhead that is either out of place or incorrect. If you plan on using an editor of this type consider Adobe's GoLive, this application at least has the ability to built a page according to W3C standards and has a built in syntax checker that can help you ensure your site will meet their requirements.
