Rating: 
Summary: A MUST-Have for Web Developers
Review: I have been interested in XML ever since I first heard the acronym. I purchased many books and magazines which covered XML and its many implementations, only to walk away more confused. Although I am not a PERL, Java, or C programmer, the other books I purchased assumed I was. I am a Web Developer. While my other books are well written by knowledgeable authors, they didn't cover specific aspects of XML for web development very well, if at all. As a result, they tended to add more to my confusion rather than clear it up. "XML BIBLE" is the ONLY one which addresses the things which a web developer is most concerned with in a CLEAR manner. No longer confused about XML, I am now ready to march on into other arenas of implementation, with this XML book being the one closest to my side as a ready reference. Confused about XML? Don't know what tools you need to get started? Don't know if you should use CSS or XSL? Don't know what they are? Do you want to know? BUY THIS BOOK NOW!!!
Rating: 
Summary: XML Bible - not very well written
Review: I have little HTML experience, and thus tried to do my first exercise as per the Listing3-6. The Stylesheet types are not explained until later. I thus hit a brick wall with type="text/css2". Perhaps an explanation of the progress of stylesheets from css to css1 to css2 would have made a BETTER First impression. First impressions last longest. I tried the example of loading an image(jpg) on a web page and have to this day had no success. The example on Listing 12-17 does not work. I spent a weekend trying to do it. I am disappointed. Perhaps chapter 13 should have been referred to in chapter 3 for info on CSS2 or the Listing should not assume we already had CSS2 installed. I do not enjoy struggling with simple basic concepts and examples that does not work. It makes it worse when you get to the more complex thing that you attempt later. Here is my 2 cents, for what its worth, and I am sure others may also struggle with some of the above.
Rating: 
Summary: redundant not-so-related examples
Review: I have not read through the whole book yet. In fact, I am only in chapter 4. One thing I find quite annoying is that, this book has a lot of not-so-related examples so far. For examples, the 1998 Yankees statistics and the explanation of credit card payments. When I was reading those examples, sometime I wonder what the author was getting to, some other time, I wish the author could just shut up and move on because I already got the point. If this book can cut through the chase, get to the point, I would have rated 5 stars for this book
Rating:
Summary: Detailed and well-written XML information, with limitations
Review: I read an article titled "The Semantic Web" in the May 2001 issue of Scientific American and I decided I wanted to learn more about RDF, the Resource Description Framework, that could be used to express the "meaning" of Web pages. I found the "XML Bible" which has a chapter on RDF (Chapter 21). After reading the 25 page chapter I feel that I know much more about putting RDF into my Web pages. The chapter discusses what RDF is, and RDF syntax, containers, and schemas. There is a sidebar on the Dublin Core (a particular set of RDF elements analogous to library card catalog information). However, I still don't know how to use the "semantic" information once it is in a Web page. I also read the chapter on namespaces (needed to make sense of RDF), and that was also clear and well written. Overall, based on my sampling of a couple of chapters of the book, I can say it is detailed and well written. Its limitations are its focus on Web page development (rather than XML software development in general--but this is the author's goal as stated in the preface) and, at least for RDF, its lack of information on applications. If you are looking for a book on XML from a Web page perspective, this would be a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Much too long
Review: I suddenly understand why the book was marked at 50% off. The actual contents of this 1,000 page monster of a book could be reduced to 300 pages or so. The rest of the book is just a long program listing, often repeating examples already shown with just a few lines changed.What's left is a good introductory text, that makes for a good one-time read. I wouldn't want to use the book for reference, tho'
Rating:
Summary: Tough reading but indepth content
Review: I was new to XML so I wanted a complete reference instead of tidbits. The XML Bible is that complete reference book. You are expected to understand HTML before embarking in this book and I would say it is a requirement. Without it, you'll be lost. The examples the author uses are too long (many are 2-3 pages) for the concept he is trying to explain. So that makes it more reading material than hands on. Other than that though, I have found the book useful.
