Definitive XML Schema [Paperback]

Priscilla Walmsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 17, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0130655678 | ISBN-13: 978-0130655677 | Edition: 1

The authoritative XML Schema reference and tutorial!

• Leverage the full power of XML Schema!
• In-depth coverage of the approved W3C Recommendation
• Schema design–practical and thorough
• Transition help for experienced DTD developers
• Authoritative! By Priscilla Walmsley–a member of the W3C XML Schema Working Group

To leverage the full power of XML, companies need shared vocabularies to base their documents and scripts upon. XML Schema makes it possible to create those shared vocabularies-and Definitive XML Schema is the authoritative guide to the standard! Written by Priscilla Walmsley, a member of the W3C working group that created XML Schema, this book explains the W3C Recommendation with unprecedented insight and clarity–and introduces practical techniques for writing schemas to support any B2B, Web service, or content processing application. Coverage includes:

• How XML Schema provides a rigorous, complete standard for modeling XML document structure, content, and datatypes
• Working with schemas: Schema composition, instance validation, documentation, namespaces, and more
• XML Schema building blocks: elements, attributes, and types
• Advanced techniques: type derivation, model groups, substitution groups, identity constraints, redefinition, and much more
• An in-depth primer on effective schema design, including naming, document structure, and extensibility considerations
• Transition guidance for experienced DTD developers

Definitive XML Schema brings together expert guidance for schema design, superior approaches to schema development, and the most systematic XML Schema reference on the market. Whether you're a developer, architect, or content specialist, it's the only XML Schema resource you need!

"XML Schema is an incredibly powerful-and complex-document schema language, with such new capabilities as strong typing, modularity, inheritance, and identity constraints. This book guides you through the complexity so you can confidently use that power for your own projects."

–Charles F. Goldfarb

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The authoritative XML Schema reference and tutorial!

• Leverage the full power of XML Schema!
• In-depth coverage of the approved W3C Recommendation
• Schema design—practical and thorough
• Transition help for experienced DTD developers
• Authoritative! By Priscilla Walmsley—a member of the W3C XML Schema Working Group

To leverage the full power of XML, companies need shared vocabularies to base their documents and scripts upon. XML Schema makes it possible to create those shared vocabularies-and Definitive XML Schema is the authoritative guide to the standard! Written by Priscilla Walmsley, a member of the W3C working group that created XML Schema, this book explains the W3C Recommendation with unprecedented insight and clarity—and introduces practical techniques for writing schemas to support any B2B, Web service, or content processing application. Coverage includes:

• How XML Schema provides a rigorous, complete standard for modeling XML document structure, content, and datatypes
• Working with schemas: Schema composition, instance validation, documentation, namespaces, and more
• XML Schema building blocks: elements, attributes, and types
• Advanced techniques: type derivation, model groups, substitution groups, identity constraints, redefinition, and much more
• An in-depth primer on effective schema design, including naming, document structure, and extensibility considerations
• Transition guidance for experienced DTD developers

Definitive XML Schema brings together expert guidance for schema design, superior approaches to schema development, and the most systematic XML Schema reference on the market. Whether you're a developer, architect, or content specialist, it's the only XML Schema resource you need!

"XML Schema is an incredibly powerful-and complex-document schema language, with such new capabilities as strong typing, modularity, inheritance, and identity constraints. This book guides you through the complexity so you can confidently use that power for your own projects." —Charles F. Goldfarb

About the Author

PRISCILLA WALMSLEY is a software architect at Vitria Technology, specializing in XML architecture and data management. She previously co-founded XMLSolutions Corporation. Walmsley has extensive expertise in electronic commerce, enterprise application integration, and data management, and has served with the W3C XML Schema Working Group since 1999.

About the Series Editor

Charles F. Goldfarb is the father of XML technology. He invented SGML,the Standard Generalized Markup Language on which XML and HTML arebased. You can find him on the Web at www.xmlbooks.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (December 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130655678
• ISBN-13: 978-0130655677
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > XML

More About the Author

Priscilla Walmsley serves as Managing Director of Datypic, a consultancy specializing in XML architecture and design, SOA and Web services implementation, and content management. She is the author of Definitive XML Schema (Prentice Hall), as well as XQuery (O'Reilly Media). She also co-authored XML in Office 2003 (Prentice Hall) with Charles Goldfarb.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many insights, not mere facts., August 17, 2003

By 

Venkat Raghavan Rangamani (Boxborough, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Definitive XML Schema (Paperback)

There are quite a few books about XML Schema in the market. There are quite a few freebie tutorials on the web too. These may serve your purpose well enough if you are merely trying to acquire an overview of the subject. But if you are like me, learning XML schema on the job and having trouble finding specific answers as you design a new schema or worse extend an exisiting schema, this book is certainly for you.

