Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems (Paperback)

~ Brett McLaughlin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Was I impressed with this book? Indeed I was! The content is both timely and accurate, the reading is easy and enjoyable - a very rare achievement.' Java Desk, Israel (Java User Group)

Product Description

With the XML "buzz" still dominating talk among Internet developers, there's a real need to learn how to cut through the hype and put XML to work. Java & XML shows how to use the APIs, tools, and tricks of XML to build real-world applications. The result is code and data that are portable. This second edition adds chapters on Advanced SAX and Advanced DOM, new chapters on SOAP and data binding, and new examples throughout. Following a concise introduction to XML basics, the rest of the book focuses on using XML from your Java applications. Java developers who need to work with XML, or think that they will in the future--as well as developers involved in the new peer-to-peer movement, messaging, or web services--will find Java & XML a constant companion. Includes a quick reference on SAX 2.0, DOM Level 2, and JDOM.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2 edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596001975
• ISBN-13: 978-0596001971
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #382,105 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good work, a real 5 star XML book, October 21, 2001

By	Ozgur Aksakal (Zurich, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

The buzz is all around. XML and all derivatives are attracting everyone. There are many XML books in the market but few are satisfactory. I like the books which can offer more than tutorials on the web. This is one of those. First of all, the book is well organized and easy to follow. Learn the idea behind SAX, DOM and then JDOM. Having a good understanding of these basics, go on with three main application areas of XML:"web publishing","interoperatibility", and "data binding". This is what XML developers should do, and author follows this order very well. In fact, I remember Brett's one article where he suggested developers not to forget basics of parsing while working with higher level APIs and protocols.

If we look at the details of book... After covering the basics of parsing, Brett introduces some -very good- real world examples: Cocoon(for publishing frameworks), soap, xml-rpc, and web services for communication or interoperatibility and Castor etc. for data binding.

What is missing or not intended in this book is XML data structure design and XSLT. This is understandable since both are very detailed topics that wouldn't fit in a single book. For XSLT there are the O'reilly Java & XSLT or Wrox XSLT books and for XML-Schema... I'm just waiting for a good one.

Especially for those intermediate level XML programmers with Java knowledge.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good coverage of XML programming in Java, October 2, 2001

By	Vernon Stinebaker (Shanghai, China) - See all my reviews

XML and Java, true to the title, provides detailed and broad coverage of XML programming in Java.

The chapters on SAX, DOM and JDOM provide a strong foundation for selecting and leverage these libraries at a practical level. The coverage of rapidly emerging XML topics including XML-RPC, SOAP and Web Services is timely and reasonably detailed, providing adequate information to allow these to be practically applied.

The author's writing style is easy to read and has a code-centric focus. The numerous examples were intelligently explained without providing detail that someone already familiar with the Java programming language would find verbose and boring.

This title is best suited to for those with some background in Java and a general understanding of XML. Assuming this background, this book can help bridge the gap from being a Java/XML programming novice to being a Java/XML programming expert.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updated version of an excellent book, January 17, 2002

By	Thomas Paul (Plainview, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first edition of this book was considered one of the best on the subject of Java and XML. This new edition has expanded to include the developments in Java and XML over the last year. The author gives a little less handholding on the basics of XML reducing a three chapter introduction in the first edition to a one chapter summary. SAX, DOM, and JDOM all are covered in detail with each topic getting an introduction and an advanced chapter. JAXP 1.1 is covered in sufficient detail. After the introduction to the basic Java/XML APIs, the author moves on to some other interesting topics.

The chapters on web publishing frameworks and XML-RPC haven't changed much since the first edition. New chapters on SOAP, Web Services, and content syndication are welcome additions. The book ends with a look at data binding and JAXB.

The examples in the book are extremely clear and concise, explaining each topic well without being overly simplistic. As with the first edition, the author assumes that you are familiar with Java but unlike the first edition he assumes you have a basic understanding of XML.

If you are a Java developer and you are going to be working with XML then this book is required reading. The coverage of the Java/XML APIs is excellent. As for the other topics, it is a good introduction but for anyone working with SOAP or Web Services, other books will probably be required.