OReilly office 2003 XML may 2004 ISBN 0596005385

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TableofContents
Index
Reviews
ReaderReviews
Errata
Academic

Office2003XML
ByEvanLenz,MaryMcRae,SimonSt.

Laurent

Publisher :O'Reilly
PubDate :June2004
ISBN :0-596-00538-5
Pages :576


Thisbookexplorestherelationshipbetween
XMLandOffice2003,examininghowthe
variousproductsintheOfficesuiteboth
produceandconsumeXML.Beginningwith

anoverviewoftheXMLfeaturesincludedin
thevariousOffice2003components,Office
2003XMLprovidesquickandclearguidance
toanyonewhoneedstoimportorexport


informationfromOfficedocumentsintoother
systems.



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•
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TableofContents
Index
Reviews
ReaderReviews
Errata
Academic

Office2003XML
ByEvanLenz,MaryMcRae,SimonSt.

Laurent

Publisher :O'Reilly
PubDate :June2004
ISBN :0-596-00538-5
Pages :576



Copyright

Preface
WhoShouldReadThisBook

WhoShouldNotReadThisBook




OrganizationofThisBook




ConventionsUsedinThisBook




HowtoContactUs

SupportingBooks
UsingCodeExamples
Acknowledgments


Chapter1.MicrosoftOfficeandXML
Section1.1.WhyXML?

Section1.2.DifferentFacesofXML





Section1.3.DifferentXMLFacesofOffice



Section1.4.OpeningOfficetotheWorld


Chapter2.TheWordprocessingMLVocabulary
Section2.1.IntroductiontoWordprocessingML

Section2.2.TipsforLearningWordprocessingML




Section2.3.WordprocessingML'sStyleofMarkup

Section2.5.DocumentStructureandFormatting



Section2.7.MoreonStyles

Section2.4.ASimpleExampleRevisited
Section2.6.AuxiliaryHintsinWordprocessingML


Chapter3.UsingWordprocessingML
Section3.1.EndlessPossibilities

Section3.2.CreatingWordDocuments




Section3.3.ExtractingInformationfromWordDocuments



Section3.5.ConvertingBetweenWordprocessingMLandOtherFormats

Section3.4.ModifyingWordDocuments

Chapter4.CreatingXMLTemplatesinWord
Section4.1.ClarifyingUseCases

Section4.2.AWorkingExample




Section4.3.Word'sProcessingModelforEditingXML




Section4.5.HowtheonloadXSLTStylesheetIsSelected




Section4.7.AttachingSchemastoaDocument



Section4.9.SchemaValidation




Section4.10.DocumentProtection

Section4.12.ReviewingtheXML-SpecificDocumentOptions




Section4.14.DeployingtheTemplate

Section4.4.TheSchemaLibrary
Section4.6.MergedXMLandWordprocessingML
Section4.8.Schema-DrivenEditing

Section4.11.XMLSaveOptions
Section4.13.StepstoCreatingtheonloadStylesheet
Section4.15.LimitationsofWord2003'sXMLSupport


Chapter5.DevelopingSmartDocumentSolutions
Section5.1.What'saSmartDocument?

Section5.2.CreatingaSmartDocumentSolution




Section5.3.CodingtheSmartDocument

Section5.5.ManifestFiles

Section5.4.CodinginVB.NET
Section5.6.OtherFiles





Section5.7.AttachingtheSmartDocumentExpansionPack




Section5.9.AFewLastWordsonSmartDocuments

Section5.8.DeployingYourSmartDocumentSolution
Section5.10.SomeFinalThoughts


Chapter6.WorkingwithXMLDatainExcelSpreadsheets
Section6.1.SeparatingDataandLogic

Section6.2.LoadingXMLintoanExcelSpreadsheet

Section6.3.EditingXMLDocumentsinExcel
Section6.4.LoadingandSavingXMLDocumentsfromVBA


Chapter7.UsingSpreadsheetML
Section7.1.SavingandOpeningXMLSpreadsheets

Section7.2.ReadingXMLSpreadsheets




Section7.3.ExtractingInformationfromXMLSpreadsheets



Section7.5.EditingXMLMapswithSpreadsheetML

Section7.4.CreatingXMLSpreadsheets


Chapter8.ImportingandExportingXMLwithMicrosoftAccess
Section8.1.AccessXMLExpectations

Section8.2.ExportingXMLfromAccessUsingtheGUI




Section8.3.ImportingXMLintoAccessUsingtheGUI

Section8.4.AutomatingXMLImportandExport


Chapter9.UsingWebServicesinExcel,Access,andWord
Section9.1.WhatAreWebServices?

