Essential XML Quick Reference: A Programmer's Reference to XML, XPath, XSLT, XML Schema, SOAP, and More (DevelopMentor Series) (Paperback)

by Aaron Skonnard (Author), Martin Gudgin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This book is for anyone working with today's mainstream XML technologies. It was specifically designed to serve as a handy but thorough quick reference that answers the most common XML-related technical questions. It goes beyond the traditional pocket reference design by providing complete coverage of each topic along with plenty of meaningful examples. Each chapter provides a brief introduction, which is followed by the detailed reference information. This approach assumes the reader has a basic understanding of the given topic. The detailed outline (at the beginning), index (in the back), bleeding tabs (along the side), and the page headers/footers were designed to help readers quickly find answers to their questions.

From the Publisher
Even the most experienced XML developer needs a reference guide with essential information and quick answers to the questions and problems that inevitably arise. ESSENTIAL XML QUICK REFERENCE is the most comprehensive and authoritative book available. Covering all of XML, as well as many related protocols and technologies, this book provides a handy, one-stop resource to XML syntax, usage, and programming techniques. Compiled and written by two leading XML authorities, the book provides complete coverage of all relevant topics. Each chapter provides a topic overview, explanations of various elements, and several meaningful examples. ESSENTIAL XML QUICK REFERENCE is specifically designed for easy access, with a detailed table of contents, a thorough index, and side chapter tabs to help you quickly locate the information you need. This combination of comprehensive information, plentiful examples, and easy access make this book a required resource for XML developers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (November 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201740958
• ISBN-13: 978-0201740950
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #644,123 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-Notch Reference Material, September 16, 2002

By	Jim Christopher (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This is the most useful XML technology reference I've come across. I do own several books on this stuff ( including the droning and disjointed Professional XML from Wrox ), and this is the only one I ever need to take off the shelf.

This is a concise and tight little reference book; examples are present, albeit short ones they do get the point across. The book's layout and organization make it easy to find information, and the typesetting offers enough contrast to let you scan a page quickly to locate the information you need. There is just a little background information on each technology - probably not enough to bootstrap yourself into a project without at least a little XML knowledge under your belt. It's a reference book, so if you already know what XML ( or XML-Schema, SOAP, SAX, or the DOM ) is you'll get the most leverage off of this book.

Overall a great book to own if you're working on XML-related projects - especially if you've got a basic understanding of XML technologies and don't require the slow pace most books use to ease you into the technology like a old man getting into a bath. :)

Highly recommended.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent when you just need a reminder, November 30, 2001

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

In my home office, there is a special shelf within reach of my desk where I place those select books that are in highest demand. After I completed reading this one, it went right to that shelf. While the explanations are short, they are detailed enough to be useful and the coverage is complete. Code examples are used to illustrate most of the commands and they are well-constructed, succinct without being simple. You will not learn the components of XML by reading this book. However, if your need is for a reference that is a reminder, then this is the book for you.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for XML professionals, November 21, 2001

By	Mark A. Sweat "mark_sweat" (Wichita, KS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Essential XML Quick Reference is a must-have item for any developers who work with XML. It provides a concise, easy to search reference for the core technologies of XML: namespaces, DTDs, XPath, DOM Level 2, SAX, SOAP, etc.

The book is broken up by topics. For example, one chapter covers XSLT 1.0. The chapter begins with a concise overview of XSLT. A breakdown of some of the key XSLT concepts follows. Finally, the chapter ends with a reference to every XSLT element defined in the W3C standards.

Where the book excels is that it is pure XML. It avoids getting bogged down in parser-specific issues, but instead addresses XML at a standards level. In the few places where language-specific sample code is provided, the samples are available for both the Java and COM worlds.

Another strength of the book is in its coverage of two of the most exciting XML concepts: Schemas and SOAP. The schema coverage is split into two chapters. The first deals with the base schema types and how to create simple type. The second chapter focuses on complex types and schema extension.

The SOAP chapter, like the rest of the book, stays focussed on pure XML and avoids discussion SOAP implementations from IBM, Microsoft, etc. It provides a great reference to the building blocks of a SOAP message. The only thing missing from this chapter is a reference for WSDL.

One thing to keep in mind that this is a quick reference book. It will not teach you XML. This book is a great companion to the Essential XML: Beyond Markup book also in the DevelopMentor series.