XML related to the real world
Trying to learn useful things about XML can be hard. XML is so flexible and can be used for so many things, descriptions of it have a bad tendency to be vague, never touching the real world. Or they are too detailed and technical to easily understand. This book has a really nice balance of these factors. For example, if you want to know what a web service is, and want to see an actual example of one without an overwhelming amount of technical detail, this book is a good place to look. You can see the code and what's actually needed to implement it.
Who said realitiy needs to suck ?
I love this book, it's not your average learn to build a CD or Book database in XML. If you want to learn the XML, buy a generic fat red book with the lots of faces on it, if you want to learn how to apply the XML to practical situations, get this one. It's not going to take you years to read and the selection of applicable quotes at the start of each make it quite amusing and exciting. Add a bit of method to your madness, buy this book and apply a Software Engineer's approach to your data modelling.
Very well written and to the point
I really liked this book. It gave me some very good insight into how to use the XML I have been learning for the past 2 years. It is not filled with a lot of useless rehash of XML primer material, it has a real nice review/overview of the technology and then focuses on the real issue of how to use it to solve business problems. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't need a 600 page regurgitation of XML basics, but instead is focused on solving problems with an exciting technology!
Strategic XML
As a strategic decision maker in the software development industry, transitioning into XML based technologies is at the top of my priority list. Strategic XML provides a very good introductory through advanced study of the topic. The author not only educates the reader from an academic perspective, but goes in depth with real world examples. He actually goes one step further and points the reader toward suitable tools and development platforms. For anybody moving into (or already in the midst of) joining the XML world, I would highly recommend giving Strategic XML a read.
Good overview for non-programmer
I initially read this book because I know the author and I promised him I would. I'm not a programmer but I am responsible for the technical direction of my company. Suprisingly, the book was written in plain enough English to give me a good general understanding of how to use XML, SOAP, Web Services etc. I'm passing it on to my programming department as a primer to start getting us up speed on these technologies.