Section9.2.TheMicrosoftOfficeWebServicesToolkit




Section9.3.AccessingaSimpleWebServicefromExcel




Section9.5.AccessingRESTWebServiceswithVBA



Section9.7.UsingWebServicesinWord

Section9.4.AccessingMoreComplexWebServices
Section9.6.UsingWebServicesinAccess


Chapter10.DevelopingInfoPathSolutions
Section10.1.WhatIsInfoPath?

Section10.2.InfoPathinContext

Section10.3.ComponentsofanInfoPathSolution



Section10.5.UsingInfoPathDesignMode

Section10.4.AMoreCompleteExample


AppendixA.TheXMLYouNeedforOffice
SectionA.1.WhatIsXML?

SectionA.2.AnatomyofanXMLDocument




AppendixB.TheXSLTYouNeedforOffice
SectionB.1.SortingOuttheAcronyms






SectionB.2.ASimpleTemplateApproach

SectionB.4.AMoreAdvancedExample

SectionB.3.ARule-BasedStylesheet
SectionB.5.Conclusion


AppendixC.TheXSDYouNeedforOffice
SectionC.1.WhatIsXSD?

SectionC.2.CreatingaSimpleSchema




SectionC.3.SchemaParts
SectionC.4.WorkingwithXMLSchema



AppendixD.UsingDTDsandRELAXNGSchemaswithOffice
SectionD.1.WhatAreDTDs?

SectionD.2.WhatIsRELAXNG?

SectionD.3.HowDoIConvertDTDsandRELAXNGtoXSD?
Colophon
Index


Copyright©2004O'ReillyMedia,Inc.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
PublishedbyO'ReillyMedia,Inc.,1005GravensteinHighway
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NutshellHandbook,theNutshellHandbooklogo,andthe
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Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationofthis
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errorsoromissions,orfordamagesresultingfromtheuseof
theinformationcontainedherein.

Preface
Formanyusers,theappearanceofOffice2003hasmeanta
slightlyupdatedversionofafamiliartool,anotherepisodein
thecontinuousdevelopmentofapopularandwidely-usedpiece
ofsoftware.Forsomeusers,however,theappearanceofOffice
2003isaheraldoftumultuouschange.ThisversionofOffice
liberatestheinformationstoredinmillionsofdocuments
createdusingMicrosoft'sOfficesoftwareoverthepast15years
andmakesitreadilyavailabletoawidevarietyofsoftware.At
thesametime,Office2003hassubstantiallyimprovedits
abilitiesforworkingwithdatathatcomesfromexternal
sources,makingitmucheasiertouseOfficeforthe
examinationandanalysisofinformationthatcamefromother
sources.
XML,theExtensibleMarkupLanguage,liesattheheartofthis
newopenness.XMLhastakenmuchoftheworldbystormsince
itspublicationin1998asaWorldWideWebConsortium(W3C)
Recommendation.XMLprovidesastandardtext-basedformat
forstoringlabeledstructuredcontent.Anenormousvarietyof
toolsforprocessing,creating,andstoringXMLhasappeared
overthelastfewyears,andXMLhasbecomealinguafranca
thatletsdifferentkindsofcomputersanddifferentkindsof
softwarecommunicatewitheachotherallwhilepreservinga
substantiallevelofhumanaccessibility.
ThisbookexplorestheintersectionbetweenOffice2003and
XMLindepth,examininghowthevariousproductsintheOffice
suitecanbothproduceandconsumeXML.Whilethisbook
generallyfocusesonOffice2003itself,somesupporting
technologieswillbeimportantpiecesoftheintegrationpuzzle.

