Summary

In this chapter we have looked at XML, and some of the technologies surrounding this new buzzword. We have seen the syntax we use to write XML documents, and how to define our own markup languages using DTDs. This gives us the core skills for writing XML. The ability to read DTDs will also allow you to read other markup languages created in XML. We then went on to see how to make our XML attractive when displayed on the Web using Cascading Style Sheets.

We then went on to see how we might use XML in our applications. We have seen how we can use the DOM to navigate around a tree that can be exposed by a parser. We created XML from a web page and from a relational database. We also saw how we can bind an XML Data Island to an XML source. Hopefully this will have whetted your appetite to see some more advanced things we can do with XML.

Hopefully, this book will only be the beginning of your programming challenges with ASP. You'll have seen that ASP can be used for simple dynamic, customized pages or for creating large web applications that rely on data stores, so what next? Even in the last few months the number of major companies that have used ASP to help power their web sites has increased dramatically. There are plenty of subject areas that you can choose to follow and learn more about. If you want to know more about ASP then we suggest that you progress straight to Professional Active Server Pages – ISBN-1-861002-61-0. If you are more interested in setting up an application that utilizes ASP and databases then, you should take a look at Beginning ASP Databases ISBN 1-861002-72-6, by one of the authors of this book, John Kauffman. If you're looking to apply some of these techniques presented here to start building your own commercial site, then try Beginning E-Commerce 1-861003-986 for an overview of the problems involved. If you're interesting in building an application from the ground up with your own customized components, then Beginning Components with ASP ISBN 1-861002-882 is a great place to start. (None of the books listed above are still current or available from Wrox. However, you might find them in a store that sells used books.)

Finally, if you're interested in XML Professional XML ISBN 0-471-77777-3 is an excellent new resource as is Beginning XML 4th Edition ISBN 0-470-11487-8. Both of these books are current and are available from Wrox or your favorite retailer.