5 comments about Microsoft .NET XML Web Services Step by Step.

1. This book provides excellent hands on training in .NET Web Services development. Although the book is a bit out of date...



2. I am half way through the book and I like it. It is a good tutorial that will hold your hand and help you taking your first steps on the planet WebServices. The authors selected an interesting and practical example subject, validating credit card numbers, so you will not need a lot of coffee to keep you awake.
   
   The examples are so simple, so if you are an experienced OO programmer, keep in mind that the goal was introducing the subject not implementing the code in the most elegant way.
   
   On the other hand, the authors followed a naming convention from hell. I am not just talking about casing but also the logical selection of class names. For example, In chapter 6 the authors were explaining the subject of sending objects and returning objects from/to web service. So they built a class and named it "ValidationObject". I don't want to sound like an OO lawyer here but the class is not an object; Objects are instances of the class.
   
   Anyway, I guess a name like "CreditCard" would've made much more sense, after all it is a credit card we are passing around. Variables were named like this x_object, o_card_type.
   
   Personally, I couldn't continue without building a names map. I just recorded each name and to which object it was given on a piece of paper.
   
   A word of advice; this is not the type of book you want to come back for a second read hoping that it will give you more understanding of the subject. So make sure you will take notes and summarize the important facts of each chapter.



3. I found it to be a very good intro for beginners in XML Web Services like myself. Highly recomended.



4. As the suffix title suggests, this book _does_not_rush_ things; very obviously catered for novice developers, it slowly oozes out information a step at a time. The authors exhibit their virtuous patience by going into great lengths to introduce the technology concepts that support XML web services, complete with comprehensive diagrams. These base explanations facilitate a firmer foundational understanding that no developer of XML web services should do without.
   
   Accompanying this conceptual theory are practical-driven chapters, each demonstrating a facet of web service development in the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET. The instructions are so minutely explicit and clear, virtually taking the reader by the hand (so much so might annoy more seasoned developers), that building the examples listed are exceedingly easy tasks. And I do not mean that in a blind copy-and-paste manner; the baby steps are enriched with proper explanations to ensure readers have sufficient knowledge of why such a piece of code exists somewhere. Even the asynchronous and multi-threading chapter, a topic that most developers tend not to have a good grip on, is written with amazing clarity. The book's 16 chapters are incredibly easy to read and digest, possessing little (if not none) of that confusing wordy fluff that delivers nothing; this one goes straight to the point, short and sweet.
   
   Sometimes however, short can also mean _truncated_. There are places where it simply stops and closes shop on the chapter when more demonstrations are expected. Take for example the fifth chapter, where it is supposed to show using web services with HTTP requests along (without SOAP). It explains alot about HTTP-GET and HTTP-POST, but only walks through a HTTP-GET practical. I felt omitting HTTP-POST would not fair well in the light of educating novices.
   
   While on the flow of novice practices, it also strangely presents a mix of good and legacy (not necessarily bad) examples. The use of the StringBuilder class to append strings together is a good one, but continuing to code with "" and string.ToLower() show an affinity to past platforms. string.Empty and CaseInsensitiveComparer are respectively preferred choices in the .NET Framework practice.
   
   Almost needless to state, even with the "Advanced" part of the book, one should not be expecting any serious deep topics or design patterns revolving web services here. But I couldn't help but feel it waste for such fantastic writing style not delivering something more that is usually arcane in other books. Who should be blamed for desiring more out of a delicious meal?
   
   Great book to get developers started and up to speed with XML web services. But those looking to become _masters_ should read something else.
   
   Good: Crystal clear explanations; easy following; great beginner material
   Bad: Little to offer beyond the beginner; odd omissions; few legacy practices



5. The book can be read in a day and half and at the end you'll really know something useful.
   
   The topics covered are well thought out, though I thought the credit card example was pretty tedious; after a while I just started skipping over it to read what was on topic.
   
   My background is C++ and I came into the C# and XML Web Services with no experience in either; by the end of the book I was comfortable authenticating users, enabling sessions, keeping things in cache and hitting the database.
   
   The book is a fine read and does a good getting you up to speed, one of the best I've read in a while; 4 stars (instead of 5) (-1) for not refactoring the credit card example.

5 comments about Service-Oriented Architecture: A Field Guide to Integrating XML and Web Services (The Prentice Hall Service-Oriented Computing Series from Thomas Erl).

