Friday, May 19, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
What is xml?
What is xml?
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, was file
format designed to make information sharing and data interpretation easier on
the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere using standard ASCII text. Before
you start to learn xml, you should know basic of HTML & JavaScript.
The Difference Between XML and HTML
XML and HTML were designed with different
goals:
- XML was designed to carry data - with focus on what data is
- HTML was designed to display data - with focus on how data looks
- XML tags are not predefined like HTML tags are
XML is similar to HTML. Both XML and HTML
contain markup symbols to describe the contents of a page or file.
HTML, however, describes the content of a Web page (mainly text and graphic
images) only in terms of how it is to be displayed and interacted with.
XML describes the content in terms of what
data is being described. An XML file can be processed purely as data by a
program or it can be stored with similar data on another computer or it can be
displayed, like an HTML file.
What is mark-up language?
A mark up language is a modern system for
highlight or underline a document.
Students often underline or highlight a
passage to revise easily, same in the sense of modern mark up language
highlighting or underlining is replaced by tags.
The essence of XML
It is in its name: Extensible Markup Language.
The XML is quite self-descriptive:
- It has sender information.
- It has receiver information
- It has a heading
- It has a message body.
Extensible
XML is extensible, unlike HTML, the markup
symbols are unlimited and self-defining. It lets you define your own tags, the
order in which they occur, and how they should be processed or displayed.
Another way to think about extensibility is to consider that XML allows all of
us to extend our notion of what a document is: it can be a file that lives on a
file server, or it can be a transient piece of data that flows between two
computer systems (as in the case of Web Services).
Markup
The most recognizable feature of XML is its
tags, or elements (to be more accurate). In fact, the elements you’ll create in
XML will be very similar to the elements you’ve already been creating in your
HTML documents. However, XML allows you to define your own set of tags.
Language
XML is a language that’s very similar to HTML.
It’s much more flexible than HTML because it allows you to create your own
custom tags. However, it’s important to realize that XML is not just a
language. XML is a meta-language: a language that allows us to create or define
other languages. For example, with XML we can create other languages, such as
RSS, MathML (a mathematical markup language), and even tools like XSLT.
Why Do We Need XML?
XML is a Platform Independent and
Language Independent: We need it because HTML is specifically designed to
describe documents for display in a Web browser, and not much else. It becomes
cumbersome if you want to display documents in a mobile device or do anything
that’s even slightly complicated, such as translating the content from German
to English. HTML’s sole purpose is to allow anyone to quickly create Web
documents that can be shared with other people. XML, on the other hand, isn’t
just suited to the Web – it can be used in a variety of different contexts,
some of which may not have anything to do with humans interacting with content (for
example, Web Services use XML to send requests and responses back and forth).
HTML rarely (if ever) provides information
about how the document is structured or what it means. In layman’s terms, HTML
is a presentation language, whereas XML is a data-description language.
The main benefit of xml is that you can use it
to take data from a program like Microsoft SQL, convert it into XML then share
that XML with other programs and platforms. You can communicate between two
platforms which are generally very difficult.
The main thing which makes XML truly powerful
is its international acceptance. Many corporation use XML interfaces for
databases, programming, office application mobile phones and more. It is due to
its platform independent feature.
XML Simplifies Things
- It simplifies data sharing
- It simplifies data transport
- It simplifies platform changes
- It simplifies data availability
The XML standard is a flexible way to create
information formats and electronically share structured data via the public Internet,
as well as via corporate networks.
XML data is known as self-describing or
self-defining, meaning that the structure of the data is embedded with the
data, thus when the data arrives there is no need to pre-build the structure to
store the data; it is dynamically understood within the XML. The XML format can
be used by any individual or group of individuals or companies that want to
share information in a consistent way. XML is actually a simpler and
easier-to-use subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), which
is the standard to create a document structure.
The basic building block of an XML document is
an element, defined by tags. An element has a beginning and an ending tag. All
elements in an XML document are contained in an outermost element known as the
root element. XML can also support nested elements, or elements within
elements. This ability allows XML to support hierarchical structures. Element
names describe the content of the element, and the structure describes the
relationship between the elements.
An XML document is considered to be "well
formed" (that is, able to be read and understood by an XML parser) if its
format complies with the XML specification, if it is properly marked up, and if
elements are properly nested. XML also supports the ability to define
attributes for elements and describe characteristics of the elements in the
beginning tag of an element.
For example, XML documents can be very simple,
such as the following:
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<conversation>
<greeting>Hello, world!</greeting>
<response>Stop the planet, I want to get
off!</response>
</conversation>
Applications for XML are endless. For example,
computer makers might agree upon a standard or common way to describe the information
about a computer product (processor speed, memory size, and so forth) and then
describe the product information format with XML code. Such a standard way of
describing data would enable a user to send an intelligent agent (a program) to
each computer maker's Web site, gather data, and then make a valid comparison.
