Very little space is wasted detailing the history of XML and its relation to SGML, as is the case in many other titles. The argument for the importance of XML is made quickly, and the basics of well-formed syntax are tackled right off. One notable distinction of this book is its excellent coverage of related technologies, such as cascading style sheets (CSS) and relational databases.

In addition to discussing the crucial companion standards to the core XML language (DTDs, XSL, and XSLT), the book adds a nice perspective to the broad range of applications in which XML can play a role. One section, "Other Uses for XML," illustrates how XML can be used to serialize object models, creating stateless objects and utilizing the Resource Description Framework (RDF). Case studies on--among other things--how XML can be used to build discussion groups, and provide B2B data transfer, round out the text. This book is perfect for Web programmers who are turning their attention to XML for the first time. It imparts a solid understanding of the XML forest and XML trees. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Well-formed XML
• Cascading style sheets (CSS)
• XSLT and Xpath
• Document Object Model (DOM)
• Simple API for XML (SAX)
• XML/database integration schemas
• Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
• Namespaces
• B2B data-transfer applications
• Discussion group applications

Most of the XML books (straight one, not XML for VB for example) contains the same TOC but this one has the best approach so far.

If you are new to XML, take this one.

If you know a bit of XML (and PROGRAMMED it), you can take the Professional XML which will go a little bit more in depth (not that much)

If you know what you are doing with XML and wants to learn more about XSLT, get the XSLT Programmer's Reference(great book) from Wrox.

If you want a very good Case-Study, take the Professional XML Design and Implementation (also good).

Then you are off with ASP XML, VB XML, or Java XML.

Happy XML hunting.


A Great Beginning Book for the XML Novice   October 2, 2000
 89 out of 91 found this review helpful

One thing to remember about this book before you buy: It is a "Beginning XML Book," NOT a "Beginner" book. You are going to need some knowledge of data management, file management, and web page development to understand the groundwork for XML development.

However, if you do have basic ASP, SQL, and HTML skills like I do, then this book is a great start if you want to add XML to your skillset.

As with all Wrox books published over the last two years, this book is well-structured, well-written, and well-indexed. It will teach you more than you need to know for XML basics, and you can use the book as a reference down the road.

I waited for this book to come out all summer, and it was well worth the price and time I put into it. Good job, Wrox!


A Candy giving Headaches   April 11, 2001
 39 out of 43 found this review helpful

No doubt this is a must for beginners in XML, and after a long time the GODs at Wrox decided to grace us poor programmers who are not gurus with a Beginning book. The way they had been churning out Professional series out of their factories I had already prepared my obituary for the Beginning series.

About the book. One of the best on the block for XML. Language is simple, easy to understand, and handles complex topics like XSLT very deftly.

Downside. Very very wordy. This is the first time I see in a Beginning series the author spending so much ink and pages on simplest of topics. Strangely enough some complex topic are written off in half a page. Examples in XSLT dont work. Inspite of downloading the XT program which the author recommends, more than half of the examples of the book don't work, leaving you depressed and confused, you then tend to re-read the pages, trying to find if you missed anything... XML applications arent covered in a greater detail and neither are practical examples for XML use shown.

In my opinion even with its faults this book is still, one of the better ones on the block, try skimming thro the earlier pages a bit faster if you don't want to be put to sleep. Don't waste too much time if the books XSLT examples don't work, just buy this books to get your basics covered and made strong.

Lastly, as I have mentioned again and again, Wrox beginning series are no longer what they used to be, and if anyone at wrox is reading this, I pleade them to get back on their earlier motto of providing quality books like the beginning asp/asp databases/javascript series, or end up losing their fans like me.


Must Have XML Book   July 7, 2000
 37 out of 50 found this review helpful

I have read many XML books in the last six books. Many are outdate by June of 2000. This book and the Professional ASP XML book are definitely the most update xml books I have read so far. This book is definitely very good for beginners unlike XML IE5 Reference by Wrox every chapters in this book is worth the money. In XML IE5 Reference, only chapter 5-8 are good chapters and chapter 1-4 are very confusing chapters. Most important, the examples on XSL in this book works on Microsoft Technologies such as IE5 and IIS4 & IIS5 unlike other XML books on XSL they don't work with IE5. Lastly, the only critical thing I have on all wrox books on the topic of XML is that the examples give the XML and XSL source but not the html output as a result of the combination of XML and XSL through either ASP or just XML referencing the XSL.


Not for beginners.   January 7, 2002
 31 out of 35 found this review helpful

For me (with 20 years of professional programming experience) a software book that calls itself 'Beginning XYZ' means that I should be able to read it from cover to cover and when I'm done, I should have enough of an understanding of XYZ to be able to actually use it in a productive manner. 'Beginning XML' completely fails by this definition.

I am quite a fan of Wrox Press books and some of the 'Beginning' books will take you to the intermediate level by the time you are done. But Beginning XML is a mish-mash of confused ideas and faulty logic. One Amazon reviewer was completely on the mark in saying that it's sometimes hard to follow the reasoning in this book because a single sentence will start off one way and then contradict itself by the end of the sentence. The main frustration of this book is how often I could not understand the argument in a single paragraph or even a single sentence.

This book also fails very badly on separating important stuff from stuff that doesn't matter. Because it's not well organized, I had to do the work of figuring out what is going on in each topic instead of having the book tell me. (If I wanted to learn XML from other people's code, I could have just gotten code and saved money by not buying the book.)

Also, as an XML beginner, I don't need constant references to Web sites that give the W3 specifications on various XML technologies. There is much other detail of use only to advanced XML users.

I gave the book two stars instead of one because it may be of some use to programmers with much more experience in XML, and because the authors did make some effort. (Some books are so full of text and coding errors, I feel that I've been taken advantage of. These are the 1 star books.)

In short, not for beginners. If you want a great beginner's book, do yourself a favor and get 'XML Step By Step' by Michael J. Young (now in a second edition).