Wow - this book is just awful.
I borrowed this book from my new team lead, since he wants me to do some XML work on his project. I have absolutely zero experience with XML (or HTML), and I saw this book on his shelf so I borrowed it, hoping it would give me a clue as to what I'm supposed to do for the next few weeks. I am shocked at how little I know after completing the first two chapters! Each two pages is a new concept - which I think is a great idea. But, after you follow along with the examples, there is no description/pic of how it should look in your web browser! How do I know if I'm doing it correctly if I don't have anything to verify it with? It's kind of like reading a programming book that never shows you what the execution of the program is supposed to look like - that's ridiculous! Also, the lessons explain the "what" to do, but not the "why," which is really frustrating when you're trying to REALLY learn something - not just fake your way through it. Stay away from this book. I bet there is a free tutorial on the web that is much better.
Horrible book for beginning XML
Horrible book out there for learning XML. Lack of imagination on the part of the authors leads to same, mind-numbing, utterly useless example being used throughout the book. Can use the book for a quick glance at the XML syntax though, but don't expect to learn anything from the book.
No wonder the book sells for less than $2, and is worth only that much.
Good Reference Book
As with all of the visual blueprint book, this is a good reference for those new to XML. I found it easy to reference with. However if you need more explanation, then pick Microsoft step by step or SAMS 24 hours book.
This Book STINKS!!
I'm new to XML. My knowledge is fairly limited. And yet in the first 70 pages, I found at least 7 errors. (And bear in mind, each two pages presents one concept; therefore that averages out to one error per new idea.) Some were "screen typos," as in, the text would say "Type a question mark," but the little line to the screen image points to an asterisk. Other times, though, the information is flat-out wrong. I'd hate to think what would have happened if I new nothing at all about XML, and just accepted these mistakes as gospel.
Suffice to say, I'm going to try to get my money back for this book.
The best book on XML for beginners. Worth the money.
This is one of the best books on XML. I bought the book 5 months ago with zero knowledge on XML, now, I'm an XML wizzard, got a raise of 7,000 over the last 3 months for my expertise with XML. This is a all-in-one XML book. It tells you step by step about XML, and it's all XML beginners need. A second best book on XML would be XML Bible, which is 1,300 pages. Would recommend reading the visual book first, then proceed to XML Bible to do some fancy stuff.
(11 reviews)
