Launching XML Web Sites with Rocket
By Michael Floyd
Over the past 21 months I've used this space to extol the capabilities of XML and to present projects that both teach the craft and provide useful applications. During that time, you've had the opportunity to learn how the DOM can be used to report on XML documents, to navigate Web-site structures, and more. Together, we've examined how XSL can be used to transform XML documents into HTML. And we have explored the fine art of serving XML using Java servlets and Active Server Pages (ASP).
As Web Techniques moves to its new format, this month marks the final installment of Beyond HTML. As a parting gift, I'd like to present a framework I've created called Rocket (available at www.beyondhtml.com/rocket). The name is a play on XML's "skyrocketing" success in virtually every phase of computing. In a nutshell, Rocket is a collection of skeletal XML documents, XSL style sheets, and DTDs that you can use as a basis for creating your own XML-based Web site. To serve XML documents, Rocket includes a collection of "interface" programs that perform browser detection, determine how documents should be served, select and apply style sheets, and more.
Using Rocket, you can quickly enable your site to serve XML documents. Rocket lets you transform XML into HTML that has been specially tuned for rendering in Netscape Navigator. Rocket also lets you exchange XML streams between XML-capable browsers and HTTP servers.