ExtensibleStylesheetLanguageTransformations(XSLT)and
W3CXMLSchema(whichMicrosoftabbreviatesXSD,forXML
SchemaDescriptions)aretwocriticalpiecesforteaching


variouspartsofOfficeaboutthestructuresofXMLdocuments,
whileSOAP(anacronymthatnolongermeansanything)and
HTTPwillbeimportantsupportingtechnologiesfor
communicationsbetweenOfficeandotherprograms.


WhoShouldReadThisBook
Thisbookiswrittenfordeveloperswhowanttobeableto
combineOfficewithothersourcesofinformationand
informationprocessing.Forexample,youmaybeasystems
integratortryingconnectOfficetootherworkflowprocessing,
youmaybeapower-userwhowantstoanalyzeXMLdatasets
inExcelorAccess,oryoumaybeanarchivistwhoneedsto
extractcrucialinformationfromexistingOfficedocuments.
Therearemanymorepossibilitiesoutthere,ofcourse.
Thisbookiswrittenfordeveloperswhoalreadyhavean
understandingofhowtousethevariousprogramsinthe
MicrosoftOfficesuite.SomebasicinstructioninXML,XSLT,and
schema-relatedtechnologiesisprovidedintheappendixes,but
forthemostpartthisbookassumesthatyoucomewithan
understandingofXMLandrelatedtechnologies.


WhoShouldNotReadThisBook
IfallofyourworkiscompletelycontainedwithintheOfficesuite

itself,youprobablydon'tneedthisbookunlessyouhavea
particularlytrickyproblemintegratinginformationamongthe
programs.If,forinstance,youjustcreateWorddocuments
usingtemplates,youmayevenbeabletocreateXML
documentsusingthosetemplateswithoutreadingthisbook.
Similarly,developerswhocreateself-containedspreadsheets
anddatabaseswillmostlikelynotneedtolearnaboutthese
technologies.
IfyouhaveneverusedMicrosoftOfficeorXMLbefore,youmay
wanttoconsiderexploringthosetechnologiesingreaterdepth
beforereadingthisbook.


OrganizationofThisBook
ThisbookstartsinChapter1withanoverviewoftheXML
featuresincludedinthevariousOffice2003components.While
mostofthecomponentshaveXMLfeatures,theyallinteract
withXMLquitedifferently,andcomparingthestoriesofeachof
theproductsmakessensebeforeleapingintothecomponentspecificdetails.
Therestofthebookexplorestheindividualapplicationsinthe
MicrosoftOfficeSuite,asallofthemtakedifferentapproaches
toworkingwithXML.AslearningMicrosoftWord'sinternalXML
format,WordprocessingML,isacrucialfirststepfordeveloping
anyXMLapplicationsaroundit,Chapter2examineshowWord
representsitsdocumentsinXML.Chapter3explorestheuseof
XSLTtoconvertWordMLtootherformsofXML,andthen
Chapter4returnstoWordtocombineWordML,XSLT,XML
Schema,andtheWorduserinterfacetocreateenvironments
whereuserscancreatecustomXMLdocuments.Chapter5
takesalookatSmartDocuments,amuchmorelabor-intensive

butverypowerfulcombinationofWord'sfeatureswithexternal
code.
Exceloffersaslightlydifferentsetoffeaturesforanalyzingand
processingXMLandforsavingspreadsheetsasXML.Chapter6
exploreshowExcelletsusersloadandworkwithXMLdataina
varietyofvocabularies,andChapter7takesacloselookat
creatingandconsumingSpreadsheetML.
TheXMLcapabilitiesofMicrosoftAccesshavebeenenhanced
forOffice2003,andthosefeaturesaredescribedinChapter8.
Chapter9takesalookatadifferentsetofXMLfeaturesin
Office,thosespecifictoWebServices,andexamineshowtouse
theminExcel,Access,andWord.
Chapter10takesacloselookatInfoPath,anapplication


MicrosofthasaddedtotheEnterpriseversionoftheOfficesuite
specificallytoletusersinteractwithXMLandWebServices
throughaforms-basedinterface.
Thelastsectionofthebookisacollectionofappendixes,
introducingvariousXMLtechnologiesthatmaybeusefulin
workingwithOffice.Theyaren'tintendedtosubstitutefora
thoroughunderstanding,buthopefullytheywillbeenoughto
getyoustarted.


