Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) [Paperback]

Michael Morrison (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0672322137 | ISBN-13: 978-0672322136 | Publication Date: December 18, 2001 | Edition: 2

Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours, Second Edition focuses on teaching the reader the fundamental concepts of XML using practical, hands-on examples. Rather than dwelling on dry theory, the book is filled with clear, real-world examples of how the technology can be used today.

This book includes coverage of topics such as:

• Displaying XML files in HTML files;
• Parsing HTML files into corresponding hierarchical tree structure;
• Embedding XML code into an HTML file;
• Using Extensible Style Sheets (XSL) ;
• Performing queries in XSL;
• Building an online store.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours, Second Edition focuses on teaching the reader the fundamental concepts of XML using practical, hands-on examples. Rather than dwelling on dry theory, the book is filled with clear, real-world examples of how the technology can be used today.

This book includes coverage of topics such as:

* Displaying XML files in HTML files;
* Parsing HTML files into corresponding hierarchical tree structure;
* Embedding XML code into an HTML file;
* Using Extensible Style Sheets (XSL) ;
* Performing queries in XSL;
* Building an online store.

About the Author

Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of books including HTML and XML for Beginners, The Unauthorized Guide to Pocket PC, XML Unleashed, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Java 2. Michael is the instructor of several Web-based courses and also serves as a technical director for ReviewNet, a company that provides Web-based staffing tools for information technology personnel. Finally, Michael is the creative lead at Gas Hound Games, a toy company he cofounded that is located on the Web at http://www.gashound.com/. When not risking life and limb on his skateboard or mountain bike, trying to avoid the penalty box in hockey, or watching movies with his wife, Masheed, Michael enjoys daydreaming next to his koi pond.

Product Details

• Paperback: 485 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 2 edition (December 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672322137
• ISBN-13: 978-0672322136
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,348,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Morrison is a writer, developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of computer technology books and interactive web-based courses. In addition to his primary profession as a writer and freelance nerd for hire, Michael is the creative lead at Stalefish Labs (http://www.stalefishlabs.com), an entertainment company he co-founded with his wife, Masheed. The first commercial debut for Stalefish Labs is a traditional social/trivia game called Tall Tales: The Game of Legends and Creative One-Upmanship. When not glued to his computer, playing hockey, skateboarding, or watching movies with his wife, Michael enjoys hanging out by his koi pond while he daydreams about new Web creations. You can visit Michael on the Web and discuss this book at http://www.michaelmorrison.com/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Broad but shallow, December 10, 2004

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) (Paperback)

What's good: a quick summary of major XML technologies, including DTDs, schemas, XSL, SAX, DOM, and more. This book tells briefly what each does, and gives some idea of how the pieces fit together.

What's not: there's not nearly enough here to get a programmer going on a real XML project.

This may help a beginner get a quick, high-level idea of what the big pieces are and how they fit together. Don't expect to get any real work done once you've read it, though.

//wiredweird

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars want to go bald?..., January 6, 2005

By 

nerd.boi (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) (Paperback)

scratching your head so much trying to figure this book out then ENJOY! In 24 hours you too can have all the confusion of XML as you when you strarted the book + be a bald! (at no extra charge to you)

I will have to say if you are interested in reading a book about writing xml code about writing xml code. Then this is perfect for you.

Confused? yeh me too... you'd think if someone spent the time to write a book about writing XML code they might would throw you a few more examples of how the actual code is written rather than spending the whole book talking about the history of XML.

I sort of feel like I could tell you anything about XML; how it started, the cool people who could use XML, I could even tell you what XML wore to SGML's birthday party last year. I couldn't tell you how to write the code sadly enough.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Does this author realize that microsoft isnt the internet?, December 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Sams Teach Yourself...in 24 Hours) (Paperback)

At bought this book excited about the prospect of rewriting all of my web applications to take advantage of XML and XSL Templates and stylesheets. Unfortunately, about halfway through the book I realized that every example works ONLY on Microsoft Internet Explorer. Why? Because he uses active X controls (microsoft.xmldom) via javascript for parsing on the client side for every xml example.

Face it, the web is NOT OWNED BY MICROSOFT. Using proprietary technology for a public web page defeats the cross platform foundation of HTML, XML, JAVA, and the web itself. Don't do ActiveX client side, and dont be dumb enough to buy this book. While it's true that you'll learn about XML and XSL, you'll have a difficult time applying it to real life applications without reading another book as well.