1. The entire book can be summed up on 3 to 4 pages. Mostly the book regurgitates the same concepts over and over to fill up the pages, using a plethora of technical terminology to abstract it's own meaningless. For the most part the book is intended to give you an overview of verity of technologies encapsulated in SOA architecture, but from a very distant perspective.



2. I read this book as part of a technical book club at work. The concensus of the group is that there is very little useful information in it. It contains many diagrams and charts that provide little benefit other than to increase the page count. It contains mis-information concerning competing technologies such as CORBA and constantly treats SOA and Web Services as if they are interchangeable terms. Much of the information is superficial. The bright spot in the book was that the large number of nearly identical charts made reading the chapters go very quickly. Finally, the author often seems to be using the book as advertisment for his company. There are much better resources for gaining an understanding of SOA and Web Services. Don't waste you money on this one.



3. Thomas Erl covers SOA perfectly. The ebb and flow of the book is excellent. He does not cover proprietary technologies, and rightfully so. However, he explains the W3 standards of XML, SOAP, Web services and many key service models. He also is aware of corporate culture and thinking realistically as you take on a SOA implementation. This book has made me a better software developer. Keep things autonomous and keep things abstract.



4. This book is really useful specially for a person who want to learn the basic of web service and then go deep for XML and Web Service usage in Service Oriented domain.



5. It's a practical guide on defining service characteristics and design principles in multiple levels, from component implementation to application design to enterprise architecture. Very digestive material.

5 comments about XQuery.

1. XML programmers and database users will find Priscilla Walmsley's XQUERY a specific, valuable reference which is based on the Xquery 1.0 standards and which offers a basic tutorial on specifications and programming with the query language base. Query writers should have some knowledge of XML basics to use this, and can quickly progress into the 'advanced' category using an overview and tour of Xquery which includes guidelines for working with different types of data and an A-Z reference to the program's functions.



2. This is a nice, comprehensive book written by someone highly qualified to talk about XQuery. The author, Priscilla Walmsley, was a member of the W3C XML Schema Working Group.
   
   Now that XML is being added to database management systems, DBAs and database developers will need to know how to query that data. And they'll more than likely be using XQuery to do it. As such, this book would be a good way for database professionals to gain expertise on XQuery.
   
   Walmsley's book offers a concise, yet in-depth tutorial on the XQuery language specification. After digesting these 25 chapters you'll have the knowledge required to program using XQuery to read your XML data. Whether you're coming from a relational and SQL background or you're an XML and XSLT coder, this well-written text will help you understand and write queries using XQuery.



3. I needed to come up to speed with an XML database server (Mark Logic) and I found this book very useful for learning how to use XQuery. It was concise and provided many good examples. The presentation of chapters was somewhat episodic--you had to read the later chapters to find out how some of the topics turned out. This was probably due to the newness and complexity of the topic. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a chapter reorg for the 2nd edition.
   
   In my case, the book covers only XQuery and does not cover the XQuery extensions and specifics of the XML database system I was using. Walmsley's book makes a great companion to the vendor documentation.



4. XQuery has its logical side, but it's pretty easy to forget all the syntax rules and nuances associated with it. Without this book, I'd easily be cursing XQuery and everything associated with it.
   
   It was a great read to get started, but it's become an indispensable reference for day-to-day work and play. With the 30 or so sticky-notes poking out the top, I find myself constantly in this book looking for not just answers, but ways to better use XQuery efficiently in a maintenance-friendly manner.



5. The problem of this book is it doesn't give detailed information on how to implement X-Query on your computer. When you have Windows Vista, eXist doesn't work. Neither does WAMP. And unless you have heavy duty experience with SQL Server, this book is useless. The author of this book needs to include many more simple examples so that people like me can use the language. I might figure out how to use this someday, but it will be a long time before I do. That is so disappointing.

5 comments about Learning XML, Second Edition.

1. Most O'reilly books are praised for describing computer programming concepts in a very readable way for an educated audience. Although, Erik Ray's book is engaging enough, he has left out so much detail in the language definitions and real examples that, after reading this book, it is not possible for even an experienced programmer to actually use the material. For example, the book explains the definition of schemas (without enough detail) but how do I use a schema in a project? The intended audience for this book appears to be people who already use xml that want a refresher at an elementary level. Very disappointing.



2. I am amplifying a prior review (Daniel McKinnon's) in order to balance a misperception as to the intent and execution of the book.
   
   This is not XSLT or XPath or "DOM processing in Firefox" or "node traversals with Java", it's an introduction to XML. If you need a solid foundation upon which to base further study, I wholly recommend the book. Unlike other reviewers, I am not in search of the One Canonical Tome on a subject, because I know it doesn't exist in any genre. My needs for learning XML were basic and required a grasp of fundamentals, which you will achieve with this work.
   
   It also has numerous points of interest that a reader can use to further a study of specific issues, such as processing XML using a scripting language, or weighing a schema for implementation, and so forth. As a result, the reader is well-armed to continue learning on the specifics that are of personal interest.
   
   Ir requires a third edition to correct errors and update content, but that doesn't diminish the value of the book for anyone who wants to comprehend what XML is and is not, and what the major issues and challenges are.
   
   -Fred



3. full of nonsense in whole book.
   For example, xml schemas chapter is from page 108 to 164 about 60 pages, but realy useful w3c xml schema only take less 8 pages, others, useless, forget them.
   Hi my dear author,
   you have a lot of work to do, from simple to complex, how can you just give a long example and finish. Do you know "learning" means ***FOCUSING ON CORE***



4. 1. YOU WILL NOT TOUCH A KEYBOARD USING THIS BOOK, IT DOESN'T NOT WALK THROUGH EXAMPLES- for those books, try "XML step by step" by Young (Microsoft), and for more advanced, "XML in Action - Web Technology" by Pardi.
   
   2. THIS BOOK IS GREAT: because it teaches in a fundamentally different way. Most of what we see of XML is tags, attributes, the structure of the data in the elements, etc. But this book focus on the DOM. This crucial focus helps understand XML with its uses, XPointer, and transformation.
   
   3. If you want to do a lot with XML, beyond RSS feeds, buy this book along with a walkthrough, like the books listed above.



5. This book taught me a lot about XML and how it is used in the digital publishing world. XML is not limited to web sites and is a great resource for businesses institutions and other publishing needs where a common format is needed for each and every document.
   
   I recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about XML and how it is used.

5 comments about Web Services Essentials (O'Reilly XML).

1. This book is really lacking on much useful information. It's mostly a high-level overview. For anyone seriously interested in web services I'd recommend getting a different book!



2. This book is really an excellent one for programmers who want to start with web services. It gives a compact overview of XML-RPC, SOAP, UDDI and WSDL. Especially Java programmers will find some good code listings. But don't expect more than an introduction to web services.



3. This book is based on obsolete specifications and older SOAP implementation which is not even available for download. The Apache SOAP is already a piece of junk and Apache recommends to use Apache Axis (which is not in the scope of this book). All other implementation examples such as XMethods and UDDI4J are also obsolete as well. The APIs are already deprecated and the code discussed does'nt make any sense.



4. First of all, to clear up someone else's comment:
   while the API samples, URLs, etc. in the book are all outdated but even beginners should be able to figure out the updates.
   
   The only word of caution: it does NOT cover REST.
   
   This book provides a wonderful set of core topics and values that are essential to understanding what is currently out there (at the time I'm writing this in close-to-mid 2007, anyway). Providing samples, history and general information on each topic covers allows this book to be a wonderful, thorough introduction to the world of WS.
   
   Samples focused in Java and Perl help keep things simple, while there is more of a focus on the Java world. The APIs changed, but since the author references primarily open-source, it is easy to figure everything out.
   
   I recommend this book at this time, but can definitely see it being completely out-dated by the same time next year.
   
   As with many emerging technologies, however, I think this is a must have in order to better understand and follow the evolution of its realm. Since it provides pointers/references to pieces of the puzzle(s) even before its publishing, you can gain even more insight and possibly make some educated decisions as to where the future will take it.
   
   Recommended for all, if for nothing else, as a general reference and "emerging history" lesson.



5. This is a well written overview for those that may have missed how Web Services rushed onto the scene earlier in the decade. Being 5 years old now, it is definitely out of date. I consider about 120 of 300 pages useful as an introduction to the subject to a developer who has been working in other technologies. It provides a good overview. The examples provided work well to illustrate the point presented. Keep in mind that the examples are outdated so skip liberally.
   After reading/skimming this as an introduction, find a more current book for more hands on examples to work through in the technology you intend to use.

5 comments about XML in a Nutshell, Third Edition.

1. I took this book as it was a recommended book for one my courses.. i thought it would be same as other text books, where you actually LEARN THRU THE BOOK..
   
   But this book is STRICTLY for a reference purpose.. I had to take another book to learn the basics of XML.. also, the net tutorials helped a lot..
   
   Though, as a reference book, I'll give full points to it.. once you have the basic knowledge about XML, you can really use this book to its optimum level, and it really helps you to refer ALL the types in XML..
   
