XML: The Annotated Specification [Paperback]

Bob DuCharme (Author)

Book Description

Series: Charles F. Goldfarb Series on Open Information Management | Publication Date: December 14, 1998

Every serious XML developer will find it helpful to own a copy of the official, final XML standard - but this book goes much further, annotating the standards with inside information and practical guidance that bring them to life. With the guidance of internationally-known XML expert Bob DuCharme, you'll learn how to use the standards documents to design publishing systems and Web applications more effectively - and understand arcane terms like "syntax trees" and "big-endian." DuCharme offers a practical introduction to XML and the companion specifications XLL and XSL; helps developers understand why the standards' authors made the decisions they made, and what those decisions mean to developers. It provides many figures and diagrams that help clarify relationships among data structures in XML; helps developers find the information they need in each standards document; and more. This is the first XML book to fully reflect the final W3C standard, so it will serve as a key developer's reference for many years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"The official W3C XML spec-by design-is a concise and formal document. Bob DuCharme has annotated the full text of that spec with explanations, insights and over 170 new usage examples. The result is a marvelous reference for XML users and implementors." — Charles F. Goldfarb

The complete XML standard-as approved by the W3C-explained in detail by a leading XML expert and author!

Serious about XML? No matter what other XML books you own, the final word is the official W3C specification, and you should own a copy. Now there is a guide to the often arcane language of XML, computer science and standards that you find in the official spec-XML: The Annotated Specification. In this book, XML insider Robert DuCharme presents the entire official spec-and all the help and interpretation you need to make the most of it. XML: The Annotated Specification delivers: Extensive annotations to every paragraph of the XML specification: documents, logical structures, physical structures, conformance, notation and more. Over 170 new real-world examples that illuminate every nook and cranny of the spec's subtle details. A comprehensive glossary of relevant XML and computer science terms. All the background information you need to understand XML's goals and ongoing evolution. New cross-reference tables for easy navigation of the annotated spec.

DuCharme doesn't just tell you what's in the XML spec, he reveals why decisions were made as they were; the information you need to achieve maximum results. With XML: The Annotated Specification, you have an authoritative source for the final word on everything XML-and the more you work with the language, the more valuable it will get.

About the Author

Robert Ducharmeoversees implementation of SGML systems at Moody's Investor Service. At the Research Institute of America Group, he played a key role in the design of the architecture for the largest SGML Web application now in production. He is author of SGML CD (Prentice Hall PTR), and XML columnist for The SGML Newsletter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr; 1st edition (December 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130826766
• ISBN-13: 978-0130826763
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,189,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I bought two copies!, July 21, 2000

By 

Jim Gabriel - See all my reviews

This review is from: XML: The Annotated Specification (Paperback)

If you need to get up to speed on the XML recommendation for serious application development, this book is a very informative explanation of W3C's results. It's an excellent reference work. It provides thoughtful insights into some fairly complicated subjects. Colleagues wanted to read my first copy so much that I bought another one. It is not a tutorial, not a hands-on code walk-through, and not for the casual user. It's precisely what it says it is -- the "annotated specification".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile reference, September 24, 2000

By 

Zane Parks (Livermore, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XML: The Annotated Specification (Paperback)

This contains the XML specification with annotation by the author. Text from the specification is printed on shaded background so there is no confusing the specification and the author's annotation. One of the design goals of the XML working group was: "The design of XML shall be formal and concise." The PDF version of the specification runs to thirty-two pages. So, an annotated version of the specification is welcome. Annotation consists of illustration, clarification, background and examples. While the blurb on the back cover says that the book includes over 170 "real-world" examples, that is a stretch. The author frequently uses intuitively meaningful element and attribute names in meaningless combinations. For example, this is offered as an example of an attribute declaration with a default value (p. 111): <!ATTLIST chapter flavor CDATA "mint">. In a similar vein, the author provides illustrations of element content models with no apparent use. For example, <!ELEMENT section (chapter, (appendix|index)*, glossary)>. Real "real-world" examples facilitate not only our formal understanding of XML, but also its proper use. Having said all that, I should add that I do think the book worthwhile. Note that this is on the recommended reading list for IBM's XML certification test.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wish more specs had companion commentaries, December 21, 1999

By 

David Curtis (Woodland Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XML: The Annotated Specification (Paperback)

Despite some problems relating to clarity, I gave this book 4 stars because it fills a dire need: it provides annotation and rationale to an otherwise tedious, opaque specification. (I don't mean to single out the XML spec here; it's better than most. Specifications, by their very nature [i.e., formal] are difficult to read.)

The book has been very useful to me, not as an introduction to XML, but as a reference.