XML: For my Ninth Grader - Part 1

For the time being forget about XML. Think about a book, to be specific about your favorite novel. Mine favorite is A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. 

I will stick to my favorite but you can think of your favorite.

Most of the books can be structured into three broad parts.

1. 1 Front Matter
2. 2Body Matter
3. 3Back Matter

Front Matter as name suggests, is the first part of a book, and is usually the smallest section in terms of the number of pages.  It consists of following elements:

Name	Required	Purpose
Title page	Yes	Repeats the title and author as printed on the cover or spine.
Colophon	Yes	Information such as edition dates, copyrights, the name and address of the printer. In some books this is placed at the end (refer Back Matter).
Contents	Yes	This is a list of chapter headings, and nested subheadings. This includes all front-matter items listed below together with chapters in the body matter and back matter.
Foreword	Yes	A foreword tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the author.
Preface	Yes	A preface covers the story of how the book came into being, or how the idea for the book was developed; this is often followed by thanks and acknowledgments to people who were helpful to the author during the time of writing.
Acknowledgment	Yes	Part of the Preface, rather than a separate section in its own right, it acknowledges those who contributed to the creation of the book.
Introduction	Yes	It states the purpose and goals of the following writing.
Dedication	Yes	A dedication page is a page in a book that precedes the text, in which the author names the person or people for whom he/she has written the book.
Prologue	No	A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information.

  


Body Matter consists of most of the bulk of any book.  In a simple book only two elements exists in this part.

Chapters and sections. Each chapter is divided into one or more sections.

Back Matter is also divided into multiple elements.

Name	Required	Purpose
Epilogue	No	This piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama is usually used to bring closure to the work.
Afterword	No	An afterword generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed.
Conclusion	Yes
Postscript	No
Appendix or Addendum	No	This supplemental addition to a given main work may correct errors, explain inconsistencies or otherwise detail or update the information found in the main work.
Glossary	No	The glossary consists of a set of definitions of words of importance to the work. They are normally alphabetized. The entries may consist of places and characters, which is common for longer works of fiction.
Bibliography	No	This cites other works consulted when writing the body.
Index	No	This list of terms used in the text contains references, often page numbers, to where the terms can be found in the text.
Colophon	No	This brief description may be located at the end of a book. It describes production notes relevant to the edition.

 


Now this information can be graphically depicted as: