451.  XML Parsing Using Visual Basic and .NET

Rev. 2.1

 

This two-day course teaches the different types of XML parsing available in .NET.  It covers the different parsing methodologies available from Microsoft. and gives an overview of XML technologies in the .NET Framework. Both the streaming model of XmlReader and XmlWriter and the Document Object Model (DOM) are covered in detail. Validation using DTD and XmlSchema is discussed. New features in System.Xml in .NET 2.0 are discussed in the context of where the topics are covered. Visual Studio 2005 is used as the development environment.

 

The course includes extensive programming examples, including a progressively developed case study. Upon completion of this course the student will be equipped to program XML applications in .NET and understand which parsing method to apply for the problem domain.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 

·         Understand the purpose of the .NET Framework XML classes.

·         Identify the .NET classes involved in parsing and creating XML documents.

·         Handle XML parsing exceptions.

·         Parse and validate XML data streams using XmlReader classes

·         Use the XmlWriter class to create XML data streams.

·         Modify, create and delete information in an XML document using the .NET DOM classes.

 

Course Duration:  2 days

 

Prerequisites:  Ability to read and to write well-formed XML. A working knowledge of programming the .NET Framework using Visual Basic.

 

1.      .NET Framework XML Overview

XML in the .NET Framework

.NET XML Namespaces and Classes

How Does the MSXML Fit in .NET

.NET XmlReader and XmlWriter

.NET DOM Parser

XML Serialization

XML and ADO.NET

XPath and XSLT

XML and the Web

 

2.      Reading XML Streams in .NET

XML Document Streams

The XmlReader Class

Accessing Node Properties with the .NET XML Classes

Accessing Attribute Values

Traversing the XML Document

Catching XmlExceptions

The XmlNodeReader Class

Using XmlReader with .NET 2.0

 

3.      Validating XML Streams

Specifying Valid Documents with XML Schema and DTD

Using Visual Studio 2005 to Create Schemas

Validating XML with XmlReader

 

4.      Writing XML Streams in .NET

The XmlWriter Class

WriteXXX Methods

XmlWriter States

Writing Elements          

Writing Attributes

Writing Namespaces

Using XmlWriter with .NET 2.0

 

5.      The Document Object Model in .NET

Origins of the DOM

DOM Levels

DOM2 Structure

The XmlDocument Class

DOM Tree Model

DOM Interfaces

XmlDocument, XmlNode and XmlNodeList Classes

XmlElement and XmlText Classes

Finding Elements by Name

Walking the Child List

The XmlAttribute Class

 

6.      Manipulating XML Information with the DOM

Creating and Modifying Documents

Modifying Elements

Error Handling

Managing Children

Cloning

Splitting Text and Normalizing

Modifying Attributes

 

Appendix A. Zenith Courseware Case Study

 

Appendix B. Learning Resources

 

 

System Requirements

 

The course runs using Visual Studio 2005. The recommended operating system is Windows XP with Service Pack 2. See the appropriate course Setup Guide for details.

 

A good minimal hardware profile for this course would have a Pentium 500-MHz or equivalent CPU, 256 MB of RAM, and at least 4 GB of free disk space for tools installation and courseware.