XML Example

XML documents create a hierarchical structure looks like a tree so it is known as XML Tree that starts at "the root" and branches to "the leaves".

Example of XML Document

XML documents uses a self-describing and simple syntax:

snippet

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<note>
  <to>Tove</to>
  <from>Jani</from>
  <heading>Reminder</heading>
  <body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

The first line is the XML declaration. It defines the XML version (1.0) and the encoding used (ISO-8859-1 = Latin-1/West European character set).

The next line describes the root element of the document (like saying: "this document is a note"):

snippet

<note>

The next 4 lines describe 4 child elements of the root (to, from, heading, and body).

snippet

<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>

And finally the last line defines the end of the root element.

snippet

</note>

XML documents must contain a root element. This element is "the parent" of all other elements.

The elements in an XML document form a document tree. The tree starts at the root and branches to the lowest level of the tree.

All elements can have sub elements (child elements).

snippet

<root>
  <child>
    <subchild>.....</subchild>
  </child>
</root>

The terms parent, child, and sibling are used to describe the relationships between elements. Parent elements have children. Children on the same level are called siblings (brothers or sisters).

All elements can have text content and attributes (just like in HTML).

Another Example of XML: Books

File: books.xml

snippet

<bookstore>
  <book category="COOKING">
    <title lang="en">Everyday Italian</title>
    <author>Giada De Laurentiis</author>
    <year>2005</year>
    <price>30.00</price>
  </book>
  <book category="CHILDREN">
    <title lang="en">Harry Potter</title>
    <author>J K. Rowling</author>
    <year>2005</year>
    <price>29.99</price>
  </book>
  <book category="WEB">
    <title lang="en">Learning XML</title>
    <author>Erik T. Ray</author>
    <year>2003</year>
    <price>39.95</price>
  </book>
</bookstore>

The root element in the example is <bookstore>. All elements in the document are contained within <bookstore>.

The <book> element has 4 children: <title>,< author>, <year> and <price>.

Another Example of XML: Emails

File: emails.xml

snippet

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<emails>
<email>
  <to>Vimal</to>
  <from>Sonoo</from>
  <heading>Hello</heading>
  <body>Hello brother, how are you!</body>
</email>
<email>
  <to>Peter</to>
  <from>Jack</from>
  <heading>Birth day wish</heading>
  <body>Happy birth day Tom!</body>
</email>
<email>
  <to>James</to>
  <from>Jaclin</from>
  <heading>Morning walk</heading>
  <body>Please start morning walk to stay fit!</body>
</email>
<email>
  <to>Kartik</to>
  <from>Kumar</from>
  <heading>Health Tips</heading>
  <body>Smoking is injurious to health!</body>
</email>
</emails>