XML Demystified

Paperback: 221 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (September 26, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0072262109
ISBN-13: 978-0072262100
Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches






Start programming in XML right away using this easy-to-follow guide. XML Demystified explains how to build XML web applications that work on any platform or browser. Step-by-step instructions with lots of examples help you learn quickly.

This one-of-a-kind self-teaching text offers:
An easy way to understand XML
A quiz at the end of each chapter
A final exam at the end of the book
No unnecessary technical jargon
A time-saving approach

The book begins by introducing you to the building blocks of XML. Then, you'll learn about XML documents, document type definitions (DTDs), XML schema, XLink, XPath, XPointer, XSLT, XML parsers, RSS, XQuery, and MSXML. Featuring end-of-chapter quizzes and a final exam, this book will have you creating XML applications in no time.

Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for an advanced student, XML Demystified is your shortcut to mastering this powerful programming language.

User Review:
It's tempting to ask what's the big deal about XML. Just make up some tags and off you go! Unfortunately, once you start getting into DTDs, XLink, XPath, and a variety of other X-things, it gets much more complex and confusing. If you want to start understanding the world of XML, start off with XML Demystified by Jim Keogh and Ken Davidson.

Contents: XML - An Inside Look; Creating an XML Document; Document Type Definitions; XML Schema; XLink, XPath, XPointer; XSLT; XML Parsers and Transformations; Really Simple Syndication (RSS); XQuery; MSXML; Final Exam; Answers to Quizzes and Final Exam; Index

At 221 pages, this is not an authoritative reference for everything involving XML. And that's a *good* thing. Keogh and Davidson zero in on the basics of each of the XML technologies, and they do a wonderful job of explaining things in terms any developer can understand. Rather than try and explain every option and nuance of a command or feature, they tell you what it does, how it works, and they show an example. If you work through the material as they present it, you'll end up with a solid understanding of the 90% of XML that you'll use on a regular basis. The other 10% is where you'll head off to buy the 1000 page reference manual to look up that arcane parameter that your co-worker used just because they read about it before you did... :)

I personally was impressed at how they were able to clearly present XSLT in a way that made it obvious. Same with XLink and XPath... I've read the large books and walked away somewhat more confused than when I started. XML Demystified could easily be the starting point for many XML beginners, and I'm pretty sure that you'll end up with the results you were after...

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