Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers [Paperback]

Teresa A. Martin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047134401X | ISBN-13: 978-0471344018 | Publication Date: June 22, 1999 | Edition: 1

A complete webmaster's and web designer's guide to exploiting XML's full capabilities for presenting data.

Project Cool(TM) Guide to XML for Web Designers.

Internationally renowned web developer Teresa A. Martin gets you up to speed on what XML is, how it works, how it fits in with other web design and development tools, and how, when, and why to incorporate it into your web site. Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers is the only XML guide geared specifically to the needs of webmasters and designers, and offers clear step-by-step guidance for integrating the XML process-from DTDs, parsing, and assigning style data to displaying a page in web browsers. You get all the background information and working examples you need to:
* Master the XML syntax to create well-formed and valid documents.
* Build a simple DTD and create elements and attributes lists.
* Attach styles to an XML document and display it in a web page.
* Work with XML and the 5.X browsers to display pages more powerfully.
* Use the new Document Object Model (DOM).
* Learn about the new XSL specification, CSS, and IE5 behaviors.

On the companion web site at www.projectcool.com/guide/xml you'll find:
* A live demo that lets you see XML in action.
* Regular updates on emerging XML specifications and applications.
* Working examples of XML solutions.
* Visual glossaries.

Visit our web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With the arrival of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and its support for XML, more and more Web developers can start relying on XML to deliver content to Web clients. Written for the Web designer or developer, Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers presents a remarkably comprehensible explanation of how to use XML effectively with coverage of all the major related standards.

The best thing about this book is its clear (and friendly) style when approaching the difficulties of XML and related acronyms. With simple examples (using food menus and newsletters), it shows how XML is used to structure document content. Perhaps the best section here is the clear explication of DTDs used to define XML documents. Only after XML and DTDs are covered does the book turn to display issues with coverage of CSS and XSL (for defining visual styles for elements) and HTC (for scripting events). Of course, Web programmers might be most interested in HTC, but as the author notes, different players on a Web site's team must work together to use XML effectively.

Another standout section presents interviews with some of the major XML innovators, plus an excellent explanation of how the W3W reviews and approves standards like XML. Of course, XML is still much more difficult to master than HTML. But this book makes a good case that you can start hand-coding XML successfully right now. Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers is probably the simplest available choice for learning XML for any Web designer or developer. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: XML basics, W3W standards review process, DTDs, CSS, and XSL.

From the Back Cover

A complete webmaster's and web designer's guide to exploiting XML's full capabilities for presenting data.

Project Cool(TM) Guide to XML for Web Designers.

Internationally renowned web developer Teresa A. Martin gets you up to speed on what XML is, how it works, how it fits in with other web design and development tools, and how, when, and why to incorporate it into your web site. Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers is the only XML guide geared specifically to the needs of webmasters and designers, and offers clear step-by-step guidance for integrating the XML process-from DTDs, parsing, and assigning style data to displaying a page in web browsers. You get all the background information and working examples you need to:
* Master the XML syntax to create well-formed and valid documents.
* Build a simple DTD and create elements and attributes lists.
* Attach styles to an XML document and display it in a web page.
* Work with XML and the 5.X browsers to display pages more powerfully.
* Use the new Document Object Model (DOM).
* Learn about the new XSL specification, CSS, and IE5 behaviors.

On the companion web site at www.projectcool.com/guide/xml you'll find:
* A live demo that lets you see XML in action.
* Regular updates on emerging XML specifications and applications.
* Working examples of XML solutions.
* Visual glossaries.

Visit our web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047134401X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471344018
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,138,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to XML and related technologies., July 11, 1999

By 

Dave Elliott - See all my reviews

This review is from: Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers (Paperback)

Becoming involved in XML can require considerable investment of time and energy in learning a myriad of existing and proposed technologies. Instead of just plunging into the syntax and semantics of XML, the author takes the time to explain the history and potential of this important new topic. We get to meet and hear from the key players who have worked so hard on its development. Only when fully prepared with this background, do we get into the nuts and bolts of XML, XSL, DTDs, HTCs, etc. Unlike other XML books, this one approaches the topic from the point of view of the Web designer and developer, not from that of the veteran SGML user.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Note the title: FOR WEB DESIGNERS!, March 9, 2000

By 

A. Chase "Computer programmer, banjo player, ... (Dunwich, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers (Paperback)

Don't be swayed by the negative review up there at the top - If you're a programmer you should probably check out something from O'Reilly, and you should read the name of the book before you buy it. This book is aimed squarely at *web designers* and is intended to be an overview of the subject with just enough technical and spec information to get you started.

I'm halfway through the book, and I highly recommend it for anyone on the web design side of the industry who's interested in XML but not really familiar with what it is or the fundamental roots of HTML.

The book goes over what XML is and what it isn't, how it compares to HTML, how it relates to CSS and XSL, potential applications for XML, DTD's, the W3C recommendation process, and lots of other related information.

I find these many different angles quite helpful, because my perspective is limited by comparison; HTML, JavaScript, and graphics occupy the bulk of my time, and I never would have thought of some of the considerations and advantages of XML brought up in this book.

If you're a web designer, buy this book. If you're a programmer, go look for the O'Reilly book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to start down the XML path, December 13, 2005

By 

Christina N. Roberts "bocaro1" (Vancouver, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Project Cool Guide to XML for Web Designers (Paperback)

I'm a web designer. I know CSS, HTML, and a whole load of stuff, but I wanted to learn XML and XHTML. It was recommended in other books I checked out that I should learn XML first because XHTML uses XML for it's formatting. So, after skimming through some XML books, I found this one and what an awesome book it was! I've read it- every single page, every word, and wrote a complete set of notes for my personal use on DTDs, entities, namespaces, etc.

The best thing about this book is how easy-to-read it is. Other books are huge or they're technically to advanced for me to undderstand. Everything about this book is just right: page number, explanations, langauge... It's so down-to-earth (not to mention the examples are fun).

I checked it out from the library and now I'll be looking for more books by this wonderful author! Because of this book, I know how to use XML and now I'm learning XHTML for effective web design.

A MUST buy for *WEB DESIGNERS*