Inside XML - Book review

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<< STUDY SKILLS << COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY << WEB DESIGN Inside XML Complete guide to XML standards - plus free resources Books don't come much thicker than this before they turn into paving slabs or door stoppers. This is the ultimate complete resource on extensible markup language . It combines an introduction to XML and its syntax, illustrated examples of its use, and a comprehensive reference guide to every conceivable aspect of the subject. The reason why it's such a big book is that Steve Holzner takes an extremely thorough approach. Every step of his explanation is clearly illustrated with examples before moving on to the next. And all the coding is printed out in a way which makes it easy to follow. XML is important for Web developers because it allows you to define your own tags. You can also create far more complex documents than in HTML. And once in XML, these documents can be read in multiple forms. He begins by showing you how to create valid XML documents, then explains document definitions and schemas. He also includes an explanation of the other technologies which are used in conjunction with XML - JavaScript, style sheets, and Java. In this sense, the book is offering several sets of tutorials on related topics - another reason why it is so comprehensive. He also discusses XLinks and XPointers. These are powerful features which I for one have previously found it difficult to grasp. XLinks are advanced hyperlinks. In an XML document, anything can be a link, the links can point in two directions, and they can be links to multiple documents. For instance, you can link to several mirror sites and let the browser select the one which is nearest. Or you could link to an entire set of documents and let the browser search for the one you want. It's for this reason that in XML, the term URL has become URI - uniform resource identifiers. This means that even if a document is moved from one site to another, the XLink will still find it. Those people who want to prepare for the move beyond HTML will welcome his explanation of XHTML. This is an XML application with the distinct advantage that it can be used right now, with the current generation of browsers. He provides plenty of tips to make the transition as painless as possible. All this will be useful for those people who wish to exploit the power of XML in handling data dynamically - particularly that which is stored in databases. He also gives full details of where to obtain the (often free) software - editors, validators, browsers - so that you can make a start on creating your own documents. XML now offers features of linking and document management which were only dreams in the minds of the early hypertext pioneers. It represents a main route in the future development of the World Wide Web. If it is a route you wish to go down, this book tells you everything you need to know. © Roy Johnson 2001 [more WEB DESIGN books] Steven Holzner, Inside XML, Indianapolis (IN): New Riders, 2001, pp.1102, ISBN 0735710201 Discounts of 40% at Amazon!

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