XSL Templates

Introduction to XML

Ximdex is based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language). It consists of a set of rules used to planning and producing structured text files.

Its main advantages are that it is a simple format, standard, extensible, besides not being tied to any private company, platform or programming language, making it ideal as a tool for communication and interoperability. XML is already widely used language that is a first step on the road to the ideal of the semantic web.

XML compared with HTML

Like HTML, the XML language is based on tags or labels, that is, words in angle brackets ( < and > ) and attributes of the form name = "value". But while in HTML each tag and attribute define a closed behavior, often associated with the appearance to be presented in a browser, XML uses the tags only to enter data, leaving the interpretation of the data to the application using the file.

Thus, for example, a label

in an XML file does not have to be a paragraph, it may be a price, a parameter, etc.. Another distinctive feature is that there is discrimination XML is case sensitive, i.e. <price> element differs from another <Price>.

Parts of a XML element

XML element means each of the pieces of information that make up an XML document, and has the general format: **<element attribute1=”value1” attribute2=”value2”>… content …</element> **

We explain in detail each of its parts:

• Tags: They must always be enclosed in angle brackets ('<' and '>'). Always specify the closing tag, with the possibility of using an abbreviated syntax if the element has no content: attribute2="value2" attribute1="value1" . As a recommendation, the name chosen for the labels should be descriptive enough to easily identify the purpose of the item.
• Properties or attributes: They are additional information that is added to the XML element in its opening tag, always with the format attribute = "value", being obligatory quotes. You can add as many attributes as necessary.
• Content: It is what it is bounded between labels start and end of the XML element. In the simplest case is just unstructured text, but can also include other elements, and can reach a recursive hierarchical structure, which is what characterizes the XML language.

Finally, note that for considering a well-formed XML, there needs to be a single parent node that is the root of the whole structure.