Rating:
Summary: Not so much a Bible as a Book of Genesis
Review: I'm going to start out by saying I'm glad I bought this book. It's a good introduction to XML. The early chapters on XML and DTDs are very good. They got me up to speed quickly so I could explain to my managers why our company should pursue XML and what the benefits will be. The chapters on CSS-1 and CSS-2 were excellent and very useful even for writing regular HTML. Overall, the first 13 chapters were just what I needed. Coverage of XSL was weaker and, in many respects, inadequate. The book never really discusses XPaths in enough detail. I thought the chapter on namespaces was too late in the book. The book is fleshed out with exceptionally long examples that added little value past the first few lines. The chapter on reading a DTD (chapter 20) was a good idea, poorly executed. The complexity of the DTD selected by the author was totally inappropriate for the level of this book, even if the DTD was extremely well written. The author never covers schema construction, and only briefly mentions them at all. Given their superiority over DTDs, this was a glaring error. I was also disappointed by the lack of instruction on how to move XML across the Internet between applications. XML that never leaves the system it was constructed on is of little value. Many of these problems are caused by the age of the book. It's over a year old now which, in XML terms, makes it yesterdays news. Now that this book has got me excited about XML, I'm off to find some more.
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Summary: The 3rd edition is an excellent update for this series...
Review: I've had the opportunity to go through the XML 1.1 Bible by Elliotte Rusty Harold (Wiley), and I must say it's impressive. Any time you get a tech book going into a 3rd edition, you have to think that the author is doing something right. If you fit the criteria for the target audience, you should be pleased. The chapter breakout:
Part 1 - Introducing XML - An Eagle's Eye View of XML; XML Applications; Your First XML Document; Structuring Data; Attributes, Empty-Element Tags, and XSL; Well-formedness
Part 2 - Document Type Definitions - Validity; Element Declarations; Attribute Declarations; Entity Declarations; Namespaces
Part 3 - Style Languages - CSS Style Sheets; CSS Layouts; CSS Text Styles; XSL Transformations; XSL Formatting Objects
Part 4 - Supplemental Technologies - XLinks; XPointers; XInclude; Schemas
Part 5 - XML Applications - XHTML; Modular XHTML; The Resource Directory Description Language; Scalable Vector Graphics; Designing a New XML Application; Index I mentioned the "target audience" above. As you can tell from the chapter layout (and also in the introduction), the author is targeting XML as used in web page design. You won't find anything in here about how to write a Java program to parse out XML using one of the XML parsers available. If that's your need, don't get this book. You'll be highly disappointed. This should be used as more of a reference tool for working with XML or related technologies like DTD or XSL. I also appreciated the author's explanation as to what went into the 3rd edition. Rather than just add more stuff to what already existed, he removed XML technology chapters that just never caught momentum, like VML or RDF. So although the book is still 1000 pages, it's made up of content that is usable and applicable to the current state and direction of the technology. It's nice to know you're not getting a rehash of material just so the author can squeeze a few more bucks out of a title. Thanks! The conversational and informal tone of the writing makes the material very approachable and readable. The examples are clear and concise, and relevant to how the technology would be used in the real world. Overall, a very good selection to add to your XML bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Best XML Book Selling So Far
Review: I've used XML/XSL professionally for nearly 2 years. Still, I wanted to know about XLink, XPointer, and mainly other things I just haven't had the opportunity to work with. I was definitely not disappointed. The book is perfectly written, adheres to the Bible Series layout (which I find extremely intuitive) and explains concepts with code examples. It goes beyone simple XML and DTD creation. Theres indepth discussion on XST Transformation and XSL Formatting Objects, and CSS Stylesheets. This is the most important book in my XML aresnal by far. Kudos, Mr Harold!!! B Read Cincinnati, OH
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Summary: XML A - Z
Review: If you are new to XML and want to know everything there is to know about XML,DTD's,XSL, can CSS with XML then this is the book for you. Great first book on XML because it goes into incredible depth on all of the concepts surrounding XML. One note though, this is not a programming/developer book. While this book does give you a terrific and exhaustive look at what XML is, it does not necessarily tell you how to use it or apply it in the real world (with javascript, ASP, JSP, etc...). So, this book is a great first book to explain all of the nooks and crannies in XML (and an even better reference to have on your shelf)...In order to learn some programming applications with XML take a look at XML Programming with VB and ASP and Professional ASP XML.
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