XML's benefits sometimes appeared
revolutionary in scope shortly after it was introduced. However, as a concept,
it fell short of being revolutionary. It also fell short of being the panacea.
The over-application of XML in so many areas of technology diminished its real
value, and results in a great deal of unnecessary confusion. Perhaps most
damaging is the predictable behavior of many vendors that look to recast XML
using their own set of proprietary extensions. Although some want to add value
to XML, others seek only to lock in users to their products.
XML's power resides in its simplicity. It can
take large chunks of information and consolidate them into an XML document ‑
meaningful pieces that provide structure and organization to the information.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)
What is SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server (host) and a web browser (client). This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral. SSL is an industry standard and is used by millions of websites in the protection of their online transactions with their customers. If you have ever visited a website using the https:// in the address bar you were creating a secure connection via SSL. If you have an ecommerce solution or sell items via your website, SSL helps in establishing trust with your customers.
What is an SSL Certificate?
To create an SSL connection a web server requires an SSL Certificate. SSL Certificates are small data files that digitally bind a cryptographic key to an organization’s details.
An organization needs to install the SSL Certificate onto its web server to initiate a secure session with browsers. Once a secure connection is established, all web traffic between the web server and the web browser will be secure.
How to tell if a site is using SSL
When SSL Certificates successfully installed on your web server, Then application protocol (also known as HTTP) will change to HTTPs, where the ‘S’ stands for ‘secure’.
Depending on the type of certificate you purchase and what browser you are surfing the internet on, a browser will show a padlock or green bar in the browser when you visit a website that has an SSL Certificate installed. The complexities of the SSL protocol remain invisible to your customers. All SSL Certificates are issued to either companies or legally accountable individuals.
Typically, SSL is used to secure credit card transactions, data transfer and logins, and more recently is becoming the norm when securing browsing of social media sites.
SSL Certificate will contain your domain name, your company name, your address, your city, your state and your country. It will also contain the expiration date of the Certificate and details of the Certification Authority responsible for the issuance of the Certificate.
Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates:
Standard SSL Certificates (such as GlobalSign DomainSSL and OrganizationSSL) display:
How Does an SSL Certificate Work?
When you choose to activate SSL on your web server you will be prompted to complete a number of questions about the identity of your website and your company. Your web server then creates two cryptographic keys - a Private Key and a Public Key.
The Public Key does not need to be secret and is placed into a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) - a data file also containing your details. You should then submit the CSR. During the SSL Certificate application process, the Certification Authority will validate your details and issue an SSL Certificate containing your details and allowing you to use SSL. Your web server will match your issued SSL Certificate to your Private Key. Your web server will then be able to establish an encrypted link between the website and your customer's web browser.
https://www.entrust.com/ssl/
When a browser connects to a secure site it will retrieve the site's SSL Certificate and check that it has not expired, it has been issued by a Certification Authority the browser trusts, and that it is being used by the website for which it has been issued. If it fails on any one of these checks the browser will display a warning to the end user letting them know that the site is not secured by SSL.
Why Do I Need An SSL Certificate?
SSL Certificates protect your sensitive information such as credit card information, usernames, passwords etc. It also:
- Keeps data secure between servers
- Increases your Google Rankings
- Builds/Enhances customer trust
- Improves conversion rates
Where Do I Buy An SSL Certificate?
SSL Certificates need to be issued from a trusted Certificate Authority. Browsers, operating systems, and mobile devices maintain list of trusted CA root certificates.
The Root Certificate must be present on the end user's machine in order for the Certificate to be trusted. If it is not trusted the browser will present untrusted error messages to the end user. In the case of e-commerce, such error messages result in immediate lack of confidence in the website and organizations risk losing confidence and business from the majority of consumers.
Companies like GlobalSign are known as trusted Certificate Authorities. This is because browser and operating system vendors such as Microsoft, Mozilla, Opera, Blackberry, Java, etc., trust that GlobalSign is a legitimate Certificate Authority and that it can be relied on to issue trustworthy SSL Certificates. The more applications, devices and browsers the Certificate Authority embeds its Root into, the better "recognition" the SSL Certificate can provide.
GlobalSign was founded in 1996 in Europe and remains one of the longest running Certificate Authorities in the region.
What does the SSL mean to visitors?
Most SSL Certificates contain the domain name, company name, address, city, state, and country. It also contains an expiration date of the certificate and the details of the Certificate Authority (the company who issued the SSL). When a browser attempts to establish an SSL connection to a website it checks to make sure the certificate is not expired, has been issued by a trusted authority, and is being used for the correct website. If any of these checks fails your web browser will display a warning letting the user know that the site is not secured by SSL.
There are many benefits to using SSL Certificates. Namely, SSL customers:
- Get HTTPs which elicits a stronger Google ranking
- Create safer experiences for your customers
- Build customer trust and improve conversions
- Protect both customer and internal data
- Encrypt browser-to-server and server-to-server communication
- Increase security of your mobile and cloud apps
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