   So if you are starting to learn XML, I would advise to take a simpler book, like "XML Applications" and go through the net too.. but once you are done with the basics, buy this book the very next day, and check out what all wonders you can do through XML!!!...



2. O'Reilly's XML IN A NUTSHELL is, like all entries in the Nutshell series, a desktop quick reference. It provides concise information about nearly all matters of XML, and is split into roughly four parts. The first introduces XML, the concept of tags, well-formedness, Unicode, DTD's and schemas, namespaces, and so forth. The second provides an overview for the many formats that are built upon XML, such as XHTML, XSL:FO, Docbook, etc., and technologies that plug-in into XML, namely XSLT, XPath, XLinks, XPointers, XInclude, and CSS. The fourth covers DOM and SAX, the APIs for dealing with XML. Finally, the book ends with a "Reference section" for various technologies covered earlier in the book, structured much like O'Reilly's pocket guides. I found the Reference section somewhat inconvenient, it causes flipping back and forth when each section could have been simply integrated with the previous discussion of the relevant technology earlier in the book. Furthermore, the book ends with a long series of Unicode character tables, which are of limited utility, as they cover only a portion of Unicode, which has already expanded in the time since, and these tables simply bloat the book a little.
   
   This third edition is especially admirable for its advocation of schemas, whereas many other XHTML publications would mention only DTDs.
   
   XML IN A NUTSHELL is emphatically not a tutorial for XML, in spite of the friendly introduction to the markup language that opens the book. For each of the technologies mentioned herein, you'll want a separate book. For XPath especially, O'Reilly's XPATH AND XPOINTER is worth getting. XML IN A NUTSHELL instead provides only a quick reference for matters the reader is already acquainted with. Now, much of this quick reference information can be freely had on the Web. I'd recommend the book only to those who are fortunate enough to have someone else cover their book expenses, or can get it from their library, or those who simply adore print documentation.



3. This book claims to be your only needed guide in XML and related topics. It covers almost all you can imagine. I liked it very much and glad, that I have a book, that I can use like XML reference.
   I have just nothing to say about this book except it contains ALL information one can need on XML.



4. This book is by far the best book I've read on XML. Typical of O'Reilly "In a Nutshell" books, the converage of XML is fast paced and complete. Your money will be well spent on this book. I even think most beginners will do well with this one!



5. XML: the grab-bag, so-what-you-will, make-it-up-as-you-go-along, there-are-rules-strict-rules-(sort-of) technology that bends you to its will as much as you can bend it to yours. And this book is a decent round-up of the most common, widely-deployed implementations -- with enough general knowledge to help you sort through the more specific ones (or help you in creating your own).
   
   A better title for it might have been: "XML: A Developer's Almanac". (Which, I suppose is a good-enough alternative title for any book in the O'Reilly "Nutshell" series.)

5 comments about J2EE Web Services: XML SOAP WSDL UDDI WS-I JAX-RPC JAXR SAAJ JAXP.

1. Monson-Haefel has written the book to own if you are developing web services. Even though the book is a few years old, you still need to get this book. If you go around my company and my previous company, all J2EE developers have this one sitting on their desk.
   
   Do a Google search and read Monson-Haefel's blog. You will get some insight on his thoughts during and after writing the book and you will find that he will not be doing a revision.
   
   That's a complete shame but I don't blame him. It would be nice to get a new revision on all of the new stuff that has come along like annotations, JAX-WS, etc.



2. just started reading it.easy to read ,has a good flow,clear explanation.i think it will be a good resource for my current web services project and if i take the certification exam too.



3. Perfect book for a beginer. The book starts from basics to leads complex points in a balanced manner.



4. I got everything i need in this book. This is very helpful for the sun exam also....in one word, this is the bible of webservice.



5. This book is not a book teaching you programming WS step by step. It is ideal for Enterprise and Soultion architecs, who need to familiarize with the technology stack under SOA and WS*. It is an encyclopedy, which covers these standards and technologies in a very intelligible way. It covers the concepts and principles, not coding details.

5 comments about XSLT Cookbook, Second Edition (Cookbooks (O'Reilly)).

1. The code examples in the book can be found online. While several of them are quite helpful, this book is by no means an exhaustive reference, nor does it clearly articulate the basics. See the w3schools website for this.



2. This is a great book with a collection of XSLT solutions to difficult and non-trivial XSLT problems. It covers XSLT 2.0 and shows to you how elegant 2.0 solution can be comparable to ugly and monstrous 1.0 listing.
   
