Chapter 2. XML and Related Technologies
by Charlie Kaiman
In This Chapter
XML is not just about documents. XML is not just about data. XML is about both. It is becoming more important that developers learn this fact. Data is no longer limited to the world of relational databases such as SQL Server and Oracle.
The “winners” in the development market will be those who can ascertain the best way to integrate the two—relational data and object-oriented data—into a functional application.
So why put a chapter on XML in a book about BizTalk Server? The answer is because BizTalk Server relies heavily on XML technologies for everything from data transformation to workflow orchestration. XML is not only a format that BizTalk utilizes at the application level, but BizTalk Server also relies on XML technologies for performing its own native functions. The bottom line is that to understand BizTalk Server and how it fits into Microsoft's .NET Framework, you are going to need to know a little bit about XML-related technologies. And this chapter is devoted to getting you started. Specifically, it covers the following:
Information on XML and related technologies
Parsing XML with the DOM, SAX, and .NET
XSLT and XPath
XML applications, frameworks, and protocols
XML and BizTalk Server