Compete with the big players in today's E-commerce marketplace Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has long been the standard for large business enterprises to communicate in the B2B marketplace. However, EDI is a difficult technology - the cost and support of EDI standards is often too much for a small or medium business enterprise to bear. To compete in the current E-commerce marketplace, many organizations are beginning to take an interest in the interoperability that exists between XML (Extensible Markup Language) and EDI. XML .NET Developers Guide is written for information technology professionals responsible for supporting data management in both small and large organizations. This book appeals to both individuals working with an existing EDI environment, and small to medium businesses looking to increase their market presence by competing with current EDI players using XML/EDI.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Chapter 1 Introducing the Microsoft .NET Framework Introduction What Is the .NET Framework? Introduction to the Common Language Runtime Using .NET-Compliant Programming Languages Creating Assemblies Using the Manifest Assembly Cache Locating an Assembly Understanding Metadata The Benefits of Metadata Identifying an Assembly with Metadata Types Assembly Dependencies Reflection Ending DLL Hell Using System Services Exception Handling Garbage Collection Console I/O Microsoft Intermediate Language The Just-in-Time Compiler Using the Namespace System to Organize Classes The Common Type System Type Safety Relying on Automatic Resource Management The Managed Heap Garbage Collection and the Managed Heap Security Services Framework Security Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 2 Visual Studio.NET IDE Introduction Introducing Visual Studio.NET Components of VS.NET Design Window Code Window Server Explorer Toolbox Docking Windows Properties Explorer Solution Explorer Class View Dynamic Help Task List Explorer Features of VS.NET IntelliSense XML Editor Documentation Generation (XML Embedded Commenting) Customizing the IDE Creating a Project Projects Creating a Project Add Reference Build the Project Debugging a Project Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 3 Reviewing the Fundamentals of XML Introduction An Overview of XML The Goals of XML What Does an XML Document Look Like? Creating an XML Document Components of an XML Document Structure of an XML Document Well-Formed XML Documents Schema and Valid XML Documents Transforming XML through XSLT XSL Use of Patternsxiv Contents XPath Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 4 Using XML in the .NET Framework Introduction Explaining the XML Document Object Model The Different XML DOM Levels XML DOM Core Interfaces DOM Structure Model DOM Traversal DOM Range DOM XPath Introduction to the System.Xml Namespace Overview of System.Xml.Schema Classes Mapping XML DOM on the System.Xml Namespace Explaining a Selection of System.Xml Classes Using the System.Xml Namespace Building the XML Address Book Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 5 Understanding .NET and XML Security Introduction The Risks Associated with Using XML in the .NET Framework Confidentiality Concerns .NET Internal Security as a Viable Alternative Permissions Principal Authentication Authorization Security Policy Type Safety Code Access Security .NET Code Access Security Model Role-Based Security Principals Role-Based Security Checks Security Policies Creating a New Permission Set Modifying the Code Group Structure Remoting Security Cryptography Security Tools Securing XML—Best Practices XML Encryption XML Digital Signatures Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 6 XML and the Web with ASP.NET Introduction Reviewing the Basics of the ASP.NET Platform Reading and Parsing XML Parsing an XML Document Navigating through an XML Document to Retrieve Data Writing an XML Document Using the XmlTextWriterClass Generating an XML Document Using XmlTextWriter Exploring the XML Document Object Model Navigating through an XmlDocument Object Parsing an XML Document Using the XmlDocumentObject Using the XmlDataDocument Class Querying XML Data Using XPathDocument and XPathNavigator Using XPathDocument and XPathNavigator Objects Using XPathDocument and XPathNavigator Objects for Document Navigation Transforming an XML Document Using XSLT Transforming an XML Document to an HTML Document Transforming an XML Document into Another XML Document Working with XML and Databases Online Creating an XML Document from a Database Query Reading an XML Document into a DataSet Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 7 Creating an XML.NET Guestbook Introduction Functional Design Requirements of the XML Guestbook Constructing the XML Adding Records to the Guestbook Understanding the pnlAdd Panel Adding a Thank-You Panel with PnlThank Exploring the Submit Button Handler Code Viewing the Guestbook Displaying Messages Advanced Options for the Guestbook Interface Manipulating Colors and Images Modifying the Page Output Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 8 Creating a Message Board with ADO and XML Introduction Setting Up the Database MS Access Database SQL Server Database Designing Your Application Designing Your Objects Creating Your Data Access Object Designing the User Class Designing the Board Class Designing the ThreadList Class Designing the Thread Class Designing the PostList Class Designing the PostClass Designing the MessageBoard Class Designing the User Interface Setting Up General Functions Building the Log-In Interface Designing the Browsing Interface Board Browsing Creating the User Functions Editing the Member Profile Creating Threads and Posts Building the Administrative Interface Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 9 Building a Remote Database Viewer Introduction Understanding ADO.NET The ADO.NET Architecture Using .NET Data Provider Using DataSets and DataTables A Quick Comparison of ADO and ADO.NET Accessing Data from a Database Using ADO.NET Database Design Navigating between Records Add Record Form Delete/Update Form Converting Binary Data Using Base64 How Base64 Works Converting Binary Data into Base64 Format Reading Base64 Encoded Data from an XML File Designing and Implementing a Simple Remote Database Viewer What Is a Remote Database? Advantages and Disadvantages of Remote Data Access Implementing a Simple Remote Database Viewer Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Chapter 10 Building a Wholesale Catalog Introduction Basic Design Considerations Storage: XML versus Traditional Databases Information Transport Methods XML and EDI XML Vocabularies Implementation of the Agora Markets Catalog Vocabularies Analysis Coding the Project Database Design XML Packages Design Supplier Interface and B2B Design Customer Interface Design GUI:The Catalog Page GUI:The Shopping Cart Page(s) Business and Web Services Business versus Web Services Coding a Business Service Creating a Web Service Testing the Web Service Using Web Services Installation: Migrating to SQL Server Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions Index