XML Developer Skills

Estimated study time: 10 minutes.

Here's a breakdown of the skills that make up a well-rounded XML developer profile.

Core XML Skills

• Writing well-formed, valid XML documents
• Understanding tree structure, namespaces, and prolog/declaration rules

Validation Skills

• Defining structure with DTD and XSD
• Validating documents against a schema

Programming Skills

• Parsing XML with DOM, SAX, or StAX
• Working with XML in at least one language (Java, Python, or JavaScript)

Query and Transformation Skills

• Selecting nodes with XPath
• Transforming documents with XSLT
• Querying XML data with XQuery

Integration Skills

• Consuming and producing XML with AJAX
• Working with SOAP-based web services and reading WSDL contracts
• Understanding REST APIs that support XML responses

Soft Skills That Help

• Attention to detail — a single unclosed tag can break an entire document
• Comfort reading technical specifications and schemas