Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems [Paperback]

Brett McLaughlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001 | ISBN-10: 0596001975 | ISBN-13: 978-0596001971 | Edition: Second Edition

While the XML "buzz" still dominates talk among Internet developers, the critical need is for information that cuts through the hype and lets Java programmers put XML to work. Java & XML shows how to use the APIs, tools, and tricks of XML to build real-world applications, with the end result that both the data and the code are portable.

This second edition of Java & XML adds chapters on Advanced SAX and Advanced DOM, new chapters on SOAP and data binding, and new examples throughout. A concise chapter on XML basics introduces concepts, and the rest of the book focuses on using XML from your Java applications. Java developers who need to work with XML, or think that they will in the future--as well as developers involved in the new peer-to-peer movement, messaging, or web services--will find the new Java & XML a constant companion.

This book covers:

• The basics of XML, including DTDs, namespaces, XML Schema, XPath, and XSL
• The SAX API, including all handlers, the SAX 2 extensions, filters, and writers
• The DOM API, including DOM Level 2, Level 3, and the Traversal, Range, CSS, Events, and HTML modules.
• The JDOM API, including the core, a look at XPath support, and JDOM as a JSR
• Using web publishing frameworks like Apache Cocoon
• Developing applications with XML-RPC
• Using SOAP and UDDI for web services
• Data Binding, using both DTDs and XML Schema for constraints
• Building business-to-business applications with XML
• Building information channels with RSS and dynamic content with XSP

Includes a quick reference on SAX 2.0, DOM Level 2, and JDOM.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Was I impressed with this book? Indeed I was! The content is both timely and accurate, the reading is easy and enjoyable - a very rare achievement.' Java Desk, Israel (Java User Group)

About the Author

Brett McLaughlin has been working in computers since the Logo days. (Remember the little triangle?) He currently specializes in building application infrastructure using Java and Java-related technologies. He has spent the last several years implementing these infrastructures at Nextel Communications and Allegiance Telecom, Inc. Brett is one of the co-founders of the Java Apache project Turbine, which builds a reusable component architecture for web application development using Java servlets. He is also a contributor of the EJBoss project, an open source EJB application server, and Cocoon, an open source XML web-publishing engine. He is author of the soon-to-be-released O'Reilly book, Building Java Enterprise Applications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Second Edition edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596001975
• ISBN-13: 978-0596001971
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,267,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brett D. McLaughlin is a bestselling and award-winning non-fiction author. His books on computer programming, home theater, and analysis and design have sold in excess of 100,000 copies. He has been writing, editing, and producing technical books for nearly a decade, and is as comfortable in front of a word processor as he is behind a guitar, chasing his two sons around the house, or marveling at Damages with his wife.

Miracle is Brett's first fiction novel, but his short stories and writing skills have been garnering lots of attention in 2007. He is a book reviewer for Infuze Magazine, and a regular guest lecturer in First Baptist Academy, Dallas's creative writing course. He's been asked to teach a concentrated course in Professional Writing for students intending to major in writing-related degrees. His short story 'Change of Heart' was published online at the Relief Writer's Network, and is set for inclusion in the second issue of Coach's Midnight Diner, a genre publication of Christian-influenced short stories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good work, a real 5 star XML book, October 21, 2001

By 

O (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems (Paperback)

The buzz is all around. XML and all derivatives are attracting everyone. There are many XML books in the market but few are satisfactory. I like the books which can offer more than tutorials on the web. This is one of those. First of all, the book is well organized and easy to follow. Learn the idea behind SAX, DOM and then JDOM. Having a good understanding of these basics, go on with three main application areas of XML:"web publishing","interoperatibility", and "data binding". This is what XML developers should do, and author follows this order very well. In fact, I remember Brett's one article where he suggested developers not to forget basics of parsing while working with higher level APIs and protocols.

If we look at the details of book... After covering the basics of parsing, Brett introduces some -very good- real world examples: Cocoon(for publishing frameworks), soap, xml-rpc, and web services for communication or interoperatibility and Castor etc. for data binding.

What is missing or not intended in this book is XML data structure design and XSLT. This is understandable since both are very detailed topics that wouldn't fit in a single book. For XSLT there are the O'reilly Java & XSLT or Wrox XSLT books and for XML-Schema... I'm just waiting for a good one.

Especially for those intermediate level XML programmers with Java knowledge.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of XML programming in Java, October 2, 2001

By 

Vernon Stinebaker (Shanghai, China) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems (Paperback)

XML and Java, true to the title, provides detailed and broad coverage of XML programming in Java.

The chapters on SAX, DOM and JDOM provide a strong foundation for selecting and leverage these libraries at a practical level. The coverage of rapidly emerging XML topics including XML-RPC, SOAP and Web Services is timely and reasonably detailed, providing adequate information to allow these to be practically applied.

The author's writing style is easy to read and has a code-centric focus. The numerous examples were intelligently explained without providing detail that someone already familiar with the Java programming language would find verbose and boring.

This title is best suited to for those with some background in Java and a general understanding of XML. Assuming this background, this book can help bridge the gap from being a Java/XML programming novice to being a Java/XML programming expert.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updated version of an excellent book, January 17, 2002

By 

Thomas Paul (Plainview, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems (Paperback)

The first edition of this book was considered one of the best on the subject of Java and XML. This new edition has expanded to include the developments in Java and XML over the last year. The author gives a little less handholding on the basics of XML reducing a three chapter introduction in the first edition to a one chapter summary. SAX, DOM, and JDOM all are covered in detail with each topic getting an introduction and an advanced chapter. JAXP 1.1 is covered in sufficient detail. After the introduction to the basic Java/XML APIs, the author moves on to some other interesting topics.

The chapters on web publishing frameworks and XML-RPC haven't changed much since the first edition. New chapters on SOAP, Web Services, and content syndication are welcome additions. The book ends with a look at data binding and JAXB.

The examples in the book are extremely clear and concise, explaining each topic well without being overly simplistic. As with the first edition, the author assumes that you are familiar with Java but unlike the first edition he assumes you have a basic understanding of XML.

If you are a Java developer and you are going to be working with XML then this book is required reading. The coverage of the Java/XML APIs is excellent. As for the other topics, it is a good introduction but for anyone working with SOAP or Web Services, other books will probably be required.