XML Avant-Garde¶
The manual for coming back to XML. Hands-on and example-driven: every concept is introduced with a small, complete example — no walls of prose before you see real code. New here, or returning after a while? Start anywhere.
The site covers the core of the XML processing stack — XSLT, XPath, XQuery, and XSD — plus industry-specific applications built on top, like Schematron rule validation and the e-invoicing world of UBL, EN16931, and Peppol. It then puts them all together on real-world e-invoicing, and takes a tour of real-world XML applications (SVG, SOAP, Office formats, and more).
Sections¶
-
XSLT Tutorial
Transform XML into HTML, text, or other XML. Templates, loops, conditionals, sorting, and a full XSLT 2.0/3.0 section — through one running example.
-
XPath
The expression language XSLT is built on. Location paths, axes, node tests, predicates, and the core function library.
-
XQuery
A full query and transformation language for XML. FLWOR expressions, how it compares to XSLT, combining the two, and where it fits in the real world.
-
XSD
Describe and validate XML structure with XML Schema. Elements, types, cardinality, facets, and modular schemas — walked through real public UBL.
-
Schematron
Rule-based validation beyond grammar — business rules, cross-field checks, and calculations. Walked through the public EN16931 e-invoicing rules.
-
Real-world e-invoicing
Where it all meets a real problem: UBL invoices, the EN16931 validation pipeline, Genericode code lists, and Peppol profiles — the whole XML stack at full scale.
-
Real-world XML applications
A tour of XML in the wild: SVG, SOAP/WSDL, Office formats, Atom, XSL-FO, XML Signature, GPX/KML, XBRL, and using XML from Java, .NET, Python, and Rust.