XPath, XQuery, and XML Databases
Adam Retter
As XPath is the basis of XQuery, we will first refresh our knowledge on some XPath fundamentals, and then extend that with constructs from XQuery. We will examine XML Databases, how they are positioned, and their role and feature sets. The class has a practical focus, and students will be expected to undertake practical exercises. The idea is that students learn by building something practical and useful they can take away with them as an example or starting point for their own XQuery applications. We utilise a corpus of JATS XML documents, which students will store into an XML Database, from there students build an interatcive Web Application written in XQuery to search, transform, present, and update the documents. Technologies involved in the course are: XML, XPath, XQuery, XSLT, XQuery Update, XQuery Full Text Search, HTML, IBM DB2, and the Elemental Open Source Native XML Database.
Content Conversion Considerations and Strategies
Ari Nordström
There are XML vocabularies for almost everything — from journal articles and parts lists to cinema automation and music. While these domains seem entirely different, their real power comes from shared foundations. It is entirely possible to transform content from one domain to another, because converting content is exactly what XML is for.
This is the power of XSLT: translating between vocabularies so their users can connect. Building on the basics from earlier in the week, this course explores how to use XSLT 3 to solve real-life use cases. Through collaborative exercises, we will discuss powerful XSLT 3 features and learn how to think about, approach, and solve complex problems as a class.
Introduction to XProc
Geert Bormans
An XML Pipeline defines a sequence of operations to be performed on documents.
XProc 3.1 is an XML-based language designed to describe such pipelines. This tutorial introduces the language and related tools, providing participants with early hands-on experience. It will also demonstrate techniques for orchestrating operations across multiple documents, whether organized in folders or contained within archive files.
XSpec
Sheila Thomson
XSpec is a framework designed for testing several major XML technologies: XSLT, XQuery, XProc and Schematron. This hands-on workshop will provide: an introduction to getting started with XSpec for all four of those technologies, in Oxygen and on the command-line; internal vs. external test data; how to ignore irrelevant content in your test data; testing a function; parameters, variables and modes; result output options.