SupportingBooks
Evenifyoufeelyouarereadyforthisbook,youmaywantto
exploresomeoftheXMLtechnologiesingreaterdepththanis
possiblehere.Thefollowinglistsoffersomegoodplacesto
start.

AppendixAprovidesabrieforientationtoXML,butotherbooks
thatgointofarmoredeptharereadilyavailable.Forasolid
groundinginXML,considerthesebooks:
ErikRay,LearningXML(O'Reilly)
ElliotteRustyHarold&W.ScottMeans,XMLinaNutshell
(O'Reilly)
ElizabethCastro,XMLfortheWorldWideWeb:Visual
QuickStartGuide(PeachpitPress)
AppendixBprovidesabrieforientationtoXSLT,butmany
projectsmayrequireamoresophisticatedunderstandingof
XSLT.FormoreinformationonXSLT,trythesebooks:
MichaelFitzgerald,LearningXSLT(O'Reilly)
DougTidwell,XSLT(O'Reilly)
SalMangano,XSLTCookbook(O'Reilly)
MichaelKay,XSLTProgrammer'sReference(Wrox)
JeniTennsion,XSLT&XPath:OntheEdge(JohnWiley&
Sons)


JohnE.Simpson,XPathandXPointer(O'Reilly)
AppendixCexploresW3CXMLSchemabriefly,butthistopicis
definitelyworthyofamuchlargerbook.Somegoodoptions
include:
EricvanderVlist,XMLSchema(O'Reilly)
PriscillaWalmsley,DefinitiveXMLSchema(Prentice-Hall)
AppendixDbrieflydescribeshowtouseRELAXNG,asimpler
alternativetoW3CXMLSchema,tocreateW3CXMLSchema
files.ForamorethoroughexplanationofRELAXNG,see:
EricvanderVlist,RELAXNG(O'Reilly)
YoumayalsowanttocomplementyourXMLknowledgewith

moreinformationontherapidlygrowingworldofWebServices.
Foralotmoredetail,see:
EthanCerami,WebServicesEssentials(O'Reilly)
JamesSnell,DougTidwell,andPavelKulchenko,
ProgrammingWebServiceswithSOAP(O'Reilly)
EricNewcomer,UnderstandingWebServices:SOAP,WSDL,
andUDDI(AddisonWesley)
AlexFerraraandMatthewMacDonald,Programming.NET
WebServices(O'Reilly)
O'ReillyalsooffersacollectionofprogrammingbooksonXML
thatmayproveuseful.Theyinclude:


NielM.Bornstein,.NET&XML(O'Reilly)
BrettMcLaughlin,Java&XML(O'Reilly)
ErikT.RayandJasonMcIntosh,Perl&XML(O'Reilly)
ChristopherJonesandFredL.Drake,Jr.,Python&XML
(O'Reilly)
TherearealsomanyonlineresourcesforXML.Twoparticularly
goodplacestostartlookingareXML.comandxmlhack.com.
XML.comispartoftheO'ReillyNetwork,andcoversthelatest
newsinXMLonaweeklybasis.Forsmallerstoriesandaless
formalapproach,tryxmlhack.com.Bothhaveavarietyoflinks
tootherXMLresourcesandmailinglists.
ThereisanenormousnumberofbooksonMicrosoftOfficeand
itscomponentapplications.Mybestadviceinthisfieldistovisit
abookstoreandexamineafewbookstoseewhichbestfits
yourlearningstyleandyourinterests.(Thesameistrueofthe
XMLbooks,butthelistaboveprovidesastartingpoint.)Also,if
you'dliketoknowmoreabouthowOffice'scompetitor

OpenOffice.orghandlesXMLprocessing,seeJ.David
Eisenberg'sexcellentOpenOffice.orgXMLEssentialsat
o/.


