XML Interview Questions and Answers

Extensible Markup Language. A flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere. XML is a formal recommendation from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) similar to the language of today's Web pages, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

XML Interviews are getting tough these days as the technology grows faster. To get through the XML interview one needs to update him/herself in a regular manner. Having said that, just before the interview, it is very important to have a quick glance of the reputed XML questions and answers to make yourself comfortable during the interview process. This is where DoAnswers.com helps you in renewing yourself on XML and various other technologies interview preparation.

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11. Can you walk us through the steps necessary to parse XML documents?

Superficially, this is a fairly basic question. However, the ball is not to determine whether candidates understand the concept of a parser but rather have them walk through the process of parsing XML documents step-by-step. Determining whether a non-validating or validating parser is needed, choosing the appropriate parser, and handling errors are all important aspects to this process that should be included in the candidate's response.

12. Can you walk us through the steps necessary to parse XML file?

 
DocumentBuilderFactory factory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
factory.setValidating(true);
DocumentBuilder domBuilder = factory.newDocumentBuilder();
Document doc = domBuilder.parse(XMLFile);

13. Describe the differences between XML and HTML.

It's amazing how many developers claim to be proficient programming with XML, yet do not understand the basic differences between XML and HTML. Anyone with a fundamental grasp of XML should be able describe some of the main differences outlined in the table below.

14. Describe the role that XSL can play when dynamically generating HTML pages from a relational database.

Even if candidates have never participated in a project involving this type of architecture, they should recognize it as one of the common uses of XML. Querying a database and then formatting the result set so that it can be validated as an XML document allows developers to translate the data into an HTML table using XSLT rules. Consequently, the format of the resulting HTML table can be modified without changing the database query or application code since the document rendering logic is isolated to the XSLT rules.

15. Differences Between XML and HTML

XML	HTML
User definable tags	Defined set of tags designed for web display
Content driven	Format driven
End tags required for well formed documents	End tags not required
Quotes required around attributes values	Quotes not required
Slash required in empty tags	Slash not required

16. Do I have to switch from SGML or HTML to XML?

No, existing SGML and HTML applications software will continue to work with existing files. But as with any enhanced facility, if you want to view or download and use XML files, you will need to use XML-aware software. There is much more being developed for XML than there ever was for SGML, so a lot of users are moving.

17. Does XML replace HTML?

No. XML itself does not replace HTML: instead, it provides an alternative which allows you to define your own set of markup elements. HTML is expected to remain in common use for some time to come, and a Document Type Definition for HTML is available in XML syntax as well as in original SGML. XML is designed to make the writing of DTDs much simpler than with full SGML. (See the question on DTDs for what one is and why you might want one.)

18. Give a few examples of types of applications that can benefit from using XML.

There are literally thousands of applications that can benefit from XML technologies. The ball of this question is not to have the candidate rattle off a laundry list of projects that they have worked on, but, rather, to allow the candidate to explain the rationale for choosing XML by citing a few real world examples. For instance, one appropriate answer is that XML allows content management systems to store documents independently of their format, which thereby reduces data redundancy. Another answer relates to B2B exchanges or supply chain management systems. In these instances, XML provides a mechanism for multiple companies to exchange data according to an agreed upon set of rules. A third common response involves wireless applications that require WML to render data on hand held devices.

19. Give some examples of XML DTDs or schemas that you have worked with.

Although XML does not require data to be validated against a DTD, many of the benefits of using the technology are derived from being able to validate XML documents against business or technical architecture rules. Polling for the list of DTDs that developers have worked with provides insight to their general exposure to the technology. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of several of the commonly used DTDs such as FpML, DocBook, HRML, and RDF, as well as experience designing a custom DTD for a particular project where no standard existed.

20. How are embedded images and binary data handled?

Images and embedded objects are stored in their native formats into the ZIP-based package format.

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