XML — File Structure

Project Structure

project/
├── config.xml
├── data/
│   ├── books.xml
│   └── users.xml
├── schemas/
│   ├── books.xsd
│   └── users.xsd
└── styles/
    └── transform.xslt

Naming Conventions

Convention	Example
lowercase	books.xml
hyphenated	user-data.xml
descriptive	product-catalog.xml

Configuration Files

<!-- config.xml -->
<configuration>
    <database>
        <host>localhost</host>
        <port>3306</port>
        <name>mydb</name>
    </database>
    <logging>
        <level>INFO</level>
        <file>app.log</file>
    </logging>
</configuration>

Modular XML

Split large files:

<!-- main.xml -->
<main>
    <xi:include href="header.xml"/>
    <xi:include href="content.xml"/>
    <xi:include href="footer.xml"/>
</main>

Best Practices

1. Use consistent naming
2. Keep files focused
3. Validate against schemas
4. Use namespaces for reuse
5. Document with comments

Mini Practice

1. Create a project structure
2. Write a configuration file
3. Split a large document
4. Create a schema for validation

Up Next

Continue with Elements Reference — complete element reference.