XML for Web Designers Using Macromedia Studio MX 2004

Rating:
Summary: Expand Your Job Skills!
Review: Kevin's book starts with an explanation of why we should learn XML. One of the most compelling reasons is that "your job opportunities will expand and your productivity will increase if you have an understanding of the basics." Based on what I see in my own workplace and the concept that XML provides "a file format in which you can store data without regard to future technologies," I agree with his assessment.

Does his book help you learn XML?
He dives right in with explanations, samples and tutorials so that you can see what XML does. The basics of writing XML and DTD's (Document Type Definition) are covered as though he's in the room talking to you. I had the feeling he was anticipating my questions, persuading me to write well-formed XML.

The presentation style of providing samples and walking though tutorials made me want to pull out the accompanying CD and jump right in. Dreamweaver MX and XSL-T for style sheet design is covered right away. In Advanced Topics part two, XML and ColdFusion MX for dynamic web pages are covered. A fascinating use for this technology is to build pages that respond to changes made by the user. The examples of ColdFusion code are easy enough for beginners to walk through and for experienced CF programmers to grasp right away. Using ColdFusion query objects and queries of queries, we're shown how to convert and manipulate XML documents. Definitely a must for CFer's!

Since I do limited graphic design, I skipped over the chapter on Fireworks MX and XML, but the pictures looked enticing enough for me to bookmark them for later reading.

Macromedia Flash MX 2004 is recommended for the most robust XML support and the goal of the last chapter is to help developers and designers to be comfortable with XML and Flash MX. Sample files dive right in to writing ActionScript to display text from an XML file in Flash MX movies.

Objectives are clearly stated at the beginning of each tutorial. The writing is clear, concise, and friendly. This book definitely provides stepping stones to building files that work with XML, whether your Macromedia MX tools are design or code-based.

After reviewing this book, I'm already planning my first professional ventures and wondering if Kevin will follow up with more. I'm sure that if you pick up this book, you'll be brought up to speed on working with XML quickly and efficiently in a variety of formats.

Lisa J. Wilson, SacCFUG Manager

Rating:
Summary: Kudos to the author!
Review: This maybe the most well put together book in the market relating to XML. I thoroughly enjoyed every page/tutorial in this book. The author did a phenomenal job at being as descriptive as possible... While not making you yawn in boredom (as other books on this topic tend to do). The Dreamweaver section was outstanding. I learned a lot in this section of the book, as well as some great tips. The Flash portion could have been a little stronger... or more in-depth... but again an outstanding job by the author.

Rating:
Summary: The Book to BUY!
Review: XML for Web Designers Using Macromedia Studio MX 2004 is THE book to get if you are a Web designer and need to understand and use XML in your Web pages. This Book is Excellent from Intro to CD. The Golf Course Examples made it easy to understand XML and easy for me to create my own xml web pages using the step by step instructions. I recommend this Book for anyone who needs to understand XML and uses Macromedia Studio MX 2004. This Book makes it a breeze!