Recap from last week

Information about a book:

– Title, Author, Chapters

Decide on a way to structure the information, in
Lecture 2 Week 2 this case:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<book>
Creating a Valid XML Document Using <title>Web Applications</title>
<author>John Doe</author>
Document Type Definitions (DTDs) <chapters>
<chapter>Introduction</chapter>
<chapter>ASP</chapter>
<chapter>XML</chapter>
</chapters>
</book>

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Parsers, Well-formed and Valid XML DTDs

Documents

Uses Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF) grammar

Parsers
Used to define the structure of an XML document:
– Nonvalidating – Ensure all required elements are present in the document
• Checks if document is well formed (contains no syntax errors – Prevent undefined elements from being used
and conforms to the XML specifications) – Enforce a specific data structure
– Specify the use of attributes and define their possible values
– Validating
– Define default values for attributes
• Checks if document is well formed
– Describe how the parser should access non-XML or non-textual
• Checks if XML document is Valid (conforms to the rules set content
out in it’s DTD or Schema)
– By definition, a valid document is also well formed

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1
 Document Type Declaration
Declaring a DTD

Document Type Declaration
– Introduce DTDs into XML documents
– Placed in XML document’s prolog

A document type definition is a collection of – Begins with ‘<!DOCTYPE’ and ends with ‘>’
rules or declarations that define the content and – Often referred to as the DOCTYPE declaration
structure of the document. – Can point to
• External subsets

A document type declaration attaches those – Declarations outside document
rules to the document’s content. – Exist in different file
– typically ending with .dtd extension
• Internal subsets
– Declarations inside document
– Visible only within document in which it resides

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Declaring an internal DTD Adding a Document Type Declaration

(Note: no definitions added yet, this is not valid)

The DOCTYPE declaration for an internal subset is: <?xml version="1.0"?>

<!DOCTYPE root <!DOCTYPE book
[ [
declarations
]>
]>
<book>
<title>Web Applications</title>

Where root is the name of the document’s root element, <author>John Doe</author>
and declarations are the statements that comprise the <chapters>
DTD. <chapter>Introduction</chapter>
<chapter>ASP</chapter>
<chapter>XML</chapter>
</chapters>
</book>

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2
 Starting the Document Type Definition:
Declaring Document Elements

Every element used in the document must be declared in the DTD
for the document to be valid.

An element type declaration specifies the name of the element
and indicates what kind of content the element can contain.

The element declaration syntax is:
<!ELEMENT element content-model>

Where element is the element name and content-model specifies
what type of content the element contains.
Declaring Document Elements

The element name is case sensitive.

DTDs define five different types of element content:
– Any elements. No restrictions on the element’s content.
• <!ELEMENT element ANY>
– Empty elements. The element cannot store any content.
• <!ELEMENT element EMPTY>
– Character data. The element can only contain a text string.
• <!ELEMENT element (#PCDATA)>
• The keyword #PCDATA stands for “parsed-character data” and is any well-
formed text string.
– Elements. The element can only contain child elements.
• <!ELEMENT element (child elements)>
– Mixed. The element can contain both character data and child
elements.
• <!ELEMENT element (#PCDATA|child1|child2|…)*>
• The parent element can contain character data or any number of the
specified child elements, or it can contain no content at all.

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Sequences
Types of Element Content

Sequences
– Specify order in which elements occur

The declaration – Comma (,) is used as delimiter
<!ELEMENT element (child1, child2, …)>
<!ELEMENT customer (phone)>
<!ELEMENT phone (#PCDATA)> <classroom>
indicates the Customer element can only have one child, named <teacher>1</teacher>
Phone. You cannot repeat the same child element more than once <student>20</student>
with this declaration. The phone element can only contain character </classroom>
data.

