Rating: 
Summary: Good Survey of Perl's XML modules
Review: This book surveys two dozen of the more important XML modules
available for Perl. It is aimed at the intermediate-level Perl
developer who has little exposure to XML and wants to know what the
fuss is all about, or who just needs a roadmap to find his/her way
amongst the hundred-odd Perl modules available on CPAN.I found the book generally acceptable as computer books go. The
layout of the book is useful and visually pleasing, the section
headers are descriptive rather than cutesy or humorous, and the
authors write seriously and stick to the topic. The program examples
are to the point, and the authors have made a clear effort to come
up with plausible problems to solve rather than using completely
contrived examples. The example XML documents all have DTDs and
Schemas to define their format, which is good practice and refreshing
to see. The range of topics is good, covering less obvious topics like SOAP
and web delivery of XML documents with AxKit, as well as the expected
discussions of parsing via SAX and DOM. The faults of the book are twofold. The first problem is the need
for another round of editing. The program listings are almost all fine
(but beware the typo in p. 166, line 24 in the listing) yet the text
is sometimes repetitive and could use another round of tightening up.
Yes, this is true of almost every computer book, but hope springs eternal.... More disappointing to me was the second problem, which is inconsistent
focus. It's in the nature of a survey book to prefer breadth to
depth, but still I found the authors choices on what to discuss and
what to ignore were sometimes curious. I learned that there are SAX1
and SAX2 standards, but not what the difference is between them, nor
when I should prefer one to the other, nor what improvement they offer
over XML::Parser. There is a three-page discussion (p.155-158) of the
entirely-obvious production of XML documents with "print"
statements but no mention at all of XML encoding schemes and how they can
bite you in Perl 5.6. My spot check of the index was an unhappy experience (the index won't
tell you that the document validation features of XML::Xerces are
mentioned on p.100) and the URL for the book's errata (p.xviii) gives
a 404 error as of this writing. I'm an experienced Perl programmer with a little XML already under my
belt, so the book was helpful to me in giving me an overview of my
options for my next Perl/XML app. It's not in the Camel book's class,
but it is useful for the intended audience.
Rating: 
Summary: Using practical, real-world examples
Review: Using practical, real-world examples, XML And Perl is the collaborative effort of Mark Riehl and Ilya Sterin to demonstrates how to perform a variety of XML tasks, ranging from such basic tasks as XML parsing, to more advanced tasks such as writing XML event handlers, RDBMS integration, and XML transformation. XML And Perl is a continuingly useful addition to personal and professional XML and Perl reference collections.
Rating:
Summary: The monster in my closet
Review: XML has been the monster in my closet for years now. Perl has been my teddy bear. I had the pleasure of opening the closet door with my teddy bear held tightly in my arms to protect me. This book is an excellent way to bring the power of the two strongest tools in use today together. Having the XML quick reference in the back helps to guide a new XML user through the concepts. This book is a must read for perl programmers looking to expand their skills into XML.
Rating:
Summary: A Guided Tour
Review: _XML and Perl_ provides a welcome overview and guided tour of the dozens of XML related Perl modules. When I first looked at manipulating XML with Perl, I was overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of options. Trying to make sense of the individual modules and how they fit together was a frustrating experience, and ultimately I gave up. This time around, I appreciate Riehl & Sterin providing a variety of guidance in the form of Appendices, an Acronym list, chapter overviews, multiple examples, and chapter exercises. When presenting a subject, they explain the tradeoffs with various approaches and compare the benefits of each. There are a few distracting typo's, however nothing which should throw anyone off-track. Overall _XML and Perl_ has given me a much needed roadmap while introducing two-dozen of the XML related Perl modules.
Rating:
Summary: A Guided Tour
Review: _XML and Perl_ provides a welcome overview and guided tour of the dozens of XML related Perl modules. When I first looked at manipulating XML with Perl, I was overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of options. Trying to make sense of the individual modules and how they fit together was a frustrating experience, and ultimately I gave up. This time around, I appreciate Riehl & Sterin providing a variety of guidance in the form of Appendices, an Acronym list, chapter overviews, multiple examples, and chapter exercises. When presenting a subject, they explain the tradeoffs with various approaches and compare the benefits of each. There are a few distracting typo's, however nothing which should throw anyone off-track. Overall _XML and Perl_ has given me a much needed roadmap while introducing two-dozen of the XML related Perl modules.
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