| Overview
The arrival of support for XML--the Extensible Markup Language--in
browsers and authoring tools has followed a long period of intense
hype. Major databases, authoring tools (including Microsoft's
Office 2000), and browsers are committed to XML support. Many
content creators and programmers for the Web and other media are
left wondering, "What can XML and its associated standards really
do for me?" Getting the most from XML requires being able to tag
and transform XML documents so they can be processed by web
browsers, databases, mobile phones, printers, XML processors, voice
response systems, and LDAP directories, just to name a few targets.
In Learning XML, the author explains XML and its
capabilities succinctly and professionally, with references to
real-life projects and other cogent examples. Learning XML
shows the purpose of XML markup itself, the CSS and XSL styling
languages, and the XLink and XPointer specifications for creating
rich link structures. The basic advantages of XML over HTML are
that XML lets a web designer define tags that are meaningful for
the particular documents or database output to be used, and that it
enforces an unambiguous structure that supports error-checking. XML
supports enhanced styling and linking standards (allowing, for
instance, simultaneous linking to the same document in multiple
languages) and a range of new applications. For writers producing
XML documents, this book demystifies files and the process of
creating them with the appropriate structure and format. Designers
will learn what parts of XML are most helpful to their team and
will get started on creating Document Type Definitions. For
programmers, the book makes syntax and structures clear It also
discusses the stylesheets needed for viewing documents in the next
generation of browsers, databases, and other devices.
Editorial ReviewsProduct DescriptionXML (Extensible Markup Language) is a flexible way to create "self- describing data"--and to share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere. In Learning XML, the author explains XML and its capabilities succinctly and professionally, with references to real-life projects and other cogent examples. Learning XML shows the purpose of XML markup itself, the CSS and XSL styling languages, and the XLink and XPointer specifications for creating rich link structures. For writers producing XML documents, this book demystifies files and the process of creating them with the appropriate structure and format. Designers will learn what parts of XML are most helpful to their team and will get started on creating Document Type Definitions. For programmers, the book explains syntax and structures. It also discusses the stylesheets needed for viewing documents in the next generation of browsers, databases, and other devices. | Amazon.com ReviewAlthough Learning XML covers XML rather broadly, it nevertheless presents the key elements of the technology with enough detail to familiarize the reader with this crucial markup language. This guide is brief enough to tackle in a weekend. Author Erik T. Ray begins with an excellent summary of XML's history as an outgrowth of SGML and HTML. He outlines very clearly the elements of markup, demystifying concepts such as attributes, entities, and namespaces with numerous clear examples. To illustrate a real-world XML application, he gives the reader a look at a document written in DocBook--a publicly available XML document type for publishing technical writings--and explains the sections of the document step by step. A more simplified version of DocBook is used later in the book to illustrate transformation--a powerful benefit of XML. The all-important Document Type Definition (DTD) is covered in depth, but the still-unofficial alternative, XML Schema, is only briefly addressed. The author makes liberal use of graphics, tables, and code to demonstrate concepts along the way, keeping the reader engaged and on track. Ray also goes deep into some discussion of programming XML utilities with Perl. Learning XML is a very readable introduction to XML for readers with existing knowledge of markup and Web technologies. It meets its goals very well--to deliver a broad perspective of XML and its potential. --Stephen W. Plain Topics covered: - XML overview
- XPointer
- XLink
- XHTML
- Presentation with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
- Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
- XML Schemas
- Transformation with XSLT
- Internationalization
- Simple API for XML (SAX)
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Reader Reviews From Amazon (Ranked by 'Helpfulness') Average Customer Rating: based on 38 reviews. Great Book for Learning XML, 2007-03-02 Reviewer rating: This book taught me a lot about XML and how it is used in the digital publishing world. XML is not limited to web sites and is a great resource for businesses institutions and other publishing needs where a common format is needed for each and every document.
I recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about XML and how it is used. | Not a Standalone book, good otherwise, 2006-12-10 Reviewer rating: 1. YOU WILL NOT TOUCH A KEYBOARD USING THIS BOOK, IT DOESN'T NOT WALK THROUGH EXAMPLES- for those books, try "XML step by step" by Young (Microsoft), and for more advanced, "XML in Action - Web Technology" by Pardi.
2. THIS BOOK IS GREAT: because it teaches in a fundamentally different way. Most of what we see of XML is tags, attributes, the structure of the data in the elements, etc. But this book focus on the DOM. This crucial focus helps understand XML with its uses, XPointer, and transformation.
3. If you want to do a lot with XML, beyond RSS feeds, buy this book along with a walkthrough, like the books listed above. | bad book, too much nonsense, 2006-10-05 Reviewer rating: full of nonsense in whole book.
For example, xml schemas chapter is from page 108 to 164 about 60 pages, but realy useful w3c xml schema only take less 8 pages, others, useless, forget them.
Hi my dear author,
you have a lot of work to do, from simple to complex, how can you just give a long example and finish. Do you know "learning" means ***FOCUSING ON CORE*** | The book is exactly right for an introduction., 2006-09-05 Reviewer rating: I am amplifying a prior review (Daniel McKinnon's) in order to balance a misperception as to the intent and execution of the book.
This is not XSLT or XPath or "DOM processing in Firefox" or "node traversals with Java", it's an introduction to XML. If you need a solid foundation upon which to base further study, I wholly recommend the book. Unlike other reviewers, I am not in search of the One Canonical Tome on a subject, because I know it doesn't exist in any genre. My needs for learning XML were basic and required a grasp of fundamentals, which you will achieve with this work.
It also has numerous points of interest that a reader can use to further a study of specific issues, such as processing XML using a scripting language, or weighing a schema for implementation, and so forth. As a result, the reader is well-armed to continue learning on the specifics that are of personal interest.
Ir requires a third edition to correct errors and update content, but that doesn't diminish the value of the book for anyone who wants to comprehend what XML is and is not, and what the major issues and challenges are.
-Fred | who is this book intended for?, 2006-05-27 Reviewer rating: Most O'reilly books are praised for describing computer programming concepts in a very readable way for an educated audience. Although, Erik Ray's book is engaging enough, he has left out so much detail in the language definitions and real examples that, after reading this book, it is not possible for even an experienced programmer to actually use the material. For example, the book explains the definition of schemas (without enough detail) but how do I use a schema in a project? The intended audience for this book appears to be people who already use xml that want a refresher at an elementary level. Very disappointing. |
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