XSLT 2.0 Web Development (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is a practical book describing the entire process of planning, implementing, and maintaining a Web site as an XML-based information system. It covers all stages of an XML Web site project, including: -developing a domain-specific schema, -preparing and validating source documents (both authoring in XML and converting from other formats are covered), -setting up XSLT transformations for automatic generation of HTML, graphics, and other components of the site, -testing and maintenance of the system. Ideal for working Web developers new to XML but eager to learn and leverage its benefits. Web developers understand the power of XML but often are hesitant to deploy it for fear of a steep learning curve. Kirsanov simplifies XML and XSLT and boils it down to just those elements they need to become immediately effective. The main technologies covered in the book are: XML, XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0, Schematron, and Cocoon. The book uses many examples of code and markup; also, a full-scale sample site is described throughout the book, with complete listings for page sources, stylesheet, and schema.

From the Back Cover

“I’ve worked with Dmitry on many projects. He is both a designer (artist) and a developer (programmer), so his book genuinely speaks to both audiences.”

—Charles F. Goldfarb

Leverage the incredible power of XSLT 2.0 to create sites that are easy to build, maintain, and extend!

This book teaches you exactly how to build state-of-the-art web sites with XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0. XML developer and web designer Dmitry Kirsanov drills down to real development challenges and specific tools and techniques for solving them.

You’ll learn from a hands-on project that gives you insights you just won’t find anywhere else. Kirsanov covers the entire project lifecycle: schema creation, validation, transformation, testing, and maintenance… offering outstanding code and markup examples every step of the way.

• Explore new XSLT 2.0/XPath 2.0 standards from a web developer’s point of view
• Develop rock-solid, high-performance domain-specific schemas
• Create and convert source documents for effective XML processing
• Set up XSLT transformations to automatically generate HTML, graphics, and other site components
• Build your dynamic web site on the solid foundation of the Cocoon framework
• Use Schematron to validate XML and streamline processing
• Study complete printed and downloadable page sources, stylesheets, and schemas

XSLT 2.0 Web Development is an indispensable resource for…

• Professional web developers
• Project managers who want to streamline site development and maintenance
• Graphic designers who need more flexible ways to present structured information
• Content management specialists using XML documentation/publishing systems

Fully tested and implemented examples are available at authors.phptr.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (April 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131406353
• ISBN-13: 978-0131406353
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #853,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for pragmatic developers, July 24, 2004

By	Margarita Isayeva (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

If to try to classify this book, I would put it in 'how to's' category, rather than 'tutorials'. The book summarizes author's significant experience with building web sites that are sanely organized and easy to maintain. The approach he advocates is somewhat minimalist: XML to markup the content, XSLT to transform it into HTML and to perform other auxiliary tasks -- 'The Pragmatic Programmer' followers will appreciate this. It should be noted that the content is mostly static or treated as such; how to fetch data out of a database and to build an XML DOM/SAX representation is left for other numerous books to ponder. While XSLT is the main subject, the scope of the book is broader. It includes developing an XML vocabulary for the site, choosing a schema language and writing a schema (here Schematron gets special attention), designing stylesheets for transformation, including tasks like checking files existence and generating images via extension functions written in Java. Finally, there is a section about batch processing with XSLT for automatic generation/regeneration of the whole site. Every task is illustrated with examples, generic enough so that you can modify them for your own project.

Orthogonal to what has been explained is the question of how it has been explained. The author's writing style is dense, even dry, the text is packed with information. It took me probably three times longer to read this book than it does usually, as there was no superfluous verbiage that could be quickly glanced over. The book doesn't make dull reading, though. Not only is it highly informative, it also gives aesthetical pleasure of a well-crafted work. The concepts are thoughtfully illustrated and made very clear; terminology is used precisely and consistently. Developers will appreciate an honest, 'no buzzwords, no marketing hype' approach, and accuracy in every small detail.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many practical examples, April 20, 2004

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There are numerous good books on XML, where often these pertain to using XML for data storage or interchange. But when one wants to derive browser viewable HTML from XML, then XSLT is used to make the transformation. For XSLT, there have also been books describing it. But thus far, most were about version 1.0. Plus, the HTML output might often be considered small scale. That is, a single page or a few pages.

This book differs in two important ways. Firstly, Kirsanov deals with the recently approved XSLT 2.0 and the accompanying XPath 2.0. There have been many improvements in functionality, which he explains cogently.

But, more importantly, he expands the scope of the discussion about the HTML output. No longer are we just designing a few pages. He imagines that we are now responsible for an entire website. It could be a personal one, or a corporate site of any size. This necessitates careful attention to designing the architecture of the site and the organising of the source XML documents. For example, he recommends always have a master document, listing all the pages of a site, a "site directory" in XML. Throughout the text, he gives numerous practical suggestions like this, that should be effective on any website.

Just as valuable, and perhaps more so to some, are the copious code examples, liberally embedded in the narrative. Gives flesh to the ideas. You can take these as inspiration, or even as starting templates, for your own website.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the author, May 28, 2004

By	dmitry kirsanov (Halifax, NS, Canada) - See all my reviews

The "XSLT 2.0" is in the title (but only as an adjective, the noun being "Web Development") because I use XSLT 2.0 idioms throughout - the book is filled with code examples that are only possible in 2.0. The book is not focused on XSLT 2.0 as such, it is focused on its practical use. I strived to present the right mix of theory and examples - the mix I would have enjoyed myself when I just started learning to use XSLT for web development.