XML for Dummies [Paperback]

Ed Tittel (Author), Frank Boumphrey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0764506927 | ISBN-13: 978-0764506925 | Edition: 2nd

Now updated with coverage of new applications and thew latest standards, this is the ideal beginners guide to XML (eXtensible Markup Language), the widely heralded successor to HTML. Readers will discover how to use this powerful, flexible language and its specialized applications to format all kinds of complex data for the Web. The CD-ROM comes with software, code, Internet links, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An ideal beginner's guide to XML!

From the Back Cover

Put the power of XML to work on your Web site.

Is your Web site hampered by the limitations of HTML? This friendly guide--completely updated with new examples, tools,and techniques--shows you step-by-step how to take your site to new heights with Extensible Markup Language, from enhancing database connectivity to enhancing pages with specialized data elements.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 378 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 2nd edition (May 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764506927
• ISBN-13: 978-0764506925
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,476,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing can be learned from this book, July 25, 2000

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: XML for Dummies (Paperback)

I'm usually not harsh about books, but this has got to be one of the worst computer books I've read. Admittedly XML is a complex topic to discuss, but another book "XML: A Primer" by St. Laurent does a much better job at showing the reader how XML works and is constructed. This book, in contrast, fails to show the poor reader what exactly XML is about -- and can do, and how one goes about developing actual XML applications. I mean, there are the code samples and explanations and everything, but after reading it I could not remember a single thing about XML. (I had to buy "XML: A Primer" to start all over again.) It's the rare kind of bad books that leave you unable to describe what you've just read.

The book won't do as a primer, nor will it do as a reference. I suggest that you find a copy and read it first before deciding whether to buy it.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Find another book on XML, June 12, 2001

By 

John S. Cleveland (Ruckersville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XML for Dummies (Paperback)

If you have any experience (even if it's only a tiny amount) with web development or programming find another book on XML. I bought this book not knowing anything about XML but knowing HTML and basic Javascript, VBScript, etc. I just wanted to understand what all the fuss was about concerning XML. I read the first 75 pages of this book before I even understood what XML was (that's about a fifth of the book). It took me many pages to understand that XML was designed for storing data (the same way a database is used) but you use other technologies/languages to present that XML data to a user on a web browser (for example, by using CSS, XSL, etc). Basically I had a lot of questions about XML and this book answered very few of them. The author repeats much of the information over and over but never goes into any depth on a particular subject. The first 125 pages could have been condensed to about 30. There are plenty of books out there on XML--some of those books have to be better than this one. It's a little cheaper possibly than some other books, but you get what you pay for.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The WORST, June 12, 2001

By 

markhab - See all my reviews

This review is from: XML for Dummies (Paperback)

I have read many computer books in my days and this is the worst, hands-down. It mentions topics in a seemly random order, offers only the briefest of explanations when it does mention a topic, and never summarizes things in an understandable fashion. To top it off, the code from the book is NOT on the CD - in spite of page 355 which says it is in the xml4dum "directory" (I think they are called folders in Windows these days). Sorry, but this is a complete waste.