Journal for CA277-XML

Entry for Assignment P2

     I am not sure the decided on categories were correct.  I think the student category should have had an ID=# attribute.  It makes it easier to add data when an ID is included.  If the class had been larger it would have been harder to keep track of the students.  I also think that one of the attributes for grades either average or letter should have been it's own data instead of an attribute.  As an attribute it makes it hard to do anything with it.

     I can see how it is difficult for the W3C to come up with exact schemas for specific data.  Everyone has an opinion and everyone is correct.  I think this assignment would be better done in reverse, as we did with the business cards. Come up with your own schema and then discuss it in class.  Then the assignment becomes a little more challenging.

Entry for Assignment P3

     This was a small glimpse into the power of style sheets and they can be truly amazing. It was fun trying out all the different possibilities and browsing the file to see their effect.  I especially liked the magic of changing the size of the text.   How cool was that!!  

     The only downside to using CSS with xml is the inability to show off attributes.  As explained in class only Netscape 6 recognizes attributes.  This has been the reoccurring problem with browsers and what they recognize even when the W3C has set a standard.  Some browsers recognize CSS1 some CSS2 unfortunately keeping track of what they all do or do not becomes frustrating.   Basically, what this means to you or I, is someone out there does not get to see what you create.

Entry for Assignment P4

     I can't believe I finished this assignment!!  I know I made it harder than what was required, but I felt I needed to do a little extra.   The hardest part was figuring out how to use SAXON.  At first I thought it did not work in XP but I found out this evening, that it works just fine.  The key to success is knowing how to change directories.  As long as you change the directories correctly, the program works.

     In XP you need to use the command prompt.  There is no more MS DOS prompt and it is found under Accessories.  Also there are no short versions of files any longer, you just type in the file name as you see it when you call up the directory.  I liked using a CSS link instead of placing all of the changes in the body tag, that worked best for me.  Now that I have the time, I will probably practice a bit more so the next assignment will be a breeze.  Just, kidding!!

Entry for Assignment P5

     I actually liked using xslt. I understand what I am doing and understand the process. Once you figure out where the context node is, you are home free. It helps to understand how to implement templates and use them to your advantage. Fortunately, XP has been cooperative on my home computer and SAXON is still running successfully.

     I can see the power in x-path and xslt and the purpose. The part I somewhat do not get is, how do you maintain uniqueness from one xml file to the next. I know you can pick whatever names you like, but what happens when you want to combine html and xml files within the same file? If you use the tag <title> instead of <salutation>, how does the xml parser delineate between the html tag <title> and the xml tag <title>, or maybe it can't. I am sure someone figured this out and it is somewhere in this book or on the W3C site. Questions to ponder over break or read-up on.

Entry for Assignment P6

     This was interesting and XHTML does not seem to be difficult to use. I think it is good practice to make sure the documents are well-formed and everything has a start and end tag. Just a good habit to get into, for consistancy purposes.

     Fortunately my resume was already developed and ready to use.  I now have heard work experience is number one and education goes last, unless your education is thus that it is critical to your experience.  After a 6 month hiatus it appears that there are a significant amount of web design jobs in the Washington post.  Timing for a resume could not be better.

Entry for Assignment P7

     This looked a lot easier than it was and I am still not sure it is totally correct.  I think the confusion comes in to whether or not I added the * or the + signs in the right place. I know what I meant, but everytime I tried to put the data in the way it seemed like it should work, I got an error and tried working it out until it was correct and there was no error message.

     I can't wait to see how it is really supposed to be done, or maybe there is no absolute method.  The other confusion also comes in with the duplication of data. I understand you use the code #PCDATA or CDATA but, do you use the actual data the first time then the #PCDATA the 2nd? I still don't get this.

Entry for Assignment P8

     This assignment was alot harder than it appeared. I thought at first you could just move everything around,NOT!  The other hard thing to do was finding the style sheet to post with the xml valid file. I am still a little hazy on what truly is the correct way to do the element "name". My schema was valid. Phone was also a question in my mind as well as the the 2 genders. I thought I understood this! This class is very challenging.

Entry for Assignment P9

     This assignment was very interesting.  It made perfectly good sense. The W3C rules for extended files and xlinks do not make alot of sense in regards to not being able to modify files.  My guess is there will probably be a specific declaration that all files will have to have and somehow that will be sufficient.  

     I am concerned about the ease that people would be able to pull data from a site and I wonder if this is something being considered?  I would think that it could possibly be a security hazard and depending on the declaration or password it would allow access? I wonder if the security aspect was considered when they thought about doing this, although you would think that would be always a consideration?

Entry for Assignment P10

     I loved this assignment. It was really fun. I was able to figure out where to place the coordinates, although that was truly the hard part of the assignment. I had to guess what they were. Once I contemplated what I wanted to do, I just had to think in terms of which layer would be first and how to create the pillar look. Even though I completed this, I may consider some revisions before the due date. I guess it will depend on the time I have to spend on my other assignments this week.