Guide to XML Transformations: XSLT and Xpath (The Definitive Xml Series from Charles F. Goldfarb) [Paperback]

I HAVE read this book. In fact, I am still reading it. It is well written and well structured. The subject matter is clear and concise. It discusses the key subjects necessary to master XML transformations. The contributions from industry experts of several corporations and associations, such as the W3C, make it a well rounded syllabus.

The title is what initially drew me to this book. Why? I was thrown into the thick of things developing an XSLT based Web site templating engine. My first XSLT book was Wrox's XSLT Programmer's Reference. Although I found the syntactical information I needed to craft the templates of the XSLT stylesheet, I was missing the answers to some recurring questions: how do I effectively navigate the source XML
document? how do extract the desired node-set?

From my previous hands-on XSLT experience, it quickly became evident how important it was to master XPath. Learning how to effectively write a rule set and optimize a style sheet requires a good understanding of how to navigate an XML document.

This is a good book to introduce newcomers to the world of XSLT transformations as it is a good book for knowledgeable XSLT developers to further refine their template design and coding skills.

This book lays a solid foundation to begin coding XSLT style sheets. It builds upon this foundation by expanding on more complex subjects in subsequent chapters. I also find it to be a useful reference. I've typically found what I was looking for using the detailed index.

I was taken aback by one of the appendices, which reveals the true power of XSLT, solving the classic "N-Queens" AI problem via an XSLT stylesheet!

I'm quite happy to have purchased this title, and if I were to have the choice of only one book on XSLT this would be the book.

1.1 (string not quoted)
1.2 (only 1 top-level element allowed).
2.1 (invalid character)
2.4 (cannot locate resource)
2.5 (template.xml undeclared namespace)
2.7 (cannot locate resource)
3.2 (output.xml invalid at the top level)
3.3 ditto
3.4 worked -- hey, a working example!
3.5 (output.xml invalid at the top level)
3.6 misplaced period
3.7 invalid at top level
3.8 only 1 top level element allowed
3.9 invalid at the top level...

The rest of the chapter examples are similar to this one.
Without good examples, a programming book is almost worthless.

In some sections, the same paragraph is repeated verbatim 2 or even 3 times. Often in the chapter overview, and then on the next page in the first chapter section.

Possibly the book appeals to other learning styles better, but I've found it a tough slog. In fairness though, XSLT is a strange and difficult beast- I may be transferring some of my frustration on to the messenger!

However, in general, I find the examples are too repetive, causing them to blur together. And you find myself flipping back as many as 6 pages at times to find the xml code the description is talking about.

And there is a lack of technical illustrations to help with more difficult topics.

I would have appreciate larger examples from different domains to specific goals. The problem with a lot of the examples is the purposelessness of the examples.

XML in a Nutshell, and Michael Kay's XLST reference have provided me much more joy.

My last word of advice- follow the examples live. XSLT and XPath need practice, and lots of it.