   But don't make the same mistake as I did! It is not a learning book! It is a book for programmers that already know XSLT at least a bit and want to improve their skills in this language. If you don't know XSLT at all, it would be better to you to purchase another book together with this one.



3. I've just completed a job where one of my primary functions was editing, teaching, and solving problems with XSLT. I started that job as an experienced programmer with little experience in XSLT. I frequently referred to this book whenever I thought, "I bet XSLT can do this, but how?" For example, if you are already familiar with common scripting languages and programming libraries, one of the first things you will notice about XSLT is a lack of regular expression functionality. I referred to the "search and replace" function in this book several times. This book is a real problem solver.



4. This book was very helpful in getting my first XSLT transform up and running in just a few days. Its Problem -- Solution -- Discussion format provides ready-made solutions for a range of transformation problems, from the simple to the more complex. In my case, I quickly found clear and straightforward illustrations of how to produce multiple text output files from an XML input file.
   
   This book is not an XSLT language reference. But it is a good supplement to, for instance, Michael Kay's XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0 programmer's references.



5. This book is for the experienced XSLT developer. It will provide many, many code samples right from the beginning. I purchased this book thinking I can learn XSLT but, this book is not for the beginner. With that, I am not saying you should not purchase it. What I am saying is that I found a very good companion book: XSLT FOR DUMMIES. Believe it or not, this was my first for dummies book. Don't let the title fool you, this is a great first book to understand XSLT. I think the cookbook will start you where the dummies book ends but with a very different approach: To give you ideas. From the dummies book, you will understand what XPath and other key topics which you will already need to understand for the cookbook. For example, the cookbook goes right to covering XPATH in chapter one but assumes you know what and how it works. I hope this review will help everyone understand what this book will do for you and the correct approach in using it.

5 comments about HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide (6th Edition).

1. If you do web development, you should have one solid HTML/XHTML reference guide on your bookshelf. This one ranks up there... HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide (6th Edition) by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy. Although the CSS and XML sections are a little light, the core HTML and XHTML information is all you could ask for.
   
   Contents: HTML, XHTML, and the World Wide Web; Quick Start; Anatomy of an HTML Document; Text Basics; Rules, Images, and Multimedia; Links and Webs; Formatted Lists; Cascading Style Sheets; Forms; Tables; Frames; Executable Content; Dynamic Documents; Mobile Devices; XML; XHTML; Tips, Tricks, and Hacks; HTML Grammar; HTML/XHTML Tag Quick Reference; Cascading Style Sheet Properties Quick Reference; The HTML 4.01 DTD; The XHTML 1.0 DTD; Character Entities; Color Names and Values; Netscape Layout Extensions; Index
   
   This book does a good job in blending a bit of tutorial information with a lot of reference material. All the HTML tags that exist are documented, along with whether it's an extension/deprecated/archaic, what type of browser support is involved in using the tag, and all the attributes and locations where it can be used. I found that I was catching some tags and nuances that I had overlooked in the past, even after having done web coding for many, many years. The book also has material on Cascading Style Sheets and XML, but I found that less useful than the HTML contents. The basics of those two technologies are covered, but not at the level I'd want in a definitive guide. While I think that you can't ignore CSS in an HTML book any more, I just wouldn't recommend this as an "all-in-one" book to cover both. But other than that, this is a book that I'll want to keep around for those strange times when my HTML tags just aren't working like they're supposed to...



2. I wanted a complete reference & guide to html/xhtml and that's what I got. I didn't want to be ignorant about any features. I didn't want to be left in the dark about anything. This book has all the info I wanted, and much more. In fact in a way it has too much info. It has info about tags, attributes, and other features that are obsolete, deprecated, or not supported by any browsers. You can skip over those rather than slogging your way through every word in the book. Maybe it's just me, but one downside to this book for me is that the writing style tends to be convoluted, verbose, and somewhat boring. I had some difficulty staying focused and concentrating on this book. But since it fulfilled the reason I got this book, I still give it 5 stars. So if you're looking for a complete book, don't worry, it's complete.



3. I have the 3rd edition and use it most everyday in my job. I figured it would be a bit outdated so I bought this latest version. The new version is essentially the exact same as the old version and I feel like I wasted my money. It's also missing the handy quick reference the older version had. However, if you don't have an earlier version, I would definitely recommend it. It's indispensable.



