I see posts all the time on forums and discussion boards about how to approach XML. There are as many approaches as there are people that want to learn it. I’d break it up into two large categories:
- Try it first
- Learn it first
Try it first
I’m in this crowd. I have no aversion to academic pursuits, but I like to see what technology can do before I invest my time learning the details. When it comes to XML, this means getting a sample, making it work, then breaking it and making it do something different.
Learn it first
This is the other crowd. I have a hard time relating, but they seem to prefer learning from the ground up and then building their own sample in meticulous detail. It takes a lot more patience. If I tried this route, I’d be too worried that the technology (XML) wouldn’t be right for my application and all my time would’ve been wasted.
Which ever path you follow, it’s important to learn to refer to the standard. The XML standard is designed and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (the W3C). All the standards are there, free for the viewing, on their website. If you’re a “Learn it first” then you’ll head to the W3C immediately and just start reading at page 1. If you’re a “Try it first” then you can still get what you want at the W3C, but try looking first at some of the Test Suites or examples. I didn’t bother learning much about XML until I got interested in SVG, which is one of several languages specified in XML. Others include SOAP, MathML, XForms and, of course, XHTML. If one of these applications piques your interest then it’s just as valid a starting point. Just please use the standards. Everything you read anywhere can always be verified in the standards.