Some of the information
may be inaccurate or incomplete. Thank you for your patience as we
continue to work at developing a useful and attractive web site.
If you have suggestions
or comments or would like to see completion of this page given special
priority, please let us
know.
For the most recent version of
the Web Templates Help...
These are the version 3_8 ECEn XML Web Template help pages.
Both the templates and the help pages may have been updated
since this version---if you want to see the most current
stable version of the templates, go here. Note, however, that some of the information contained in more
recent versions of the documentation may not apply to you if you
are using an older version of the templates.
First, Can I Ask a Question? --- the F(CIA)AQ
XML
What is XML?
XML is a way of making markup languages. A markup language is a way of
taking regular old text and marking certain parts of it as 'special' in
some way.
Why XML? Basically, because XML is a useful tool for organizing all kinds of content and works well for
web pages too.
HTML vs. XML. If you know HTML (as opposed to the newer XHTML), it would be a
good idea to understand the critical differences between XML languages
and old-style HTML.
The ECEn XML Web Templates
Why should I use the ECEn XML Web Templates? They are easy to use: just define your content in terms of the ECEn XML and let the ECEn Web Team
worry about making the web page match the look and feel of the department and the university.
Are they easy to use? They're designed to be anyway... XML is easy to write and if you don't want to write a lot of XML you can use Microsoft Word 2003 with our WordML tool to eliminate most of the XML writing.
So, is there any other way? Yes, we do have static HTML templates if you enjoy using Microsoft Front Page or Mozilla Composer,
but we recommend the XML templates.
Are these templates Windows friendly? Yes! You can easily edit XML and use the ECEn XML web templates on any platform. There are all
kind of free XML editors available for Windows and GNU/Linux alike and, if you prefer, the WordML tool allows you to create most of your web page content in Microsoft Word 2003.
What goes on behind the scenes? The great thing about the ECEn XML templates is that you don't have to worry about how it all works, but if you're curious, we'll explain.
Howdy, World! --- Making Your First ECEn XML Web Template-Driven Page
The Howdy World Tutorial is a simple, hands-on tutorial with bits of explanation
along the way. It requires that you have access to some
web space on the ECEn web server.
Directories and Filenames
Find out what files you need and how to work with them to use the ECEn XML templates.
Using a text editor (like Notepad, WordPad, emacs, or vi) to edit XML
General XML Fundamentals is a short list explaining several important aspects of XML, with special emphasis on when XML differs from HTML.
ECEn Web Template XML Basics
A simple class home page using the ECEn XML Web Templates
Where Do I Go From Here?
Common Tasks
The Common Tasks page
is a collection of "How To's" covering some of the common tasks in creating a standard web page using
the ECEn XML Web Templates. We've included how to create links, lists, pictures, menus, tables and more.
If you can't find how to create something that you need for your web page in these common tasks, just
email the ECEn Web Team and we'll help you get what you need done and we might even add your common task to this page.
These instructions assume that you already have an ECEn XML web page
to edit and know at least a bit about XML. Most content, such as text, links, lists, pictures etc., belongs in the <content> portion of your page; check the instructions below to see if you need to make sure that you
have a page with a <content> portion. If you need a quick tutorial or
just a simple starter web page download, check out the 'Howdy, World' Tutorial where you can get a brief overview of what files you need to set up a basic
ECEn XML web page.
This should include both XML files that can be downloaded and
included as well as the locations of typical 'canonical' files
to include.
Troubleshooting
Need help? We understand. Nothing can be so frustrating as to bring up your favorite web browser, expect to see your lovely new webpage, and instead be presented with a blank white screen or an XML parse error. Luckily, there are really only a few common errors people run into when using the ECEn XML Web Templates and they are all fairly easy to fix. Browsing through these troubleshooting pages will help you solve common problems, avoid problems in the future, and report bugs in the template system.
Broken XML: finding mis-matched tags
Getting strange parse errors instead of your web page? Zap these errors by finding mis-matched tags.
Broken XML, cont.: '<' and '&' run amuck
Getting strange parse errors instead of your web page? Zap these errors by handling '<' and '&' run amuk.
See a blank, white page instead of your web page? Get your page back by
fixing broken .phtml files.
Hard to read XML Files
Open an XML file to see all of the XML on one line with little boxes
everywhere? Learn how to fix hard to read XML files.
Bugs in the ECEn Templates
Think something is wrong? Can't add something to your XML web page you think you should be able to? You might have found a bug in the ECEn Templates. Learn how to report it to help us make the templates better.
Getting Help
At your wit's end? Let us help. Learn how to contact the ECEn Web Team for help.
Tools, Tricks and Tips
Using MS Word 2003 to create ECEn XML Web Pages
The WordML tool enables you to create content for ECEn Web Template XML pages using Microsoft Word 2003, using headings, styles, tables and
the like.
Web Forms
Special Text Features
The wonders of Copy and Paste
Escaping into 'real' HTML
Focusing on the Content
ECEn XML Web Templates Reference
The ECEn XML Web Templates Reference contains a
detailed listing of the XML tags and their
contents in (roughly) document order. If you're wondering what
a particular tag does or whether there's a tag to do what you
want, this would be a good place to look. It can also serve as
a sort of crash-course for the templates for advanced users and
those who prefer a steep learning curve :).
The reference page is quite large and may take a while
to load.
