Amazon.co.uk Review
The XML Handbook is really two books in one. First, it provides a general introduction to XML. Without assuming any previous knowledge, the authors explain the key concepts and offer easy-to-follow tutorial chapters. Although the material is technical, they take care to explain each step in plain English, making the book more approachable than most XML guides. The other, more unusual aspect of
The XML Handbook is that it includes chapters from 27 sponsors, representing companies working with XML technology. These chapters describe how each organisation is using XML in its particular specialist field. The advantage is that it increases the book's breadth of coverage and provides a snapshot of how XML is actually being used today. On the downside, it means that there is no critical appraisal of these different approaches and readers are left to draw their own conclusions. This point aside, the input from many different specialists makes this a particularly valuable resource.
Charles Goldfarb writes with authority, since he is one of the inventors of SGML, the markup-language from which XML is derived. In this third edition, he and his co-author bring the handbook right up to date. There is extensive coverage of XML Schema Definition Language, which is the evolving alternative to the DTD (Document Type Definition), and some information about SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), the XML standard for remote object invocation. The XML Handbook is particularly strong on publishing and content management, and also has a good treatment of e-commerce issues.
Overall, this is recommended both for the technically-minded general reader and for developers or IT managers wanting an overview of the XML world. --Tim Anderson
Product Description
XML is taking off like a rocket, transforming Web publishing, e-Commerce, and database applications alike. Now, Charles Goldfarb and Paul Prescod have updated their definitive, best-selling XML introduction to reflect today's latest products, applications, standards, and trends. Accessible enough for non-technical managers, comprehensive and accurate enough for technical professionals, this book offers systematic guidance for decision-making and implementation -- plus an enormous, hand-picked library of the world's best XML software and resources. Discover how XML is revolutionizing both e-businesses and "bricks-and-mortar" businesses, simplifying the development of enterprise application integration, supply chain integration, portals, "digital dashboards," trading exchanges, and many other new applications. Review the latest XML-related standards and specifications, including XSL, Xlink, Xpointer, schemas, Xpath and XSL Transformation; and understand the role of XML in middleware. Walk through several real-world XML enterprise case studies, and review today's state-of-the-art XML solutions, from Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Sun, Arbortext, XMLSolutions, and many others.
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