Namespaces are a fairly complex topic and they are handled very well in this textbook. Much of my confusion about how to mix and match the SimpleContent, SimpleType, ComplexContent and ComplexType tags vanished after I read the relevant chapters. The last chapter on reuse and extension is a gem and shows that Walmsley is not one of the rapidly proliferating clan of writers whose chapters are mere rephrasings of the manuals. She brings impressive credentials from the W3C and it shows in each page.

I was in the middle of extending a schema when I ran out and bought this book. I ran into some truly murky waters with deterministic and non deterministic schemas when my Microsoft XML parser threw up its hands and refused to validate my XML against my XSD because it was non deterministic. I could find few satisfactory solutions elsewhere. This book gave me all the answers I needed.

If you are a serious schema developer, buy this book, its well worth the money.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarity!, February 17, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Lawson (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Definitive XML Schema (Paperback)

I read this book from cover to cover this weekend. That fact alone tells you something about its contents! If you are the sort of person who finds the W3C's XML Schema specification completely transparent and easy to read then Priscilla Walmsley's book is useless fluff. If, however, like virtually everyone on the planet, you find the XML Schema specification indecipherable, do yourself a favour: either forget totally about the abomination that is XML Schema OR read Priscilla's book and discover that XML Schema is finite, is do-able and has certain simplifying characteristics (such as the fact that all named components must be global) that make it tolerable.

The process of reading this book is effortless. Every sentence is crafted to be illuminating without the merest hint of padding. This book is really a comprehensive reference manual that reads like a coherent novel while at the same time lacking pretentious verbiage.

As 2002 dawned, I resolved not to buy any more books...I have far too many and all the specifications are available free online anyway. Having struggled for days with a few online articles and the three XML Schema specification documents, I decided that I really did need the help of a book...but thought it unlikely that I would find one that was little more than a rehash of the specs. In a sense, Priscilla's book is a rehash of the specs. in as much as it doesn't present anything more than can be found in the specs. The presentation is what counts here though: clear examples for EVERY aspect of the syntax; well-organized content that at every point assumes no more knowledge that has been presented earlier.

Thanks Priscilla for changing my perception of XML Schema and for providing a book that was easy to read and that is now my number one reference for XML Schema :-)

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource! A must-have guide to XML Schema, July 12, 2004

By 

jeff tallent (Cuyahoga Falls, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Definitive XML Schema (Paperback)

As a professional application developer I don't have the luxury of time to read through massive "door-stops" to get up and running with a new topic. I'm sure many other programmers out there share the same constraint. I normally will not give a computer reference book, or any book for that matter, a chance if it isn't clear, concise and well organized. In short, if it cannot explain a concept clearly in the first few pages or if I find myself reading a chapter over and over again, it isn't worth the little time I do have.

After reading the positive reviews on Amazon I decided to take a chance and purchase it. Even after I received the book I approached it with the same air of skepticism as any other book I pick up and I must say that I was "hooked" the moment I started to read it. I found Priscilla's writing style to be effortless and fluid, clearly explaining the topic with plenty of examples to illustrate each concept. The topics are presented in logical order, but the book is approachable from any starting point within it. A fantastic read and an invaluable reference for anyone seriously involved with XML Schema. I place this book within quick reach in my library.

When learning to apply a new technology such as XML Schema, XSLT, XPath, etc, I will sometimes approach it with a misconception of overcomplication, thinking that the topic will be so difficult to understand that it will take months to grasp. Picking the right book can make all the difference. Some books only aim to exhaustively detail the mechanics and spew theories without any consideration for the practical application of the technology. And that type of book may be for some, but when you're under the constraint of time, there is little use for theory for the rest of us who need to have a product done by yesterday! This book is immediately practical and approachable from page 1! XML Schema is very easy to understand when it is explained by a professional who can effectively communicate. If you want this in a book, then Priscilla Walmsley is the person that delivers. If you are looking for the best guide to XML Schema on the planet, your journey has come to and end; look no further.

"Definitive XML Schema" is excellent and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about this technology!!