XML in real life
That's the strength of this title. It focuses on how xml can and should and is being used in the real world. Too many books documented xml in abstract and in theory and while that's a good place to begin the learning process, it's just not enough.
This was the first xml book I read and it immediately helped me understand 'how' xml should be used as opposed just 'what' xml was. That understanding helped me apply the language to real systems and real business requirements.
Be sure to check out the CD-ROM which contains code examples and supplemental documentation.
Having said all this, I would still recommend you get a purely theory-based book to supplement with this guide because its coverage of the syntax is not completely comprehensive.
Either way, it's higly recommended, especially now when xml has found itself into every corder of the IT world.
Good real world guide to XML
This book is clearly outdated now, in terms of the technology it covers and the advancements that have occured since its release. However, if you are struggling with how XML fits into the real world, I have yet to see better examples than the ones provided in this book.
Don't expect a lot of technical guidance. The focus is really more on introducing XML to the common person. The writing style is informal, and really geared to a broad audience. This book is still a good complement to some of the more current technical guides.
No practical use
A great book for those who want to know in very general terms what XML is all about, but who don't actually want to do anything with it.
OUTDATED AND LIMITED
Decent book, but it's already outdated and the code samples are limited. The background information is still informative, but there isn't enough coverage of the API. The DOM API documentation is out-of-date and few useful examples are given. There is no coverage of the SAX API (which is supposed to be easier to use) whatsoever. None of the examples work with a webserver and only work if you open the file locally! I found myself using the MSDN Online website instead of referring to the book.
IE DOM Explained
There are many books on the market that explain XML and what it is and does. This book explains the Microsoft IE DOM, and how to use it in the client. Since Netscape does not support XML, don't look for many examples of how to use it with Netscape. If I had to rely on this book to introduce me to XML, it would fail miserably. However, when I saw the possibilities of using XML to communicate between the client and server in the background, a whole new world opened up for our product. It is now interactive without a screen refresh. We do field level validations in real time. We have dynamic content in dropdown list boxes. This knowledge alone is worth many, many times the price of the book.
(32 reviews)
