Not for XML Novice!
Definitely not a textbook for XML newbies.
You need to learn Python Language before understanding this book, wtf?
If you are looking for a quick guide and learning book for XML, you might be disappointed by this paper-brick.
Might be a fine reference for XML veterans.
Book is god but the most companion Sourcecode is missing!!!
i agree with the previos Readers, but the most of the Sourcecode downloadable from http://www.garshol.priv.no/ is missing.
In most the RSSKIT library from the greatest Artikel in this Book.
Also missing some smaller parts like SAXTRACKER and more.
It seems also that the Code is almost out of Time.
Well Written and to the Point
I went the the bookstore - looking for a good tutor on SAX (the Simple API for XML). Unfortunately most of my choices were just overgrown reference manuals...Not so with Garshol's manuscript. For only a little more money I recieved a lot more on general XML processing than just SAX (and more on SAX than most of those other books). "Devinitive XML Application Development" is a well written book covering the most prevailent operations in XML processing and how to implement them (using the most popular event-based, tree-based and other APIs). Also, as a testiment to Garshol's writing, I was able to understand the examples used throughout the book even though he uses Python - a foriegn language for me. There is also a quick tutorial on Python in the appendix.
One minor nit: this book doesn't have any reference material to complement the wonderful text. However, another book in the series (Charles F. Goldfarb's XML Handbook) covers that. Besides, a reference alone won't give you, "...the skills, insights, and example code you need to build [XML applications] right" (from the back cover, which says it better than I could).
Complete reference for experienced developers
This book requires a solid working knowledge of XML and associated protocols (XLST, XPath, XML Schema), Python and Java), and is written for practicing developers who are involved with web services, e-commerce and extended supply chain applications. You should also be reasonably familiar with DOM, data structures and relational databases to get the most from this book.After a quick introduction to the XML processing the author wastes no time getting to the meat by going into processing types in Sections II (Event-Based Processing), III (Tree-Based Processing) and IV (Declarative Processing). Each of these sections are comprised of chapters and topics that cover the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, common tools and example applications, and tips and techniques.
Section V is focused on Java development, including SAX in Java, DOM in Java and XSLT In Java Applications. This section covers APIs, tools and specific considerations for each topic.
The final section addresses XML processing in detail, and deals with alternative processing approaches (including hybrids of event-, tree- and declarative-based models), schemas, and RSS.
In addition the appendices are informative and add to the value of this book. In particular, Appendix A, A Lightning Introduction to Python, will get seasoned developers up-to-speed (augmented by Appendix C which covers Python XML Packages). Appendix B is a glossary that goes into considerable detail, making it a handy reference.
I found this book to be well written, complete and devoid of fluff. An excellent companion to this book is the three book bundle titled "The Definitive XML Professional Toolkit", which contains CHARLES F. GOLDFARB'S XML HANDBOOK by Charles F. Goldfarb and Paul Prescod, DEFINITIVE XSLT AND XPATH by G. Ken Holman and DEFINITIVE XML SCHEMA by Priscilla Walmsley.
(4 reviews)
