Internet Explorer and XML

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 includes MSXML.DLL 2.0, a library that implements a number of classes you can access through programming languages or script. This library contains an implementation of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) XML 1.0 specification and includes support for the following:

• XML validation. Validates XML documents against Document Type Definitions (DTDs) and schemas, and also supports XML namespaces. This enables you to qualify element names uniquely on the Web and avoid conflicts between elements with the same name. For an example of how the PT application uses a schema to validate XML, see Using LingoSchema.xml.
• Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL). Enables you to apply style sheets to XML data and control display of the data. The Microsoft XSL processor permits querying against XML datasets on the client and the server. For an example of how to apply XSL to an XML file, see Generating Menus Dynamically with XSL.
• XML schemas. Schemas offer a richer way than DTDs to define the rules of an XML document. You can use schemas to define element names and rich data types, and to specify which elements can appear in combination and which attributes are available for each element. For an example of how to use an XML schema, see Using LingoSchema.xml.
• XML Document Object Model (DOM). The XML DOM allows you to load XML documents and manipulate them programmatically. You can access the XML DOM with Microsoft Visual Basic®, C++, script, and other programming languages. The XML merge process the PT application uses to build localized user interfaces relies heavily on the XML DOM.
• C++ XML Data Source Object (DSO). This XML DSO provides better performance than the Java DSO released in the XML parser for Internet Explorer 4.0. It has a greater ability to bind to various XML nodes and uses the data binding features in Internet Explorer 5. Binding XML Data to HTML Pages with the XML Data Source Object discusses how the PT application uses the XML DSO.

This is only a partial list of XML features in Internet Explorer 5. Internet Explorer 4.0 supports some XML features natively; to improve XML support in Internet Explorer 4.0, download the redistributable XML parser from the MSDN™ Web site.

For more information about the features of Microsoft's XML processor, and to download the redistributable XML parser, see the XML Developer Center Site.