XML Pocket Consultant (Paperback)

by William R. Stanek (Author) "Working groups within the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) started developing eXtensible Markup Language (XML) in 1996..." (more)
Key Phrases: external unparsed general entities, unparsed content, standal one attribute, Microsoft Corp, William Stanek, Defining Simple Types (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Here's the eminently practical, pocket-sized reference for Web developers and IT professionals working with XML, XSL, and XSLT. This portable guide delivers a brisk overview of XML, and quickly proceeds to such topics as DTD components, document modeling, document formatting, and XML standards-including XSL, XLink, and XPath.

Product Details

• Paperback: 389 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press (January 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735611831
• ISBN-13: 978-0735611832
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #659,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise but thorough pocket reference, January 1, 2004

By	R. D Johnson (Cedar Ridge, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I knew a little about XML before reading this book, but nothing in-depth. I've been a software developer for years however, so I didn't want a basics book, but something that covered the subject quickly and in depth. After reading the other reviews I bought this book and was not disappointed. I was particularly interested in XML Schema and XSLT, and this book does an excellent job with both. I'm not sure you can find a more thorough reference outside the standards documents themselves. Datatypes, restrictions, defining complex types--I use this book for XML Schema like I use K&R for C programming. Note that this book has almost no coverage of subjects outside the W3C standards, such as the different types of validating tools and parsers or other XML schema languages such as RELAXNG from Oasis. You will have to go elsewhere for a fuller understanding of the entire 'XML Universe'. The only real gripe I have with this book is its constant use of Microsoft in the examples, which grates on this long-time Linux user. Of course, its from Microsoft Press, so what can you expect. Fortunately XML itself is non-OS specific, so nothing in this book is really Microsoft-centric. All in all, a great reference.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shove the rest of those XML XSLT books off the desk!, April 21, 2002

By A Customer

In all the time I've worked with XML I haven't found a book this useful. The book is the most up to date I've found. The detailed coverage of XML, XSLT, XPath and more is extremely thorough. The step-by-step instructions are truely helpful. I would have to agree that this book alone is better than any book that covers XML or XSLT separately. Now that I've started using this book I rarely look at the other XML books on my desk. In fact I've put most of them away. Thank you Mr. Stanek for writing a book those of us who really want to learn and use XML!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book!, January 13, 2005

By	Phrawm47 "RBV" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

I seldom award five stars but this book deserves it. If you can only buy one XML reference book, buy this one; if you have XML books that you're not satisfied with, buy this one: The XML Pocket Consultant is *the* XML "sleeper" title.

In my mind, I've retitled the XML Pocket Consultant "The XML Comprehensive Quick Reference." The book presents every aspect of XML and related technologies in a clear, crisp, understandable style. The book's excellent content is augmented by a professionally crafted visual style (page layout, whitespace, typeface, headings, list construction, examples) that facilitates information access and transfer; I mention this because too many books of this type look like they were designed and produced using consumer-level desktop publishing software.

I'm not normally this enthusiastic about a book, but The XML Pocket Consultant is truly a treasure: It's the single most useful, helpful, 5.5" x 8" x 1.2" compendium of XML information I've so far found.