ConventionsUsedinThisBook
Thefollowingfontconventionsareusedinthisbook:
Italicisusedfor:
Pathnames,filenames,programnames,andstylesheet
names
Internetaddresses,suchasdomainnamesandURLs
Newitemswheretheyaredefined
ConstantWidthisusedfor:
Commandlinesandoptionsthatshouldbetypedverbatim
Namesandkeywordsinprograms,includingmethod
names,variablenames,andclassnames
XMLelementtags
Constant-WidthBoldisusedforemphasisinprogramcode
lines.
Constant-WidthItalicisusedtoindicatereplaceable
argumentswithinprogramcode.


UsingCodeExamples
Thisbookisheretohelpyougetyourjobdone.Ingeneral,you
mayusethecodeinthisbookinyourprogramsand
documentation.Youdonotneedtocontactusforpermission
unlessyou'rereproducingasignificantportionofthecode.For
example,writingaprogramthatusesseveralchunksofcode
fromthisbookdoesnotrequirepermission.Sellingor

distributingaCD-ROMofexamplesfromO'Reillybooksdoes
requirepermission.Answeringaquestionbycitingthisbook
andquotingexamplecodedoesnotrequirepermission.
Incorporatingasignificantamountofexamplecodefromthis
bookintoyourproduct'sdocumentationdoesrequire
permission.
Weappreciate,butdonotrequire,attribution.Anattribution
usuallyincludesthetitle,author,publisher,andISBN.For
example:"Office2003XML,byEvanLenz,MaryMcRae,and
SimonSt.Laurent.Copyright2004O'ReillyMedia,Inc.,0-59600538-5."
Ifyoufeelyouruseofcodeexamplesfallsoutsidefairuseor
thepermissiongivenabove,feelfreetocontactusat



HowtoContactUs
Wehavetestedandverifiedtheinformationinthisbooktothe
bestofourability,butyoumayfindthatfeatureshavechanged
(oreventhatwehavemadeafewmistakes!).Pleaseletus
knowaboutanyerrorsyoufind,aswellasyoursuggestionsfor
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O'ReillyMedia,Inc.
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pageat:
/>Formoreinformationabutthisbookandothers,seetheO'Reilly
website:



Acknowledgments
FromEvanLenz
Thisprojecthasbeenawonderfulchallengeandpersonal
learningexperience.Thankyou,Simon,forinvitingmetohelp
writethisbook.You'vebeenajoytoworkwith,bothasmy
editorandasmyco-author.ThanksalsotoMaryMcRaefor
joiningusonshortnotice,bringingtolightsomeimportant
areasweweretooscaredtotouch.Iwouldalsoliketothank
technicalreviewersJeniTennisonandJeffMaggardfortheir
helpfulinsights.Jeni'scommentsinparticularwereprompt,
thorough,and(asalways)spot-on.
Thereareanumberofotherpeoplewho,directlyorindirectly,
madeitpossibleformetohelpwritethisbook.Specialthanks
goto:JamesCooperatSeattleUniversitySchoolofLaw,forso
generouslyallowingmetimetoworkonthisbook;writerslike
MichaelKayandMeroldWestphal,whoshowedmethatit's
possibletobeclearwithoutcompromisingrigor;mydad,
HerbertA.Lenz,whoalwaysencouragedmetowrite;my
grandfather,HerbertJ.Lenz,wholivedhislifeasanexampleof

whatitmeanstogiveandlovesacrificially;mybeautifulwife,
Lisa,andpreciouschildren,SamuelandMorgan,forbeing
patientandtolerantofDaddy'sextraworkinghours;and,
finally,tomyLord,whoisleadingmeonajourneyajourneyon
whichthisprojecthasbeenanimportantstep.