4. Don't make the mistake of thinking this book will teach you how to code web pages using HTML and CSS. This is a reference manual that exhaustively discusses the mechanics of coding web pages, but it doesn't walk you through the process step by step. For that, I recommend O'Reilly's "Head First: HTML with CSS & XHTML." The benefit of this book is that it covers every aspect of HTML and CSS, including some which the W3 consortium has approved but no browser yet supports. It's best as a reference book for those already familiar with web page coding. It's full of surprises and "I didn't know I could do that!" moments, given its comprehensiveness.



5. AMAZON, SHAME ON YOU!!!!! You should state what edition and the date copyrighted in the book information and indicate whether there are newer editions.
   
   Watch out. Though Amazon has it covered by the "look inside", the book entitled only HTML is the 3rd edition of a book that is in it's sixth Edition. Amazon has combined all the reviews for all the editions. This should not be done!!!!!!! I have always felt comfortable buying from Amazon, no longer. I did have a seller (ordered through Amazon)send me this edition for the full price of the 6th. He got the sixth to me, but it took my time to get it corrected. The 3rd edition is probably not even worth the $10 for the used edition, but is certainly not worth the $20 for the new. Don't be fooled! I can't believe Amazon is stooping to this sort of a con. The most serious problem is that much of what you learn in this edition is being put out to pasture in the next 5 years.
   
   
   There is a World Wide Consortium that is trying to standardize language and browswers. HTML is being replace in the interim with XHTML and eventually XML. A new, more powerful, formating language, CSS, Cascading Style Sheets, is replacing any formating in HTML.
   
   Many of the reviews you see are for the 6th edition. It does have errors (it doesn't stick to the more stringent XHTML as it should, and the redundancy is annoying. Castro's is annoying in that she sectionalizes the code and it's not clear at first what she's doing. I haven't yet seen the others that are offered.

5 comments about Beginning XML, 4th Edition (Programmer to Programmer).

1. I am taking an XML class at the University using this book as the required course text. The authors do a good job at highlighting the key technologies, and the examples and tutorials significantly enhance the material. I enjoy the straight-forward manner with which Hunter and his friends explains what the example code in the book does. My only disappointment is that the book does not explain in enough detail how to use XML technologies on non-Microsoft systems. I believe a greater emphasis on Java and non-VB/ASP/.NET can extend the benefits this book otherwise offers.



2. (I don't have time for a full review right now,so I will write a few comments and try to add to them.)
   
   I knew very little about XML, so this sounded promising. As of Chapter 8, my general comments are:
   
   1. The teaching structure is often murky. At many spots, the authors don't seem to grasp what a beginner needs to know first in order to go to the next step. This makes the material unnecessarily difficult and confusing.
   
   2. Instead of one example page, for some reason the authors will sometimes create one XML page to illustrate a point, then create another completely different page to illustrate the next point, then go back to the first one for the next point, etc. It's inexplicable. The book would be much easier to follow, and probably easier to write, if they built one XML page from scratch and used/modified it throughout the book.
   
   3. There are too many editorial screw-ups, such as "Figures" that are labeled incorrectly or don't exist -- that is, the text will say "see Figure 7 for the output" and Figure 7 will be the wrong one. I really have no patience with expensive books that don't bother to pay for one thorough copy-editing.
   
   I am currently on Chapter 8 (XSLT), one of the worst-written ones. After a completely unnecessary discussion about "procedural" versus "declarative" programming (I imagine every reader is at least basically familiar with css, and if not, it is hardly difficult to understand "declarative" programming), the book just starts throwing XLST terms at you, with no foundation as to what they are doing or why. I finally gave up and pulled up the online W3C tutorial. This tutorial is free, covers most of the material, and is well-organized and easy to understand. Teaching in logical order isn't that hard.
   
   There is a ton of good information in "Beginning XML", and the information on how to find, install, and use software such as Saxon and Schematron is invaluable. It is a shame that the authors didn't take the time to actually give the book to a few XML novices and then rewrite it as the introductory text it is supposed to be. The poorly organized writing at least doubles, and often triples, the time, energy, and painful confusion needed to learn the material.



3. Other than the fact that you can tell that the book was written by 5 different guys because of the the difference in writing styles between chapters, overall it is packed full of information and a handy reference.



4. I'm currently reading this book and enjoying it very much. You probably would understand it more if you are already a programmer. But I think it's good for non-programmers as well.
   Covers a lot of the new technologies that are using XML, which is very useful.



5. This book is very concise and it tells a lot about the subject including other topics such as XSLT, RSS, and many other web technologies related to XML. Would highly suggest buying.