XML Programming (Core Reference) [Paperback]

R. Allen Wyke (Author), Brad Leupen (Author), Sultan Rehman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2002

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a key component of the next generation of Web-based applications and the Microsoft .NET platform. "Inside XML" is the best place to find detailed instructions and insights on how to take advantage of XML and the Microsoft Visual Studio "RM" development environment to create extensible, end-to-end applications. Taking an architectural approach, the book carefully describes the XML hooks to be found in the next generation of Visual Studio and the .NET platform. The book also helps developers understand XML components in the context of Microsoft's other technologies such as Microsoft SQL Server "TM" 2000 and BizTalk "TM" Server 2000, and it demonstrates in steps how to convert a traditional client/server application to an XML-based application. The authors, who are well known for their other books, columns, and technical seminars, offer the right combination of real-world experience and seminar-tested teaching to make this the ideal resource for any developer who wants to make maximum use of Visual Studio and other XML-enabled development tools.

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735611858
• ISBN-13: 978-0735611856
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.5 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,764,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK, but too many problems, February 24, 2002

By 

Bryan Geary (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XML Programming (Core Reference) (Paperback)

XML Programming was nearly the best book on XML programming I have found. Here are the pluses.
1) It does a very good job of taking you through the basics fast and gets into specifics of coding quickly. It walks you through the process of building real applications using XML as their foundation.
2) The book covers more than the Microsoft angle. It does show some Linux and Java examples, although it definitely emphasizes the Microsoft solutions.

The reason I didn't rate this book higher was one thing that just kept annoying me throughout the book. It reads like they took an old book and threw in some material on newer XML specifications and Microsoft products, without updating the older material. Some examples of this are
1) They talk about the MSXML parser, but the last version they cover is 3.0 (even though 4 is included on the accompanying CD) and MSXML 4 has been out for quite some time, certainly longer than .NET. Yet there are entire chapters covering .NET and mentions of it throughout the book (mostly regarding Beta 2).
2) They show XML Notepad as an editor. Microsoft has discontinued the XML Notepad and the link in the book goes to a page that no longer exists.
3) Other links in the book do not exist and the tools have been renamed and thereby are harder to find on Microsoft's site.

The other primary minus for me was the author's assumption regarding your programming background. The authors use Visual Basic, ASP, Java, SQL and C++ without always explaining the code (Java and C++ are in the minority; VB, ASP and SQL are widespread). Most of the people reading this may not be familiar with all of these languages and thereby get a little lost in some of the examples.

So, if you're already comfortable with Microsoft programming and want to get up to speed quickly on XML, I would say this book is worth your while, but be ready for web links that don't work and check the products they refer to for newer versions.

If you're not comfortable with SQL and VB at a minimum, start there and then come back to this one or a similar title.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Learned XML From This Book, February 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: XML Programming (Core Reference) (Paperback)

I don't know what the reviewer from San Jose was thinking, but I believe that Brad Leupen, et al have written a great book on XML programming for newcomers. I bought this book with almost no understanding of XML and so the "basic basics" of XML were great for me. I come from a database background and have very little experience with web programming. XML Programming has taken me from supernewbie to XML Programmer very quickly. The book was easy to read, clear and concise.I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn XML.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars More regurgitated XML documentation, little new content, January 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: XML Programming (Core Reference) (Paperback)

This book exhibits many of the characteristics of a rushed-to-press contentless tome.

Firstly, the book spends an inordinate amount of text covering the basic basics of XML. Why? Anyone who has purchased this book has already been sold on XML and doesn't need to hear, once again for the Nth time, arguments in favor of its use.

Secondly, once the pointless argument in favor of XML has been offered, the authors rehash standard coverage of DOM and SAX. I suppose any "definitive" book on XML programming should cover these technologies, but the depth of coverage in this book is hardly greater than what can be obtained on the web for free. The same goes for the pedestrian coverage of SOAP. Just visit the W3 site and you'll get equally useful documentation on these standards (which by the way will be kept more up to date than the print coverage).

The authors do offer some useful code examples of a working web service, which is where the true value-add of the book is, but the coverage is a tiny portion of the full text of the book.

Even if you are an XML newbie, there are better introductions, namely O'Reilly's "Learning XML", or Addison Wesley's "XML Primer". For coding web services, O'Reilly's "Programming Web Services with SOAP" or ".Net Framework Essentials" are far better and illustrate the quality control at these superior publishers.