Beginning Xml (Programmer to Programmer) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Dave Gibbons (Author), David Hunter (Author), Nikola Ozu (Author), Jon Pinnock (Author), Kurt Cagle (Author, Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Beginning XML provides a complete course in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) with an unusually gradual learning curve. In fact, the introduction states that the book is "for people who know that it would be a pretty good idea to learn the language, but aren't 100 percent sure why." Despite its recognition of the fuzziness of readers' understanding of the technology, the book delivers a rather comprehensive study of XML.

Very little space is wasted detailing the history of XML and its relation to SGML, as is the case in many other titles. The argument for the importance of XML is made quickly, and the basics of well-formed syntax are tackled right off. One notable distinction of this book is its excellent coverage of related technologies, such as cascading style sheets (CSS) and relational databases.

In addition to discussing the crucial companion standards to the core XML language (DTDs, XSL, and XSLT), the book adds a nice perspective to the broad range of applications in which XML can play a role. One section, "Other Uses for XML," illustrates how XML can be used to serialize object models, creating stateless objects and utilizing the Resource Description Framework (RDF). Case studies on--among other things--how XML can be used to build discussion groups, and provide B2B data transfer, round out the text. This book is perfect for Web programmers who are turning their attention to XML for the first time. It imparts a solid understanding of the XML forest and XML trees. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Well-formed XML
• Cascading style sheets (CSS)
• XSLT and Xpath
• Document Object Model (DOM)
• Simple API for XML (SAX)
• XML/database integration schemas
• Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
• Namespaces
• B2B data-transfer applications
• Discussion group applications

Review
"…a comprehensive text for anyone who is serious about learning XML…" (International Developer, June 2005) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 823 pages
• Publisher: Peer Information Inc.; 1 edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861003412
• ISBN-13: 978-1861003416
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #791,769 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

203 of 210 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent straightforward way to learn XML from scratch, July 23, 2000

By	Maxime Bombardier (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

Having read quite a few XML books from Wrox (5-6), I think that this book will be able to touch the biggest audience. It contains a very good approach to learn about XML well-formed documents, CSS for XML, XSL(T), DTD, and it also have some nice Case-Studies that goes along. Hey, you even have an introduction to ASP and another one for HTML; for those of you new to the Internet.

Most of the XML books (straight one, not XML for VB for example) contains the same TOC but this one has the best approach so far.

If you are new to XML, take this one.

If you know a bit of XML (and PROGRAMMED it), you can take the Professional XML which will go a little bit more in depth (not that much)

If you know what you are doing with XML and wants to learn more about XSLT, get the XSLT Programmer's Reference(great book) from Wrox.

If you want a very good Case-Study, take the Professional XML Design and Implementation (also good).

Then you are off with ASP XML, VB XML, or Java XML.

Happy XML hunting.

90 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Beginning Book for the XML Novice, October 2, 2000

By	Randal Burgess (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One thing to remember about this book before you buy: It is a "Beginning XML Book," NOT a "Beginner" book. You are going to need some knowledge of data management, file management, and web page development to understand the groundwork for XML development.

However, if you do have basic ASP, SQL, and HTML skills like I do, then this book is a great start if you want to add XML to your skillset.

As with all Wrox books published over the last two years, this book is well-structured, well-written, and well-indexed. It will teach you more than you need to know for XML basics, and you can use the book as a reference down the road.

I waited for this book to come out all summer, and it was well worth the price and time I put into it. Good job, Wrox!

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Candy giving Headaches, April 11, 2001

By	oz (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews

No doubt this is a must for beginners in XML, and after a long time the GODs at Wrox decided to grace us poor programmers who are not gurus with a Beginning book. The way they had been churning out Professional series out of their factories I had already prepared my obituary for the Beginning series.

About the book. One of the best on the block for XML. Language is simple, easy to understand, and handles complex topics like XSLT very deftly.

Downside. Very very wordy. This is the first time I see in a Beginning series the author spending so much ink and pages on simplest of topics. Strangely enough some complex topic are written off in half a page. Examples in XSLT dont work. Inspite of downloading the XT program which the author recommends, more than half of the examples of the book don't work, leaving you depressed and confused, you then tend to re-read the pages, trying to find if you missed anything... XML applications arent covered in a greater detail and neither are practical examples for XML use shown.

In my opinion even with its faults this book is still, one of the better ones on the block, try skimming thro the earlier pages a bit faster if you don't want to be put to sleep. Don't waste too much time if the books XSLT examples don't work, just buy this books to get your basics covered and made strong.

Lastly, as I have mentioned again and again, Wrox beginning series are no longer what they used to be, and if anyone at wrox is reading this, I pleade them to get back on their earlier motto of providing quality books like the beginning asp/asp databases/javascript series, or end up losing their fans like me.