[nate22]

I'm new to XML, but putzing around with the newer Blogger beta XML templates just to see what I could learn, it seems to me that XML tags are used as building blocks much the same way a php include would be used. Since XML doesn't require a specific server set-up I can see the huge advantage of this if planned out well.

Is this the big advantage to the CSS/XML combo I've heard so much about? Design each XML chunk once with CSS and then drop in the XML chunks on each template?

I've been using CSS for a while now, but was always intimidated by XML, so this is a new thought for me. I hope I'm right about this!

Any good online resources about the best way to work like this?

[pgo]

Well, you need something to turn that XML into HTML for the browser.

Of course, XML is like HTML in that it doesn't "do" anything. You still have to use some sort of server-side processing. Like PHP. I'm not familiar with Blogger, but I'd imagine they're using an XML based templating system to make it easier for non-web-professionals. That's what Blogger is for, anyway.

[nate22]

Ah, gotcha. That makes sense.

Blogger will just have these XML slugs like <b:whatever></b:whatever> and if you delete them part of your blogger content disappears. Not being able to see the server-side scripting made it seem to me that the XML was designated on some linked XML page and all that was necessary was to just slap the XML slug into the XHTML template.

[R1gM]

no you gotta think of xml as a simple data source rather than a presentational thing. All they do is use a php or other scripting language to replace the tags with the data.