Reviews for XML in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

1. Bible for the XML klutz

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2009

   I sold this book. I wish I hadn't.
   
   I write 'correct' XHTML: all the online tutorials tell me that, hey, I've got it down already. They're wrong; I hadn't even skimmed the surface!
   
   This hefty tome takes you all the way from first XML principles to tantalising challenges, where you see just how powerful a universally-understood protocol can be. I read those parts, but wasn't ready to put them into practice ... I want the book back!!
   
   I'd advise getting it, using it until the pages have turned to mulch, and keeping up with the related websites. Don't let its weight & volume put you off, like I did!

2. Has all the info. And is readable too, if you like that. A little too much chat and waffle for my liking, though

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12nd, 2009

   I got this book primarily to study for the XML master certification - to fill in the gaps in my XML knowledge, the bits I don't use on a day-to-day basis.
   
   My opinion of O'Reilly books is that they cover the material, and cover it well. This XML book does too.
   
   I own Programming Perl (the dromedary), Learning the Korn Shell (the turtle), Sed & Awk etc. from O'Reilly and they are great, especially the Perl book.
   
   This XML book is good, but for me it is padded out too much with chat.
   
   I don't believe there is any reason other than to make it a more readable work.
   
   So the first task I have completed with it is to scan through and cross out the waffle. (I cross it out so I will never read it again). This is a chore but I do it because I don't know of a better book.
   
   One complaint about the book is that some of the example xml could choose wilder values than "1" - where "23" or "97" would do fine. If you know xml, you'll know what I mean.
   
   Buy this book: it's great. But it's 600 pages - don't expect it to be only 46 pages long like the Sed&Awk pocket reference.
   
   My background: B.Sc. in Computer Science and Maths, M.Sc. in Computer Applications, SCSA.
   

3. A great place to start for techie types

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2007

   True to form for the Nutshell guides, its brief, to the point and explains most XML related concepts XSL, XPATH, XML Schema etc in a really readble format.
   
   If you've every written an kind of programming language then this is an excellent guide to take you through XML.
   
   I wouldn't say the coverage is 100%, it simply wouldn't fit in a concise guide like this if it were, it will cover the vast majority - theres always google for that one case of something really odd.

4. Good Service

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2010

   Item was down as being second-hand, but the item I received was brand-new ! Excellent service, recommended.

5. A generally good book

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2002

   This is a generally good book to both someone who is just starting with XML and an XML expert as a reference.

   It has a simple introduction on the basic elements of XML, DTD's and Namespaces. It's main part consists of a good explanation on XHTML, XSLT, XPath, XLink, XPointers, CSS and XSL-FO and is good for anyone who wants to learn about these. XML Schemas, the DOM and SAX are also thoroughly covered. The second half of the book is a reference section on all of these, which would particularly interest an XML expert. It has to be said here that although the reference section is really thorough, it does feel a bit messy and you might need some time to get used to.

   Unfortunately this book doesn't have any section on how XML can be used with any programming languages. An appendix on PHP or PERL would be particularly welcomed, as something about connecting XML with Databases. On the other hand I guess you could get another book for that and you could see this one as suitable to someone who only wants to learn everything about XML.

6. A detailed XML reference

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, September 12th, 2001

   XML

   This book's an authoritative document: covering XML basics like DTD authoring and detailed discussion of attribute types - through to the more esoteric issues of character sets and the tricky XML namespace standards.

   At every step, I found it easy to follow. It's not a book for the non-computer literate though; more aimed at people with an existing basis of technical knowledge. A techie web-designer would find it a good start.

   About a third of the book is filled with references. I don't know why, but my heart usually sinks when I see page-filling content like this - that said, ultimately it's the reference books like this that end up covered with scribbles and post-it notes, so while they might not make good reading, they're very useful.

   It touchs on all the necessary bases - XSLT, XPath, XHTML, XLink, XPointers, CSS - I could go on. This book does. Heck of a basis for future reading: after two and a half years in XML, there's stuff in here that I haven't come across before!

7. Thumbs up

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, July 12th, 2001

   Excellent. All the topics are covered very well. Both the nut shell chapters and reference chapters are well done. I highly recommend this book. Instead of pouring through the vast information on XML and realted techlogies and confusing myself, I thought I will bet my 30 bucks on O'reilly. Well, I am glad I did that. As a java programmer I am greatful to the authors insight to add references for SAX and DOM. I liked the chapters on namespaces,XPath, XPointers and XSL-FO. They gave a good introduction and insight into these technologies.

8. Not quite a waste of trees but close

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, May 12st, 2001

   Proports to be a desktop quick reference but fails badly in this area. The reference sections are badly formatted making it difficult to find items when you know where they should be, and the index is poor and incomplete making it nie on impossible to find them if you dont. When found information is scant and sometimes incomplete - for instance the document grammar in EBNF is missing half the definitions. I can understand the need to keep the book size down, but this could be better achieved by not reproducing character sets at the back of the book.

   With no coverage of schemas this will not last on your bookcase long.