.NET and XML

Book Rank: #2 in xsl #52 in XML
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 1st edition (July 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0596003978
ISBN-13: 978-0596003975
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches







If you're seeking ways to build network-based applications or XML-based web services, Microsoft provides most of the tools you'll need. XML is integrated into the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET, but if you want to get a grasp on how .NET and XML actually work together, that's a different story. With .NET & XML, you can get under the hood to see how the .NET Framework implements XML, giving you the skills to write understandable XML-based code that interoperates with code written with other tools, and even other languages. .NET & XML starts by introducing XML and the .NET Framework, and then teaches you how to read and write XML before moving on to complex methods for manipulating, navigating, transforming, and constraining it. As you move from chapter to chapter, you'll absorb increasingly complex information until you have enough knowledge to successfully program your own XML-based applications. This tutorial also contains a quick reference to the API, plus various useful appendices.
This book has probably all you need to know about reading, writing, formatting and sending XML over the wire with C#. Standout chapters for me were chapters seven, on XSLT, and nine, on web services. That being said all of the non-reference chapters were evenly written, easy reads and neither rat hole nor pander to the reader. The code samples are numerous but they are hilighted with bold to emphasizes the portions that a critical to the narrative.

C# is the only imperative language covered in the book even though most .NET authors cover both C# and VB.NET. In the introduction the author calls C# the central language of .NET and says it's the best language for the job. I don't have big issues about that but other potential .NET readers may, especially considering the popularity of VB.NET. Personally I prefer when the author chooses one language and then leaves the other to the site or the CD. I think VB.NET example code fragments on the O'Reilly site probably would have been a safer bet.

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