XML Processing with Perl, Python, and PHP : Also Covers Tel, Rebol, Ruby, and AppleScript

XML is the leading standard for enabling business-to-business e-commerce, as well as any application that needs to communicate across different platforms. This book focuses on the application of XML when using scripting languages, because these languages make it easier to quickly build Web applications. Two of the most popular open-source languages are covered - Perl and Python - but there are chapters on PHP and several upstart languages, including Ruby and Rebol. The book gives coverage of the core XML processing issues, including the basics of parsing XML documents, converting XML to and from different formats (including HTML), and translating objects for use with databases. Contents 12 Introduction 22 Part I Applying XML 26 Chapter 1 Introduction to XML 28 Proprietary Data Formats 29 XML—Making Data Portable 30 XML Goals 32 XML Features 33 XML: Past, Present, and Future 33 XML and Scripting Languages 34 Where Next 35 Chapter 2 Fundamentals of XML 36 XML Structure 37 Well-Formed XML Documents 41 Entity References 42 XML Processing Instructions 44 The XML Declaration 45 Summary 46 Chapter 3 Data Type Definitions (DTDs) 48 DTD Syntax 49 Using DTDs for Modeling Data 56 When to Use a DTD 56 Standard DTDs 57 Summary 58 Chapter 4 Applying XML with Scripting Languages 60 Why Use a Scripting Language? 61 The Scripting Language Irony 69 Summary 70 Chapter 5 Data Exchange and XML 72 Parsing XML 74 Unicode 79 Remote Data Exchange 81 Summary 84 Part II XML and Perl 86 Chapter 6 XML Solutions in Perl 88 Using XML:: Parser 89 XML Processing Using SAX 98 XML Processing Using DOM 100 Generating XML 105 Other XML Modules 106 Summary 109 Chapter 7 Perl and Unicode 112 Core Support 113 Working with Unicode Data 115 Unicode Character Conversions 120 Summary 121 Chapter 8 Generating and Parsing XML Documents with Perl 122 Using the SAX Parser 123 Using a DOM Parser 133 Summary 142 Chapter 9 Converting XML Documents Using Perl 144 Database Management 145 Converting Database Content to XML 164 Summary 171 Chapter 10 Applying SOAP/XML-RPC in Perl 172 Introducing SOAP:: Lite 173 SOAP Client Programming 177 Creating SOAP Servers 181 Debugging SOAP:: Lite 185 Using XML-RPC 188 Where Next with SOAP:: Lite and XML-RPC 190 Summary 191 Part III XML and Python 192 Chapter 11 XML Solutions in Python 194 The xmllib Module 195 Parsing Using Expat 200 Parsing Using SAX 202 Parsing Using DOM 203 Summary 210 Chapter 12 Python and Unicode 212 Creating Unicode Strings 213 Translating Unicode 214 Accessing the Unicode Database 218 Summary 221 Chapter 13 Generating and Parsing XML Documents with Python 222 Parsing with SAX 223 Using xmlproc for Validation 230 Summary 233 Chapter 14 Converting XML Documents Using Python 234 Converting XML to an Internal Structure 236 Converting XML to an Internal Class Representation 239 Summary 249 Chapter 15 Applying SOAP/XML-RPC in Python 250 Using SOAP 251 XML-RPC Solutions 260 Summary 265 Chapter 16 Zope and XML Documents 268 The XML Export Format 271 Combining DTML and XML Resources 275 Zope and XML-RPC 284 Summary 286 Part IV XML and PHP 288 Chapter 17 XML and PHP 290 Building a Simple XML Parser 291 Inside the XML Parser 297 Converting XML to HTML 304 Summary 310 Chapter 18 Developing XML Applications with PHP 312 The RSS Format 313 Building an RSS Aggregator 315 Writing RSS Documents 325 Summary 328 Chapter 19 PHP and XML-RPC 330 Writing an XML-RPC Client 332 Writing an XML-RPC Server 336 XML-RPC Data Conversion 338 Benefits of XML-RPC in PHP 342 Summary 343 Part V XML and Other Languages 344 Chapter 20 XML and REBOL 346 Parsing XML Information in REBOL 347 XML-RPC with REBOL 352 Summary 353 Chapter 21 XML and Ruby 354 Parsing XML 355 Ruby and XML-RPC 362 Summary 365 Chapter 22 XML and Tcl 366 The TclXML Parser 367 Viewing XML with Tk 376 Using XML-RPC 380 Summary 383 Chapter 23 AppleScript and XML 384 XML Parsing with AppleScript 385 XML-RPC with AppleScript 397 XML and MacOS X 398 Summary 401 Appendices 402 Appendix A Unicode Quick Reference 402 Base Character Sets 403 XML Character Set Names 416 Appendix B Resource Guide 418 Generic Resources 419 XML Resources 420 Perl Resources 422 Python Resources 423 PHP Resources 424 REBOL Resources 424 Ruby Resources 425 Tcl Resources 425 AppleScript Resources 426 XML Software 426 Index 428 SYMBOLS & NUMBERS 428 A 428 B 429 C 429 D 430 E 432 F 433 G 433 H 434 I 434 J 435 K 435 L 435 M 435 N 436 O 436 P 437 Q 439 R 439 S 440 T 443 U 443 V 444 W 444 X 445 Z 447 XML is an elegant solution to the problem of data portability. Like all breakthroughs, however, it gives rise to new challenges. With XML, you can store and structure data for seamless, cross-platform exchange—which is especially crucial in today's e-commerce environments. But XML does no processing itself. To leverage XML data, you need to use a programming language. XML Programming with Perl, Python, and PHP teaches you to reap the special advantage of processing your XML with these and four other scripting languages, which—as you'll see—trump C, C++, and Java in a variety of ways. Along this path lie shorter development times and lower costs. At its end lie performance benefits such as superior text processing, memory management, and data modeling capabilities, as well as strategic benefits such as greater longevity and broader compatibility. Choose the language that makes the most sense for you and move ahead. With this book's help you'll master the execution of remote procedures, the internal modeling of XML data, the exporting of internal data into XML, and the conversion of XML to formats as varied as SQL, HTML, and proprietary configuration schemes. Application-specific examples keep you focused on the real world; at the same time, the scripting techniques you'll learn all rise above specific applications. Like XML data, they're flexible, and they'll serve you well in whatever context you're working. -The only book that focuses on the usage of XML with the most popular scripting languages, including Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby, Rebol, TCL, and Mac OS X's AppleScript. -Complete coverage of the core XML processing issues, including the basics of parsing XML documents, converting XML to and from different formats and translating objects for use with databases. -This book goes beyond the basics into advanced topics, such as using the SAX API for Perl, and using SOAP and XML-RPC to share XML formatted information over a network connection.