Python & XML (Paperback)

~ (Author), Fred L Drake (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I'll use the word 'practical' again, because that sums up the tone of this book - it's about getting things done, and shows the processes in easy to understand chunks. There aren't great swathes of waffle, but there are plenty of examples. Appendices cover installation of necessary tools and the APIs for SAX and DOM, as well as a guide to MSXML and other Python tools available. Even the index is more comprehensive that the usual effort. Over 340 pages of real, practical, useful info here, well worth reading." - Nick Veitch, LinuxFormat, May 2002 "...does a great job of sticking to real-world, practical applications of these cutting edge technologies." - Martin Howse, LinuxUser & Developer, issue 31

Product Description

As an object-oriented language with powerful text processing capabilities, Python is an ideal language for manipulating XML. Python & XML provides you with a solid foundation for using these two languages together. Loaded with practical examples, the book highlights common application tasks, so that you can learn by doing. The book starts with the basics then quickly progresses to complex topics, like transforming XML with XSLT, querying XML with XPath, and working with XML dialects and validation. It also covers the more advanced issues, such as SOAP and distributed web services, and explores the use of Python to create scalable XML streams between distributed applications. If you are a Python programmer who wants to incorporate XML into your skill set, this is the book for you.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (December 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596001282
• ISBN-13: 978-0596001285
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #394,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #53 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Languages & Tools > Python
  #65 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Languages & Tools > XML

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great coverage with some typos, February 28, 2002

By	Sunit Joshi (Madison, AL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book really dvelves into the using XML with Python. The
chapter are well laid out and easy to read. There are some typos
but nothing that you can't fix. There are some problems using the current XSLT processer that ships with PyXml0.7 but you can
still apply the concepts (I used MSXML's XSLT). The best chapter (last one (:-|) ties all the concepts explained into a Web Service like app. that really shows the real strength of XML

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Coverage of Python XML possibilities, January 31, 2002

By A Customer

I really liked this book because I was able to quickly start using XML with Python. I tried to use the package docs, but they were often hard to read, and didn't fill me in on the background stuff I needed to know. The examples in this book were easy to understand, and easy to see how to make practical applications from them. I didn't encounter any typos like the other reader did.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Overview of XML, August 9, 2009

By	JennaSys (Southern California) - See all my reviews

I found the entire book easy to read and understand. I've been programming for a while now, but am new to both Python and XML and this book was at the perfect level for me. The book is very readable and the examples used were both concise and pertinent. The Python code used in the book was easy to follow even though I've only been using Python for a few weeks.

This book is mostly a tutorial on what XML is, how to manipulate XML documents using Python, and how to use XML to move data over the internet via HTTP. It was a very good practical overview of XML in the context of Python. While it wasn't all-encompassing, the book gave you just the right amount of information to get started, without burying you with details that might be better left to more of a reference style book.

I almost gave it just 4 stars only because the chapter on SOAP was quite dated. Since the book was last published when SOAP was in it's infancy, I didn't find that the information provided was quite as useful as it could be. The overview of SOAP was OK, but the sample code seemed to not have the same flow as the rest of the book. That said, if you're looking for information on SOAP specifically, this book may not be your best choice. Interestingly though, the last chapter that ties everything together with a more involved example web application, shows how to do a SOAP-like web service without actually using SOAP - which actually seemed to be a lot simpler in my opinion.

I would have also appreciated a little more coverage of XML Schemas, but after reading the book, I now at least know what to look for. All-in-all though, an excellent book to get you started if you're looking to work with XML documents using Python.