XML Demystified

CHAPTER 2 Creating an XML Document
Review any documentation, such as that for a new account, which describes the
information required to open this account.
Here’s a list of the information that’s needed to open a new account:
• First Name
• Last Name
• Title
• Company
• Street Address 1
• Street Address 2
• City
• State
• Zip
• Business Phone
• Cell Phone
• Home Phone
• Fax
• E-mail
• Account Number
Practically any word can be used as an XML markup tag so long as it isn’t a
reserved XML word, such as , which is a processing instruction. The
element tag cannot contain any white space. In places where white space makes it
easier to read, such as “first name,” an underscore is typically used: “first_name.”
XML parsers are case sensitive so “first_name” is not equal to “First_Name.” The
common convention is to use all lowercase letters as it makes it less confusing for
the programmers parsing the XML. The word should describe the information.
Many times you can use the label you’ll use on the order form to describe the
information for the XML markup tag. For example, a new account form will have
First Name as a label. It makes sense to use this as the XML markup tag for the
customer’s first name.
19
Creating XML Markup Tags