Defining the classroom element in a DTD:

Valid XML markup could be:
<customer> <!ELEMENT classroom (teacher, student)>
<phone>02 3333 4444</phone>
</customer>
The order of the child elements in the XML file must match the
order defined in the element declaration

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 Sequences Occurrence Indicators
(Modifying Symbols)

<!ELEMENT chapters (chapter, chapter, chapter)>
Occurrence indicators

– Specify element’s frequency

The above element declaration indicates that the – Plus sign (+) indicates minimum one occurrence of
element chapters must contain exactly three the element
child elements named chapter. <!ELEMENT album ( song+ )>
– Asterisk (*) indicates zero or more (optional) element
<!ELEMENT library ( book* )>
– Question mark (?) indicates zero or one occurence of
element
<!ELEMENT seat ( person? )>

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Pipe Characters (Choice) DTD – Internal subset

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE book
[

Pipe characters (|) <!ELEMENT book(title,author,chapters)>
– Specify choices <!ELEMENT title(#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT author(#PCDATA)>
– Presents a set of possible child elements <!ELEMENT chapters(chapter+)>
<!ELEMENT chapter(#PCDATA)>
– Syntax: ]>
<!ELEMENT element ( child|child )> <book>
<title>Web Applications</title>
– Example: <author>John Doe</author>
<!ELEMENT dessert ( iceCream|pastry )> <chapters>
<chapter>Introduction</chapter>
<chapter>ASP</chapter>
<chapter>XML</chapter>
</chapters>
</book>

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4
 Declaring an external DTD DTD – External Subset
Book.xml:

The real power of XML comes from an external DTD that can be shared <?xml version="1.0"?>
among many documents written by different authors.
<!DOCTYPE book SYSTEM “book.dtd”>

Each XML document can only be linked to one external DTD <book>
<title>Web Applications</title>

The DOCTYPE declaration for an external subset is: <author>John Doe</author>
<chapters>
<!DOCTYPE root SYSTEM “URL”> Or <chapter>Introduction</chapter>
<chapter>ASP</chapter>
<!DOCTYPE root SYSTEM “URL” <chapter>XML</chapter>
[ </chapters>
declarations </book>
]> Book.dtd:

Where root is the name of the document’s root element, URL is the location <!ELEMENT book(title,author,chapters)>
and name of the external dtd file, and declarations are the statements that <!ELEMENT title(#PCDATA)>
comprise the DTD. <!ELEMENT author(#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT chapters(chapter+)>
<!ELEMENT chapter(#PCDATA)>

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Combining an External and Internal DTD

Internal/External subset precedence Subset
This figure shows how to combine an external and an internal DTD subset

If a document contains both an internal and an
external subset, the internal subset takes
precedence over the external subset if there is a
conflict between the two.

This way, the external subset would define basic

rules for all the documents, and the internal
subset would define those rules specific to each
document.

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5
 Attribute Declarations Declaring Element Attributes

For a document to be valid, all the attributes associated
The syntax to declare a list of attributes is:
with elements must also be declared.
<!ATTLIST element attribute1 type1 default1
– You must add an attribute-list declaration to the document’s
attribute2 type2 default2
DTD.
attribute3 type3 default3…>

Attribute Declaration:
– Specifies all the attributes an element has – element is the name of the element associated with
the attributes,
– Uses ATTLIST attribute list declaration
– attribute is the name of an attribute,
• Lists the names of all attributes associated with a specific element
• Specifies the data type of the attribute
– type is the attribute’s data type, and
• Indicates whether the attribute is required or optional – default indicates whether the attribute is required or
• Provides a default value for the attribute, if necessary
implied, and whether it has a fixed or default value.

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Adding Attributes Attribute Types

Book.xml:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
Attribute types
<!DOCTYPE book SYSTEM “book.dtd”> – Strings (CDATA)
<book> • No constraints on attribute values
<title isbn=“0-22-4444”>Web Applications</title> – Except for disallowing <, >, &, ’and ” characters
<author>John Doe</author> – Tokenized attributes
<chapters> • ID, IDREF, ENTITY and NMTOKEN
<chapter>Introduction</chapter> – Enumerated attributes
<chapter>ASP</chapter> • Most restrictive, limited to a set of possible values
<chapter>XML</chapter> • The general form of an enumerated type is:
</chapters>
</book> attribute (value1 | value2 | value3 | …)

Book.dtd: • For example, the following declaration:

<!ELEMENT book(title,author,chapters)> <!ATTLIST Customer CustType (home | business )>