FromMaryMcRae
Learningtheintricaciesofanewly-developedapplicationduring
betatestingisnevereasy,andwouldnothavebeenpossible
withoutthehelpofseveralindividualsatMicrosoft,including


JeanPaoli,JoeAndreshak,BrianJones,MartinSawicki,and
AchintSrivastava.Myco-workers,DaveGiusto,RicoMcCahon,
andJeffPouliot,werenotonlysupportive,butalsoinstrumental
inhelpingtoresolvetechnicalchallenges.Specialthanksgoto
co-authorsSimonSt.LaurentandEvanLenzforinvitingmeto
beapartofthisproject,andmostimportantlytomyfamily,
SteveandHeather,fortheirloveandsupport,andforkeeping
thecoffeeflowing.

FromSimonSt.Laurent
I'dliketothankmywife,TraceyCranston,forputtingupwith
meoverthecourseofwritingthisbook.Withoutherkindness,
asusual,I'msureIwouldhavedisappearedinapuffofflame
andsmokesometimearoundthemiddleofthelastchapter.I'm
delightedtohavehadEvanLenzandMaryMcRaeascoauthors,andwouldliketothankJeniTennison,JeffMaggard,
andJeffWebbfortheirtechnicalinsightsoverthecourseof
reviewingthisbook.EddDumbillcontributedalargeportionof
AppendixAandwaskindenoughtoonlygentlychidemefor

pursuingandwritingthisbook.


Chapter1.MicrosoftOfficeandXML
MostpeoplewhouseMicrosoftOfficeseetheindividual
applicationsastoolsforgettingtheirworkdone,notasgeneralpurposeinterfacestoinformation.Sure,peopleregularly
exchangeWord,Excel,andPowerPointfilesoveremail,and
therearelotsoftimeswhenyouneedtoreusefilesyoucreated
earlier,butforthemostpartinformationcreatedinMicrosoft
OfficestaysinMicrosoftOffice,comingorgoingfromelsewhere
largelybycut-and-pasteorbyoftenimperfectfileconversions.
WiththelatestWindows-basedversionofOffice,Microsofthas
takenariskystep,openingupOfficequitedrastically.
Developers,eventhosewhoaren'tusingMicrosoftOfficeoreven
MicrosoftWindowswillbeabletoeasilyprocesstheinformation
insideofWordandExcelfiles.InsteadofjustcreatingWord
documents,userswillbeabletocreatedatafilesthatcanbe
sharedwithotherprocessesandsystems.Exceluserswillbe
abletoanalyzedatafromamuchwidervarietyofsources,and
Accessuserswillbeabletoexchangeinformationwithother
databasesandprogramsmuchmoreeasilythanbefore.Users
oftheEnterpriseEditionofOfficewillalsohaveanewformsbasedinterface,InfoPath,forworkingwithotherprograms.
AllofthesethingsarepossiblebecauseMicrosofthaschosento
integrateXMLdeeplyintothecoreofMicrosoftOffice.


1.1WhyXML?
ExtensibleMarkupLanguage(XML)definesatext-basedformat
containinglabelsandstructures.XMLlooksalotlikeHTML,the
primarylanguageusedbywebbrowsers,butXMLletsusers

anddeveloperscreatetheirownformatsratherthanlimiting
themtoasinglevocabulary.TheXML1.0specificationappeared
in1998,andawidevarietyofapplicationshaveaddedXML
functionalityorbeenbuiltaroundXMLsincethen,from
databasestostocktickerstoeditorstowebbrowsersto
inventorysystems.WhileXMLstillrequiresreadersandwriters
ofdocumentstohavesomesharedunderstandingsaboutthe
documentstheycreateandinterpret,itprovidesabasicformat
thatiseasilyprocessedinawidevarietyofdifferent
environmentsit'sevenfrequentlyhuman-readable.

Ifyou'veneverworkedwithXMLandneedtoknowthetechnicaldetails
ofhowtoreadandcreateXMLdocuments,youshouldreadAppendixA
ofthisbook.Thischapterprovidesahigh-levelviewofwhatXML
makespossibleandwhyitmakessenseforOffice,notadetailed
explanationofwhatXMLis.

