- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (4 Aug 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 013018554X
- ISBN-13: 978-0130185549
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 17.6 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
3,020,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #76 in Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Databases > XML & Databases
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Just XML isn't a book meant for die-hard programmers who are hell-bent on using XML--it's a book that explains the whys and wherefores of XML's design, and what one might use it for. But then again, if you're just starting to learn XML, you're going to need this anyway.
The eternal problem is that there really aren't a lot of browsers that interpret XML and even for those that do, there are vast differences. And this presents a lot of challenges for the XML book writer--how do you explain a technology that, in many ways, isn't quite done yet? Enter Just XML.
Unlike most programming guide authors, John Simpson is extremely chatty and spends a lot of his time walking you through the concepts behind XML. With good, clean writing, Simpson is extremely good at anticipating the questions a novice might have.
But the book has some fairly annoying flaws. For one thing, the organisation's a little backwards--Simpson sometimes spends more time explaining why things work than what they are supposed to be doing. If you are not sure why you'd want to use a particular XML feature at this point in the document, you might get baffled. And the very informal nature of this book is sure to annoy serious programmers who just want the facts.
But when it comes down to it, the XSLT chapter is golden, the explanations are as good as they are going to get for a kind of vague topic, and frankly, I'd recommend it to anybody who needs an idea of what XML is for and what it can do. But once you get that down, you will probably need another set of XML tutorials to nail down your XML syntax knowledge. --William Steinmetz
Review
"I was surprised to find that once I began reading this book, I read it from front to back like a novel... If you need to start at the beginning and learn about XML, I highly recommend this book." — Richard G. Baldwin, About.com
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just XML is not an easy book to grasp. Several of the other reviewers probably weren't up to the book. The book demands a lot from the reader.
You should be able to think in abstract terms before reding this book, or else it may well end up gathering dust on your book-shelf. You should have had exposure to XML before reading this book (in my opinion), and you should know a programming language. Any programming language will do, as long as you're familiar with concepts such as variables and functions, parameters and return values.
Just XML tries to be an "introduction" book, but I feel that some of the topics were just too advanced for an "intro" book. It dives into XML namespaces and XLink long before mentioning XSLT or DTD. The knowledgeable may wonder why; the answer to the question is probably that namespaces and XLink are quite useful, and have not received their fair share of exposure in courses, the press and so on. The author obviously feels that those technologies are an important part of XML, and so introduces them quite early. This is what might put the non-programmer off, because the XPath discussion gets quite technical before becoming practical.
All in all, I would say that the book is well worth it, if you're up to it.
Format:Paperback
I see that lots of people love this book, and lots of people hate it.
I hate it I'm afraid.
There seem to be very few practical or helpful examples in it, and although the author is obviously a humerous and fun chap the book he has produced bored the pants off of me.
If I buy a 'how to' book I'd like to be having a bash at something after about 20 pages, sort of 'code as we go' stuff - I gave up on this book way before we ever got to any 'now it's your turn' stuff.
As one guy said here, I'm glad my employer paid for this book and not me.
I'm now reading XML for Dummies - it seems to have a much more useful approach and I'm already more engaged and knowledgeable after... (hang on...)27 pages than I was after... (wait a mo...) 126 pages of JustXML.
Sory Mr Simpson, but I sure don't like your book and I won't be buying anything in that range again...
Format:Paperback
I'm glad to say my employer paid for this book. If I had wasted my own money, I would have felt even more aggrieved than I already do for having wasted my own time.
A better investment is "Java and XML" by Brett McLaughlin. Although far from perfect (will review it when I have finished it), the adopted approach is far superior to that used in "Just XML".
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Absolutely hopeless
This is a useless book that starts off with a lot of waffle and insists on persevering with it. Its only after a few chapters that you get to see some codes. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2000
A BIG DISSAPOINTMENT
I bought this book after reading these very reviews, at the time it was graded 4.5 stars, in the absence of any other recommendations I bought the book. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2000 by Phil Taylor
Chatty and shallow on detail
I have this book beside me right now, and I'm surfing Amazon.co.uk for a book on XML. What does that tell you? Read more
Published on 22 Oct 1999 by fraser@speirs.org
A must read...
If you want to learn about XML this is the book of choice. The author takes you through the full course. This book is complete. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 1999
Helpful background, even for a year old book
Although not as up to date as this year's publications, this book explains a lot of XML technology in ways that other SGML trained authors can't seem to do. Read more
Published on 21 July 1999
Helpful background, even for a year old book
Although not as up to date as this year's publications, this book explains a lot of XML technology in ways that other SGML trained authors can't seem to do. Read more
Published on 21 July 1999
XML the easy way
I found this book to be exactly what I was looking for. I have picked up several XML books and this is my favorite by far. Read more
Published on 11 July 1999
Just XML -- That's exactly the problem.
With great regards to the author's vast experience, I must say, I am quite unhappy with the way this book has been written. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 1999
Great book, well written, easy to understand!
Obviously a book that people either love or hate! All 1, 2, or 5 stars. Well, count me as one who loves it because I think the author's done something pretty amazing. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 1999
Slow paced, lacks real depth
The author clearly wanted to write a book about XML much more than he wanted help the XML development community. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 1999
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