<!ELEMENT title(#PCDATA)>
• restricts CustType to either “home” or “business”
<!ATTLIST title isbn CDATA #REQUIRED>
<!ELEMENT author(#PCDATA)>
<!ELEMENT chapters(chapter+)>
<!ELEMENT chapter(#PCDATA)>
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6
 1 <?xml version = "1.0"?>

Attribute Tokens 2

3 <!-- Fig. 6.8: IDExample.xml -->

4 <!-- Example for ID and IDREF values of attributes -->

5
This figure shows the seven attribute tokens
6 <!DOCTYPE bookstore [

7 <!ELEMENT bookstore ( shipping+, book+ )> Each shipping element has a unique identifier
(shipID)
8 <!ELEMENT shipping ( duration )>

9 <!ATTLIST shipping shipID ID #REQUIRED>

10 <!ELEMENT book ( #PCDATA )>

11 <!ATTLIST book shippedBy IDREF #IMPLIED>

12 <!ELEMENT duration ( #PCDATA )>

13 ]> Attribute shippedBy points to shipping

element by matching shipID attribute
14

15 <bookstore>

16 <shipping shipID = "s1">

17 <duration>2 to 4 days</duration>

18 </shipping>

19

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20 <shipping shipID = "s2">

21
22
<duration>1 day</duration>
</shipping>
Attribute Defaults
23
24 <book shippedBy = "s2">
Attribute defaults:
25 Java How to Program 3rd edition.
– #REQUIRED:
26 </book>
27
• The attribute must appear in element
Declare book elements with attribute

28 <book shippedBy = "s2">

shippedBy
• Document is not valid if attribute is missing
29 C How to Program 3rd edition.
– #IMPLIED
30 </book>
31
• The attribute is optional.
32 <book shippedBy = "s1"> – #FIXED:
33 C++ How to Program 3rd edition.
• The attribute is optional but if one is specified, it must match
34 </book>
the default.
35 </bookstore>

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7
 Attribute Declarations
(fig. 3.13)
Entities

Entities are storage units for a document’s
content.

The most fundamental entity is the XML
document itself and is known as the document
entity.

Entities can also refer to:
– a text string
– a DTD
– an element or attribute declaration
– an external file containing character or binary data

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Entities cont Working with Entities

Entities can be declared in a DTD. How to

declare an entity depends on how it is classified. This figure shows the three entity classifications

There are three factors involved in classifying

entities:
– The content of the entity
– How the entity is constructed
– Where the definition of the entity is located.

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8
 General Parsed Entities General External Entities

General entities are declared in the DTD of a document. The syntax is:
<!ENTITY entity “value”>

Where entity is the name assigned to the entity and value is the general
General entities can refer to values located in
entity’s value. external files. The syntax is:

For example, an entity named “Pixal” can be created to store a company's <!ENTITY entity SYSTEM “URL”>
official name:
<!ENTITY Pixal “Pixal Digital Products”>
For example, in the declaration:
<!ENTITY headlines SYSTEM

After an entity is declared, it can be referenced anywhere within the http://www.newsflash.com/stories.xml>
document.
<Title>This is the home page of &Pixal;</Title>
An entity named “headlines” gets its value from

This is interpreted as the document stories.xml, located at
<Title>This is the home page of Pixal Digital Products</Title> http://www.newsflash.com/stories.xml

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Parameter Entities Parameter Entities

Parameter entities are used to store the content of a
DTD. For internal parameter entities, the syntax is:
<!ENTITY % entity “value”>

where entity is the name of the parameter entity and
value is a text string of the entity’s value.

For external parameter entities, the syntax is:
<!ENTITY % entity SYSTEM “URL”>

where URL is the name assigned to the parameter
entity.

Parameter entity references can only be placed
where a declaration would normally occur, such
as an internal or external DTD.

Parameter entities used with an internal DTD do
not offer any time or effort savings. However, an
external parameter entity can allow XML to use
more than one DTD per document by combining
declarations from multiple DTDs.

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9
Using Parameter Entities to Combine Multiple
DTDs

Go to the DTD section of w3schools for some

examples of DTDs:
http://www.w3schools.com/dtd/dtd_examples.asp

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Readings

Carey: Tutorial 3 – Creating a valid XML

Document

DWAX 2010.1 39

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