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Professional XML (Programmer to Programmer)Snagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here! Professional XML (Programmer to Programmer) by: Nikola Ozu, Richard Anderson, Wrox Author Team, Jon Duckett, Andrew Watt, Stephen Mohr, Kevin Williams, Oli Gauti Gudmundsson, Daniel Marcus, Pete Kobak, Evan Lenz, Mark Birbeck, Zoran Zaev, Steven Livingstone, Jonathan Pinnock, Keith Visco  Dewey Decimal Number: 005.72 EAN: 9781861005052 Edition: 2Rev Ed ISBN: 1861005059 Label: WROX Press Ltd Manufacturer: WROX Press Ltd Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 1269 Publication Date: May 01, 2001 Publisher: WROX Press Ltd Studio: WROX Press Ltd Editorial Review: Amazon.co.uk Review: With over 1,200 pages, Professional XML is a comprehensive guide. It makes you wonder if XML has now become too big a subject for a single book. The problem is not so much XML itself but all the related technologies and applications, such as XSLT for transforming XML, SAX for parsing it and SOAP for calling remote procedures using XML messages. Some XML titles, like O'Reilly's XML in a Nutshell, manage to be more concise by focusing only on the core of XML. The downside with such titles is that you will need further resources in order to get an idea of how XML can usefully be put to work. Professional XML is better in this respect, because it is more wide ranging and has case studies and examples. The early sections of the book cover XML basics: syntax, validation using DTDs (Document Type Definitions) and Schema, navigation with XPath and use of XSLT. Next there is a look at programming XML through the DOM (Document Object Model), SAX 2 and through advanced XSLT. An extensive database section includes chapters on data modelling, data binding with the Java-based Castor specification and use of XQuery. The later chapters cover XML applications including SVG for scalable graphics, XSL FO (Formatting Objects) for document presentation, RDF (Resource Description Framework) for transporting meta data, SOAP and finally business-to-business messaging with Microsoft BizTalk server and with UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration). Professional XML is a detailed if rather dry tour of XML from a developer's perspective. It maintains a fair balance between Java and Microsoft implementations of XML tools. Overall it makes a valuable one-volume resource, although most developers will want to supplement it with more specialist XML titles. --Tim Anderson Amazon.co.uk Review: XML--eXtensible Markup Language--is capable of rendering all data transfer and display OS and application agnostic. It's a self-documenting meta-language (used to describe data) implemented as a sub-set of SGML. As the authors of Professional XML explain, to use XML you first define an XML "vocabulary" suitable for your purpose. There are already vocabularies suitable for molecular modelling, commercial data exchange, legal and medical documents and much more. A vocabulary definition is contained in a DTD (Document Type Definition). The authors justify the need for the XML meta language, cover usage and XML document handling via DOM, Document Object Modelling. They don't spare blushes either, freely acknowledging XML problems such as the already perceived need to move from DTDs to the more elegant, XML based Schemas. While conceptually simple, XML is tricky to implement well in data structures and XML parsers, not least because it's a moving target. The authors cover a wide range of ways to use and implement XML with real-world examples--including heavy coverage of the SAX XML API implemented in Java--but what comes through most clearly in the 1,150 pages of Professional XML is XML's lack of maturity. This is unsurprising: W3C only nailed down the XML 1.0 specification in February, 1998. There is, though, no doubt about the need for, and importance of, XML in a networked world. Whether you are developing for Web or business-to-business applications, you need to understand XML. Professional XML meets this need. --Steve Patient Average Rating:
 Rating:  - A good ReferenceAs with all Wrox books, this is a huge book covering almost all the areas that XML covers. The authors have tried to be language agnostic (including VB C and Java) and because of this as a Java programmer I prefer the O'Reilly "Java and XML" as being more concise and easier to read (as well as understandably more specific). Programming language aside, this is a quality book that covers the essential ground work for XML so comprehensively that you may find yourself using XML more widely than you thought possible. Rating: - 'Curate's Egg' - good in parts.The title does say "Professional" but then I've read lots of "Professional" books that weren't and lots of "in a nutshell" books that were anything but! Given this, plus the dearth of XML books 3 or 4 months ago, I thought I'd give it a try. Bad choice. Much of the writing IS very technical, and some is just plain goobledegook. Other sections are excellent however, giving very clear explanations of XML - perhaps the best I've read. I believe that my difficulty with this book is not just down to my lack of understanding, but also that some authors are simply better at explaining in print than others. This is the 2nd "multi-author" book I've bought, and the 2nd time I've found such books to be good in some parts, not so good in others. If you can preview this book before you buy, then you should do so - you may be better spending your cash in another direction. Rating: - Solid Introduction to XMLI bought this book to evaluate for our development team and have gone back to purchase one per developer. Gives good introduction to all major XML technologies (including SOAP and Web Services) and thoroughly recommended Rating:  - It doesn't hold your hand but it is a superb reference toolOver 1,000 pages of in depth explanations of XML including SAX, CSS, XSLT, DTD, XML, Schemas, XLink, XPointer, XPath, e-commerce, BizTalk, SOAP, WAP and WML. Each chapter written by a top professional in the field. A superb reference text. Make sure you get other books too on the latest standards and browser functionality - not all standards make it as far as implementation in a browser! Rating:  - Too many subjects, too little detailHaving started working on an XML-XSL project from scratch, I bought this book hoping it would help me get started and then form a good reference for the future. Sadly, it fills the drawer of my desk gathering dust. Although many topics are covered, having read the content, I din't feel I'd acquired sufficient knowledge to actually do anything. If you are working on a project using XML, XSL and MSXML or similar to parse, read MSDN and get a pocket XSL reference. Lots of examples are the only way to learn XML and XSL. This book may be useful for those who need to know about the technology, but for everyday use other books are more suitable.  Try searching the Internet for "Professional XML (Programmer to Programmer)" or Ebay for "Professional XML (Programmer to Programmer)". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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