XML Learning Prerequisites

To gain the greatest benefit from this course, prior experience coding Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is required. A basic knowledge of HTML tags and syntax is necessary to complete the exercises. A general understanding of

1. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS),
2. Dynamic HTML (DHTML), and
3. Java applet technology

provides a helpful introduction for some material, but is not necessary to complete the eweb course.

There are no strict prerequisites for learning XML (eXtensible Markup Language), but it would be helpful to have some familiarity with the following concepts before diving into XML:

1. Basic computer skills, such as the ability to create and edit files using a text editor
2. Familiarity with HTML (HyperText Markup Language) or another markup language
3. Familiarity with the concepts of element, attribute, and hierarchy in the context of data organization

Additionally, having some understanding of the purpose and use cases of XML can help you learn the language more effectively. XML is a markup language used to encode documents in a machine-readable format. It is often used to store and transmit data, such as in the form of an RSS feed or an XML file. XML is also often used as a data exchange format, as it is flexible and human-readable.

XML stands for Extensible Markup Language (presumably the original authors thought that sounded more exciting than EML) and its development and usage have followed a common path in the software and IT world. It started out more than ten years ago and was originally used by very few; later it caught the public eye and began to pervade the world of data exchange. Subsequently, the tools available to process and manage XML became more sophisticated, to such an extent that many people began to use it without being really aware of its existence. Lately there has been a bit of a backlash in certain quarters over its perceived failings and weak points, which has led to various proposed alternatives and improvements. Nevertheless, XML now has a permanent place in IT systems and it is hard to imagine any non-trivial application that does not use XML for either its configuration or data to some degree. For this reason it is essential that modern software developers have a thorough understanding of its principles, what it is capable of, and how to use it to their best advantage. This course can give the reader all those things.
XML does not do anything and was created to structure, store, and transport information. In the next Lesson, I will explain the XML Course Prerequisites.