This page provides a brief introduction and overview for XML
(the eXtensible Markup Language), on which the OrganSpec is based.
If you are unfamiliar with XML, this should give you enough
information to understand and use the rest of the OrganSpec standard.
For more information, see:
The Official XML Home Page
The Official XML 1.0 Specification
Introduction
XML is a text-based format. This means that you can create and modify
XML files using a standard text editor or word processor.
There are two basic things that you need to understand: elements and attributes.
Elements
An element is a way of encapsulating information so that you know what it is.
The information can be arbitrarily long or complex.
An element has a name (which is how you know what it is), and a body
which contains its information. The body of an element is flanked at
both ends by a "tag" which contains the name. The following example
shows a single element whose name is "Composer", and whose body is
"Johann Sebastian Bach".
<Composer> Johann Sebastian Bach </Composer>
The angle brackets ('<' and '>') are part of the XML syntax,
as is the slash ('/'). The name in the ending tag must match
the name in the starting tag.
Elements can appear inside other elements. In the following example,
an element whose name is "Baroque" contains two elements named "Composer".
<Baroque>
<Composer> George Frederick Handel </Composer>
<Composer> Johann Sebastian Bach </Composer>
</Baroque>
Attributes
Elements can also have one or more attributes.
An attribute has a name and a value.
The following example shows a single element whose name is "Composer",
which contains three attributes whose names are "first", "last" and "middle".
The element's body is empty.
<Composer first="Johann" middle="Sebastian" last="Bach"> </Composer>
The equals signs ('=') and double quotes ('"') are part of the XML syntax.
An attribute with a given name may only appear once within a single
element.
File Header
An XML file must begin with the following line:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
Copyright © Institute for Pipe Organ Research And Education, Inc. 2002