XML for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides) [Paperback]

Fortunately for her readers, Castro has successfully identified the core components of XML and presented them in a streamlined way. XML for the World Wide Web doesn't tackle any of the advanced elements of XML technology, such as SOAP, SAX or integration with the Document Object Model (DOM). Instead, it focuses on teaching the basic nuts and bolts of creating XML documents, styling them and defining their structure.

This book moves at a fast pace. Document Type Definitions (DTD), for instance, get only 30 pages of coverage. This tight format is composed of simple examples that illustrate commands and concepts instead of pages of text. The pages are presented in a two-column format so that code fragments can be wisely placed alongside the step-by-step explanatory text. Each topic example is supplemented with one or more useful implementation tips.

For a true grasp on XML and all of its potential, you will need to follow up this introductory tutorial with more reading on the applications of the technology and case studies. But this little book is a great way to learn the basics of XML in a weekend. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• XML documents
• Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
• Schemas
• Namespaces
• XSLT and XPath
• Cascading style sheets (CSS)
• XLink
• XPointer

Web-maven Elizabeth Castro, who has penned Peachpit books on HTML,Perl and CGI, and Netscape, now tackles XML--an indispensable toolfor creating personalized, updated content for each visitor on yoursite. Whether you build Web pages for a living or you're taking on anew hobby, XML for the World Wide Web contains everything you need tocreate dynamic Web sites by writing XML code, developing custom XMLapplications with DTDs and schemas, transforming XML intopersonalized Web content through XSLT-based transformations, andprofessionally formatting XML documents with Cascading Style Sheets.The real power of XML lies in combining information from varioussources and generating personalized content for different visitors.Castro's easy-to-follow graphics show exactly what XML looks like,and her real-world examples explain how to transform and streamlineyour Web-site creation process by automatically updating content.