MicrosofthasbeeninvolvedwithXMLforalongtime.A
Microsoftemployee,JeanPaoli(lateraproductmanagerfor
MicrosoftOffice),wasoneoftheeditorsoftheXML1.0
specificationattheWorldWideWebConsortium(W3C).
MicrosofthasbeeninvolvedwithnearlyeveryXMLspecification
attheW3Csince,andhasparticipatedinawidevarietyofXMLrelatedprojectsatotherorganizationsaswell.Microsoftbegan
workonXMLtoolsbeforethespecificationwascomplete,
buildingtheMSXMLtoolkitintoInternetExplorerandthen
expandinginto.NETandWebServicesdevelopment.Moreand


moreMicrosoftsoftwarehasXMLatitscore,andthislatest
versionofOfficejoinsalargegroupofMicrosoftapplications

usingXML.
XMLhasbeenacrucialpartofMicrosoft'sdrivetoputits
programsinmoreandmoreenvironments.XMLmakesit
possibleforMicrosoftprogramstocommunicatewithprograms
fromIBM,Sun,Oracle,andothers,andgreatlysimplifiesthe
taskofintegratingnewtoolswithcustomcode.Developerscan
buildapplicationsaroundXML,anddon'thavetoworryabout
theinternaldetailsofcomponentswithwhichtheyshareXML.
Equallyimportant,developersusingXMLdon'thavetoworry
aboutbeinglockedintoaformatthat'sproprietarytoasingle
vendor,becauseXMLisopenbydesign.Therulesforwhatis
andwhatisnotalegitimateXMLdocumentareveryclear,and
whileit'spossibletocreateXMLthatisdifficulttoread,a
combinationofstrictgrammaticalrulesandwidely-sharedbest
practicesencouragesdeveloperstocreateformatsthatareeasy
toworkworth.XMLalsoincludesfeaturesthatsupport
internationalizationandlocalization,makingitmucheasierto
consistentlyrepresentinformationacrosslanguageboundaries
aswellasprogramboundaries.
ByaddingXMLtotheMicrosoftOfficemix,Microsoftboth
makesitmucheasiertointegrateOfficewithMicrosoft
programsthatalreadyunderstandXML(likeSQLServer,
SharePointServer,andthetoolkitsinVisualStudio)andfor
developerstocreatetheirowncombinationsofMicrosoftOffice
andothersoftware.ThisallowsMicrosofttoconnecttoamuch
widervarietyofsoftwarewithoutmakingusersworryabout
whetherthey'llbeabletousethatinformationelsewhere.XML
alsoletsusersgomuchfurtherinbuildingcustomapplications
aroundMicrosoftOffice.
XMLitselfisonlyonepieceofalargerXMLpuzzle.Extensible

StylesheetLanguageTransformations(XSLT)isanXML-based
languagefortransformingoneXMLdocumentintoanother,
usingtemplates.XSLTisattheheartofmuchoftheOfficeXML


work,akeyingredientformovingfromtheXMLyouhavetothe
XMLOfficeneedsandvice-versa.Anotherspecification,W3C
XMLSchema,providesdescriptionsofdocumentstructures
whichthevariousOfficeapplicationscanuseasafoundationfor
theirprocessing.MicrosoftreferstothisasXMLSchema
Definitionlanguage,orjustXSD,buttheW3Citselfdidn't
provideanacronym.SomesourcesrefertoitasWXS(forW3C
XMLSchema),othersasXSD,someasXSDL,andsomejustas
XMLSchema.BecauseMicrosoftgenerallyreferstoitasXSD,
thisbookwilldothesame.
OneaspectofXMLdevelopmentinparticulardeservesspecial
mention,becauseMicrosofthasintegrateditintoOffice
alongsidethemoregenericXMLeditingandanalysisfunctions.
WebServices,builtontheSOAP,WSDL,andUDDI
specifications,provideasetoftoolsforcommunicatingwith
otherprogramsusingXML.Youcanstillreadandwritefiles
fromyourlocalcomputer,afileserver,orawebserver,butWeb
Servicesexposeadditionalfunctionalityofprogramslocated
anywhereonthenetwork.