Essential XUL Programming [Paperback]

Vaughn Bullard (Author), Kevin T. Smith (Author), Michael C. Daconta (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471415804 | ISBN-13: 978-0471415800 | Publication Date: August 9, 2001 | Edition: 1

A revolutionary new technology for the rapidly expanding world of e-commerce, XUL (XML User Interface Language) is an XML-based user interface language that gives Web developers control over all aspects of the
Web interface. Featuring two tutorials on programming with XUL, this book shows developers how to use basic XUL elements to build a sample interface for an e-commerce site, then goes on to explore more sophisticated applications by creating an information portal inside an application. Readers will find expert tips and advice on how to get started writing XUL code as well as how to extend it into Java and other non-Netscape interfaces.

Editorial Reviews

Review

**** Rating
"this is the only book I have seen, at the time of writing, dealing entirely with XUL" (The Computer Bulletin - BCS, March 2002)

From the Back Cover

Start building XUL-based applications with this introduction to XUL and its technologies

With so many different programming languages and operating systems, developers have been clamoring for a single "meta-language" to develop user interfaces that are cross-platform and cross-device. Mozilla.org responded by creating the eXtensible User interface Language (XUL), which allows developers to break from platform dependencies and develop rich, dynamic user interfaces in record time. Mozilla.org designed XUL to work together with such technologies as Resource Description Framework (RDF), XBL (XML Binding Language), JavaScript, XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

Essential XUL Programming provides developers with an in-depth tutorial on developing XUL-based applications. This detailed reference covers four major areas:
* Getting Started: Includes definitions of key XUL terminology, information to get started writing XUL code, and fundamentals of XML and CSS
* XUL in Depth: Focuses on core XUL technologies and examines a step-by-step process for creating XUL applications
* XUL Applications: Provides case studies of how XUL can be applied to the real world
* References and Appendices: Offers reference information needed to develop XUL applications, details all XUL elements and attributes, and contains visual examples of XUL interfaces

The authors have also developed an open source software project called jXUL at www.jXUL.org. The jXUL library allows for the development of dynamically compiled Swing user interfaces using a XUL document as a description language for the user interface. The jXUL library represents the beginning of open source development of a XUL framework for the Java Programming Language.

The companion Web site at www.xulbook.com features:
* Source code and examples from the book
* Corrections, updates, and XUL news
* Links to other XUL resources on the Web

Wiley Computer Publishing
Timely. Practical. Reliable.
Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/
Visit the companion Web site at www.xulbook.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471415804
• ISBN-13: 978-0471415800
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,838,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars weak, somewhat deprecated, March 6, 2007

By 

Eitan C. Suez "eitan" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential XUL Programming (Paperback)

xul appears to have changed a lot since this book was printed.
many of the xul tags discussed and used, the xul templates used,
have changed. thus, most of the xul examples in the book are
not going to work in firefox.

e.g. the xul css skin url is no longer the same. lots of tags
such as "titledbox" have been renamed.

i'd say this content is deprecated.

also, in my opinion, these chapters add no value
to the book and in general weakens the
existing content:

an xml primer
css
the jxul project

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Very little BS, October 23, 2001

By 

Nathaniel Weeks (San Joaquin, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential XUL Programming (Paperback)

Bought this book about a month ago, so I think I've had a pretty good chance to review it. It's very good, despite the fact that Mozilla hasn't got up off their keesters yet! I'm an XML developer with limited Java experience, but the JXUL project they put in there as their open source project is very, very cool! That I think was worth the price of the book.

I personally thought the RDF chapter was a monster (scary to me!) but very well covered! I'm sure when I progress as a programmer I'll be doing a lot of the RDF.

I think the book is very well written, especially considering I am still a beginner/intermediate web developer.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, But Gets Complex!, August 4, 2001

By 

"ashokjus" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential XUL Programming (Paperback)

I just picked up a copy of this book a few days ago, and I was impressed with the in-depth sections on the book (XBL, RDF & XUL Templates, for example). I feel that the book is layed out in a very good way - the first section has overview of 'the basics' (CSS, XML, XUL), the second section has advanced features, and the third section had case studies. For people who are new to programming, and don't know XML, I would recommend another book before you start this one. The later chapters may be too complex and hard to digest for non-programmers.

For me, I am familiar with XML and some of the Mozilla technologies, so I could skip over the intro section of the book. I am finding a lot of benefit out of the XUL Programmer's Reference section, as well as the advanced section. This book, used in combination with xulplanet.com, can be a good resource.