Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 is a major breakthrough for XML development, just as Dreamweaver MX 2004 was for CSS. The development team behind this release decided to offer people the entry-point support they needed to tackle XML and XSL-based web projects. The approach Dreamweaver 8 takes to XML and XSL is no surprise:

• Visual XSL transformations using drag and drop from the Bindings panel.
• Easy-to-use objects accessible from the Insert bar.
• Code highlighting and code completion functions for the more experienced developers.

Jen Taylor presents a brief overview of the new XML/XSL features in Dreamweaver 8 in her article, Dreamweaver 8 New Features and Benefits. In this article, I use the new XML features in Dreamweaver 8 in a real-life situation: consuming a remote RSS feed using server-side XSL transformations. It is a useful exercise if you plan to include news headlines, articles lists, blog posts, or other syndicated content in your personal website, in a portal, or company site.

Requirements

To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:

Dreamweaver 8

• Try
• Buy

You have installed and properly configured a web server with the required libraries for processing XML and XSL:

• For PHP developers:

  • PHP 4.2.x – Sablotron
  • PHP 4.3+ – DOMXML/XSL

• For ColdFusion developers:

  • ColdFusion MX and MX 6.1 – XSL Transform Tag
  • ColdFusion MX 7 – XSL Transform Tag

• For ASP developers:

  • ASP VBScript/JScript – MsXML 2.6/MsXML 3.0
  • ASP .NET
  • ASP .NET VB/C# – System.Xml.

I explain how to set up PHP application servers for XML and XSL support in a future article.

• You have defined a Dreamweaver site with a testing server or remote server running ColdFusion 6.1 or later, PHP 4.2 or later, ASP or ASP.NET. Check out How to define a site in Dreamweaver (TechNote 14028) for instructions on correctly defining your site.

Tutorials and sample files:

• rss_samples.zip (ZIP, 3K)

Prerequisite Knowledge

• You have read my previous articles on XML and XSL or have some knowledge of these languages.
• Familiarity with the Dreamweaver workspace and interface.

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