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Using Looping Syntax In XSLT

February 3rd, 2010 No comments

Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) is a technology closely related to XML which is used to transform XML data. XML file are used to set out the ground-rules for a given body of data and to describe the data itself. XSL allows us to take the original XML data and convert it into information which can be displayed in a web browser window or opened with a text editor. XSL can also be used to create an XML file which is a modified version of an original XML file.

When displaying XML elements in a browser window, the XSL elements which enable looping through an XML tree and decision-making really come into their own. One of the key methods used in XSL for looping through elements in an XML file is the the “For-each” element. This requires the “select” attribute to specify which element is to be used in the loop. The “For-each” element normally requires both an opening and a closing tag and any lines of markup placed between the opening and closing tags will be repeated each time the element specified in the “select” attribute is encountered in the XML file.

For example, suppose we have an XML file containing a list of companies and the addresses of their websites. Suppose, as well, that the element which we will be targeting in the XSL “For-each” statement is called “company” and that, within each company element, we have a “name”, “telephone” and “website” element. Before starting our “For-each” loop, we could place the opening tag of an HTML “ul” element (an unordered or bulleted list).

Inside the “For-each” loop, we could output an HTML “li” element and, between its opening and closing tags, output the contents of the “name” and “telephone” elements from the XML file. The data in the “website” element in the input XML could be used to convert the “name” into a clickable link.

As regards the appearance of the data in the resulting HTML output, this would be controlled by a linked CSS file. CSS can be used to format the output in any way we desire, so our bulleted list can take on pretty much any appearance we care to give it.

The author is a training consultant with Macresource Computer Training, a UK IT training company offering XML, XSLT, XPATH, XQuery and XSL-FO training at their central London training centre.

How Adobe Dreamweaver Handles Cascading Style Sheets

January 22nd, 2010 No comments

Because of its ability to separate design from content, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) has become an extremely important technology in web development. A single CSS document can contain information regarding the position of elements on all the pages in a web site as well as style information such as font, sizes and colours. In terms of building websites, CSS definitely represents the future.

Adobe Dreamweaver is a very widely used platform for developing web sites and web content and, although used by experienced developers, is also widely used by non-specialists for whom Dreamweaver’s user-friendly visual interface takes the pain out of web site creation. The way in which Dreamweaver implements CSS is very important for the casual user, since it will influence the kind of sites they end up producing.

Dreamweaver CS3 is the first version of the program which assumes that the user will want to use CSS to control the layout of their web pages. To assist inexperienced and would-be web developers, each time a new page is created, the program allows the user to choose allocate a preset CSS layout to the page. There are about 30 such layouts and they come in single, double and three column varieties.

Instead of using tables to control positioning of web page content, CSS page layout makes extensive using of the DIV element an HTML construct which can contain just about anything, including other DIVs. The preset pages created by Dreamweaver CS3 contain a series of DIV element with the CSS code that controls their positioning. The placeholder text within the DIVs includes useful tips on customising the preset pages for your own use.

CSS works most efficiently when you can place all of your CSS code in one external file and link that file to each of your HTML pages. Dreamweaver CS3 still does not make it easy for inexperienced users to create CSS-based pages in this way. If the user creates ten web pages based on Dreamweaver’s preset CSS designs, each will have its own code embedded within the page itself. There is, however, a great feature for moving embedded code across to an external CSS file. You just select a series of CSS definitions, right-click and choose “Move CSS Rules” which is available in the “CSS Styles” section of the context menu.

Moving CSS code into an external file is not something a beginner would be expected to think of doing and is not something that Dreamweaver recommends to new users. So, in spite of the improvements, some familiarity with CSS is still required to get Dreamweaver to handle CSS efficiently.

Another area where Dreamweaver still handles CSS inefficiently is the way in which it generates CSS class styles with names like “style1″, “style2″, etc. whenever the user applies attributes like font, size or colour to highlighted text. This must be really confusing for beginners and can easily be solved by simply removing these “raw” attributes and replacing them with CSS-friendly options.

The The writer of this article is a training consultant with TrainingCompany.Com, a UK IT training company offering Adobe Dreamweaver Classes in London and throughout the UK.

Internet Revenue Ideas For Entrepreneurs

November 27th, 2009 No comments

Over the last several years there have been a variety of new internet advancements that have been established. This has resulted the appearance of totally new business sectors as well as the creation of never before seen sales and communications avenues.

The spirit of creativity which has accompanied the development of online communications is still occurring today as fresh companies seem to pop up every day. The constantly proving abilities of digital technology has made it a very useful commercial aids.

For marketers that are willing to learn about online marketing the profit potential is exceptional. There are many individuals that have successfully created businesses and careers taking advantage of the singular abilities of websites.

Online media is very different from established advertising channels because of its numerous options. As opposed to television or print that need one kinds of ads and can only accommodate several types of campaigns, interactive marketing and profit models are limited just by the imagination of the individual creating the campaigns.

There are a number of different techniques for earning money online so it is an excellent chance for business owners to get involved. Whether selling products, promoting a brick and mortar operation, or launching a web company there has never been a better time to start. Below are some of the best methods for making a living online.

Blogging is a widely used platform for individuals looking to share their thoughts on the web and may additionally serve as the basis for an internet business. Blogs are specialized websites that can be used for authors who want to write daily articles. Depending on the industry blog owners usually earn substantial amounts of money marketing third party companies and products.

Market intelligence is a main concern of lots of large corporations and the web has changed the way many of those companies conduct their research. Many research groups are administered via the internet and by becoming involved you may potentially to earn money. To become involved you have to register with a market research company which can subsequently administer the focus groups. Being a member of a research group can pay potentially to hundreds of dollars per survey.

Search engines including Google and Ask are many of the most wide used destinations on the internet. Millions of web surfers use them each day and people that know the way that search engines find and list sites are able to make serious cash. Whether by putting up their own sites or helping other companies secure a search engine presence establishing strong search engine visibility is an exceptionally profitable achievement.

Read other ideas discussing earning money on the internet and operating a successful business with online business ideas. It is a excellent time to establish an internet business and begin earning money.