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Rating: 
Summary: Elementary but Useful Book
Review: I am a manager of an IT group for an Insurance company and we are employing web applications. I found this book extremely useful. It takes a step-by-step approach starting from the very basics. It gave me a lot of information about the web and data management. As the author himself points out that the book does not intend to discuss XML in any depth. Each of the chapters could be expanded into a more detailed book. I would like to read more on web services, briefly discussed in this book. The author also gives several useful references for a more in-depth analysis of the topics. The author also points out that ideas surrounding the semantic web are preliminary. I also read a recent but very interesting article in Information Week about the semantic web and it is at least a few years away. Nevertheless web services, XML, RDF and Ontologies are the emerging technologies needed for the semantic web. This book has really motivated me to read more on this topic.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting Book
Review: I am new to the field of web and databases and found this to be an excellent book. It is very well written and very easy to read. It does not hype up the area like some other books do and provides a very realistic picture. I am now eager to learn more about the field.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY entry level
Review: I was extremely disappointed in this book. I have a little experience with XML and have to admit I bought the book on impulse - I liked the title & was encouraged by some of the reviews. This book is not for anyone who has even *basic* knowledge of XML or the Web. There is a very long, very elementary description of how the Internet works, which I found odd in a book published in 2002. The XML & semantic web descriptions were very general and not original by any means. If you have a manager with a bit of a techie slant who, for some odd reason, does not understand the Internet or the potential of XML, this book might be perfect. There are better books and websites out there on both XML and the semantic web. Definitely a waste of my $$.
Rating: 
Summary: A non-expert opinion:
Review: I wasn't very happy with the book. Although I am not an expert in the XML and semantic web-related issues, the book appeared shallow to me. The writing style is rather good, but content seems suboptimal.
Rating:
Summary: 1/4 mile wide - 1 inch deep
Review: If you know anything at all about XML and the semantic web - DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS BOOK. This book covers nothing in depth. I just spent 3 nights reading this book - waiting for something to happen - it never does. The author does not go into any decent technical detail on anything. If you have ever worked with XML and want to learn something about RDF etc... this is not the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Broad overview of XML and the semantic web
Review: The author provides broad overview of the semantic web and XML. It gives a beginner some insights into the field. It does not go into depth on XML, but gives several references for the reader to find more information. It also takes a database perspective in discussing the semantic web rather than an artificial intelligence perspective. I find this aspect very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Broad but very well written
Review: This books covers a lot of topics very well. It starts with a discussion of web databases and semi-structured databases and then goes on to discuss XML, RDF and finally ties all the concepts together in a discussion of the semantic web. Semantic web is still evolving and the author clairifies the various concepts quite well. While this may not be at the right level for a technologist or a developer, this book will be quite appropriate for a manager or executive who wants to get a quick introduction to the semantic web and XML.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, highly readable and practical
Review: This is one of the most readable and unique books about XML and its real power that's available. There are others, but they are more academic in nature, such as "Internet Based Workflow Management: Towards a Semantic Web" by Dan Marinescu (an excellent book in its own right, but requires a significant amount of prior knowledge of agents, knowledge management and other topics). What I like about this book is that it leads you through the details of XML, metadata related topics to ensure you have a good understanding of the key technical and business issues. You require little prior knowledge of XML to understand the introductory material. The author then addresses the semantic web aspect, including data mining, advanced XML concepts and semistructured databases. Next, the conceptual foundation is used to show you how to apply this information in practical ways. This book is ideal for e-commerce architects because it covers both business and technical issues, and goes into more detail than one would expect given the wide range of topics covered. If you want to go further into intelligent agents and a truly semantic web using XML or any other technical building block I also recommend reading "Network Query Language" by David Pallmann and Harry Forsdick. That book is more oriented towards development using a specific tool set (NQL); however, it will augment this book if you are actually implementing web intelligence instead of exploring its potential.
Rating:
Summary: Very easy to read book
Review: While this book is quite elementary, it is very easy to read and explains complicated ideas in as simple way. At times it may be too simple. However I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I would now like to see a more detailed book on building the semantic web.
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