Learning XML [Paperback]

Erik T. Ray (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0596000464 | ISBN-13: 978-0596000462 | Publication Date: February 2001 | Edition: 1st

The arrival of support for XML--the Extensible Markup Language--in browsers and authoring tools has followed a long period of intense hype. Major databases, authoring tools (including Microsoft's Office 2000), and browsers are committed to XML support. Many content creators and programmers for the Web and other media are left wondering, "What can XML and its associated standards really do for me?" Getting the most from XML requires being able to tag and transform XML documents so they can be processed by web browsers, databases, mobile phones, printers, XML processors, voice response systems, and LDAP directories, just to name a few targets.

In Learning XML, the author explains XML and its capabilities succinctly and professionally, with references to real-life projects and other cogent examples. Learning XML shows the purpose of XML markup itself, the CSS and XSL styling languages, and the XLink and XPointer specifications for creating rich link structures.

The basic advantages of XML over HTML are that XML lets a web designer define tags that are meaningful for the particular documents or database output to be used, and that it enforces an unambiguous structure that supports error-checking. XML supports enhanced styling and linking standards (allowing, for instance, simultaneous linking to the same document in multiple languages) and a range of new applications.

For writers producing XML documents, this book demystifies files and the process of creating them with the appropriate structure and format. Designers will learn what parts of XML are most helpful to their team and will get started on creating Document Type Definitions. For programmers, the book makes syntax and structures clear It also discusses the stylesheets needed for viewing documents in the next generation of browsers, databases, and other devices.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although Learning XML covers XML rather broadly, it nevertheless presents the key elements of the technology with enough detail to familiarize the reader with this crucial markup language. This guide is brief enough to tackle in a weekend.

Author Erik T. Ray begins with an excellent summary of XML's history as an outgrowth of SGML and HTML. He outlines very clearly the elements of markup, demystifying concepts such as attributes, entities, and namespaces with numerous clear examples. To illustrate a real-world XML application, he gives the reader a look at a document written in DocBook--a publicly available XML document type for publishing technical writings--and explains the sections of the document step by step. A more simplified version of DocBook is used later in the book to illustrate transformation--a powerful benefit of XML.

The all-important Document Type Definition (DTD) is covered in depth, but the still-unofficial alternative, XML Schema, is only briefly addressed. The author makes liberal use of graphics, tables, and code to demonstrate concepts along the way, keeping the reader engaged and on track. Ray also goes deep into some discussion of programming XML utilities with Perl.

Learning XML is a very readable introduction to XML for readers with existing knowledge of markup and Web technologies. It meets its goals very well--to deliver a broad perspective of XML and its potential. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• XML overview
• XPointer
• XLink
• XHTML
• Presentation with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
• XML Schemas
• Transformation with XSLT
• Internationalization
• Simple API for XML (SAX)

Review

'Learning XML does what it sets out to do: provides an introduction to SML concepts and XML document authoring and the related standards and, as such, represents an ideal starting point for anyone using XML.' IT Training, August 2001 'O'Reilly books have a good record. Well-know for their 'in a Nutshell series and their zoological cover illustrations, I've always found them highly satisfactory. There cannot be many works that be referred to familiarly as, for instance, The Camel Book. Well now we have The Newly-Hatched Chick book. From the title of this one I had somehow (wrongly) expected an XML primer covering only basics, but this is a thorough treatment of the subject. The book's general layout conforms to what we have become familiar with in O'Reilly'. The index is excellent and there are appendices giving a glossary and lists of standards, tools, books and resources and where to find them. Learning XML, very readable as well as being a good reference, is strongly recommended.' - Sandy McCourt, uk-bug developer's magazine, July/August 2001 'As you would expect from this publisher, the text is pleasantly presented in a way that makes it comfortable to read. I settled down to read it on a three-hour coach journey to visit my aging parents (the relevance of this is that, like reading in the bath, I had few resources other than my eyes with which to understand what the author was writing about.) What I particularly appreciate is the way the author uses practical examples (oh, and read some of the text in these, it can be hilarious) and then uses an endnote style commentary to highlight the important elements. I find this much better than the style of perverting the commenting facility of a language. For example, in chapter 5, Document Models: A Higher Level of Control he use the 'Barebones DocBook' DTD as his final consolidating example of DTDs. The approach in this book works well with the way I like to read to learn. I would definitely recommend this book to programmers wanting to get to grips with XML.' - Francis Glassborow, Cvu, April 2001

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Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596000464
• ISBN-13: 978-0596000462
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,929,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Suggested New Title: Anatomy of XML, March 1, 2003

By 

Jase T. Wolfe - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Learning XML (Paperback)

By page 177 I realized that I was never going to touch a keyboard while reading this book. I can't speak for everyone, but when I pick up a book expecting to learn the topic, I need theory, reference, examples and structured "assignments". This title offers the first three, but I never get to apply what I am learning hands-on in a graduated fashion. When I am finished, I have little more than the ability to recognize the components of XML. Just because you can recognize all the foods in a grocery store, and know the origins of all the spices on your spice rack, doesn't mean you can cook; the same principal applies here. I am fully aware that XML is comprised of many different elements, and many of the XML development environments are very expensive, but many are free and could have been used to teach the concept clearer.

The title also has many errors, so the errata list on the publisher's web site is important. The book does not include any of the source code, so if you want that, you have to download it. Even then, it is not complete and file titles in the book do not always match the provided code file names.

If you are looking for a hands-on book to learn XML, this isn't the title. If you know XML and are looking for a reference, again - not for you. However, if you are interested in it from more of an administrative overview position, then the title is worth the read. It can provide many answers and give a good base of information without the need to actually write any XML on your own.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good transition book from HTML, CSS --> XML, June 12, 2001

By 

Tuesday Frase (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning XML (Paperback)

SHORT: I highly recommend this book if you know HTML and have some exposure to CSS; it's a good intro book to XML, which is what it's intended to be. The end result is that you'll know enough to get started with more technical books, and where to go for available web resources.

LONGER: The reasons that other people have given for not liking this book are some of the same reasons that I find it useful. I'm pretty well-versed in HTML and have some basic understanding of JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets. This book goes into detail about both and gives comparisons and evolutions that involve XML. I'm about halfway through it at the moment, and it's giving me a clear, not-to-technical view of XML. The other books I have go straight into the code, telling me HOW but not really explaining the WHY of everything. That's what makes this book great to me. The first half deals with explanation and presentation, while the last half is more code-heavy. The two other books I have strive to be highly technical, but proved to be a bit overwhelming for me as a complete newbie to the subject of XML.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for programmers using XML, August 22, 2001

By 

Alex J. Avriette "Alex Avriette" (Arlington, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Learning XML (Paperback)

I am a C, Unix Shell, and Perl programmer. This means that I have a lot of interaction with XML.

I'm not really interested in sitting down and learning XML because I wouldnt actually go and write it myself. There are plenty of perl modules (XML::Parser, XML::Twig, and so on) that will do that for me. However, I wanted to have some understanding of what XML actually was, and how to read it if I were presented in it.

This book started very slow and very easily, and moved into some more advanced (if a little more dry) subject matter. The author uses witty, enjoyable examples, and is very clear at all times about what is being explained.

I would recommend this to most programmers who want to just "know what XML is all about," as it isnt particularly technical (if you are just skimming), and its technical enough for people to get into if need be. It also covers most topics very thoroughly.

Another gem from OReilly.