Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: A reasonable work on XSL, but certainly not the best. This book is neither fully a reference or an introduction. On the positive side the book provides a terse and intelligent introduction to the topic. On the negative side the explanation of a complex topic like XPath not covered in as much depth as it probably should be, and there are some extraneous sections on HTML and CSS which are better covered in other works. On the whole a good book, but not a great book. If you are interested in XSL you should try Michael Kay's XSLT Programmers Reference and Sal Mangano's XSLT Cookbook.
Rating: 
Summary: Converting XML documents
Review: Computing seems to have a propensity to generate an
awesome acronym soup; two examples being XSL and XSLT.
The difference between these is rather nuanced.
Frankly, for most purposes, I would consider them
interchangeable. But if you really want to know the
difference, this book does a neat job explaining.Both have to do with manipulating XML documents. XSLT
transforms an XML document into another document. The
output can be XML, or any other format, with XHTML
being a popular choice. XSLT does not necessarily have
anything to do with presentation, per se. It is a
declarative language, like SQL, and unlike C or java,
which are procedural languages. If the latter is your
background, this may be your biggest impedence
mismatch. Takes some getting used to. But the text is
clearly written to help you along. Pure XSL, on the other hand, is an XML based
formatting language. It is explicitly for displaying
documents. In fact, it draws many of its property
names and actions from CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
This was done to let those familiar with the latter
pick up XSL quickly. There is a long chapter on XSL
that goes exhaustively through its many properties.
TeX and troff gurus will see numerous layout concepts
redone here in new flesh. Overall, a very useful and up to date book. The
examples and accompanying text do succinctly convey
the meanings intended. This book has clarity. You are
not deluged in unnecessarily complicated explanations. I do have some caveats. Firstly, tree diagrams are
drawn from left to right?! Those from a computer
science background are used to trees always being
drawn from top to bottom. A minor thing, but still a
little offputting. Like reading a book where all the
pages are in landscape mode, instead of portrait mode. Secondly, XML is case sensitive, unlike HTML, as the
author points out. So, for example, and
mean the same thing in HTML. But and are
not the same in XML. The problem is that in many
places, the author writes a tag in a body of code, in
lower case, like . But he then refers to it in
the text as Root, capitalised for emphasis. This can
be very confusing to an XML newcomer.Lastly, many chapters could have done with problem
sets and possibly answers. I understand that this
would add to the book length. But it would greatly aid
the reader, by giving her something to attack, instead
of merely reading. Subject retention and all that.
Especially apropos because the subject lends itself to
explicit problem composition. Answers are objective;
not just some vague essay writing. Plus, unlike some
other software topics, the questions and answers can
be concisely stated. There is no need for a mass of
source code.
Rating: 
Summary: XLNT reference with useful examples
Review: Cuts to the chase and provides clear explanations and examples of XSLT and XPATH. Good XSLT and HTML 4 reference.
Rating:
Summary: Title and content match perfectly
Review: For the XML developer this book is a perfect companion. It makes no real pretense to teach XSL, and if you're looking for such a book this is not it. What it does is provide developers of basic-to-advanced skill levels with tips, advice and clear explanations for using XSL in accordance with the XSLT standard, including XSLT, XPath and XSL. What makes this book valuable as a reference and 'cookbook' is the examples, stylistic approaches that are based on sound software engineering practices, and excellent use of illustrations to reinforce complex concepts, such as subexpressions, path directions and lexical elements of the XSLT family. Another point in the book's favor is the thorough coverage of all aspects of XSLT, from obvious solutions and advice, to highlighting subtle nuances and 'gotchas' that developers will encounter. The author does an effective job of transferring his knowledge in the form of the book to readers, and is the main reason why this book is an important companion to developers at all skill levels. Given the growing use of XML and related protocols - especially the XSLT sub family - this book is an important addition to the body of knowledge and is one professional tool that you should have on your desk or at least within reach.
Rating:
Summary: Title and content match perfectly
Review: For the XML developer this book is a perfect companion. It makes no real pretense to teach XSL, and if you're looking for such a book this is not it. What it does is provide developers of basic-to-advanced skill levels with tips, advice and clear explanations for using XSL in accordance with the XSLT standard, including XSLT, XPath and XSL. What makes this book valuable as a reference and 'cookbook' is the examples, stylistic approaches that are based on sound software engineering practices, and excellent use of illustrations to reinforce complex concepts, such as subexpressions, path directions and lexical elements of the XSLT family. Another point in the book's favor is the thorough coverage of all aspects of XSLT, from obvious solutions and advice, to highlighting subtle nuances and 'gotchas' that developers will encounter. The author does an effective job of transferring his knowledge in the form of the book to readers, and is the main reason why this book is an important companion to developers at all skill levels. Given the growing use of XML and related protocols - especially the XSLT sub family - this book is an important addition to the body of knowledge and is one professional tool that you should have on your desk or at least within reach.
Rating:
Summary: Just Aveage
Review: Good for quick reference but not good for beginner.
Rating:
Summary: a lot of knowledge in a simple and few words
Review: I am working on my IBM XML exam and had to study "Professional XML" and other books. I found out there are two types of computer books
1) one type can tell you the same things in few pages(200-300 pages) and (of course in cheap price) without wasting your time and money.
2)second type will tell you the same things in 800-900 pages with price upto 60$ and size that will make you afraid even to pick up the book.(mostly "Professional series") this book is from the first category. the author has done an excellent job to simply the understanding of how XSL,XSLT and XSL:FO works. what are different ways to do the same thing, whats the adv/dis to do them. I got a chance to borrow it from my public library.
you may not find solid examples(only fragments) but believe me you wont miss the concept what the author is trying to teach at that point(he will use picture, fragment or whatever). so here is the summary, if you want to save your time and money, pick this book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: I can not understand what the preveous reviewer (Adum Haunis) intends to say. I think these are very simple and clear examples. However,I can not contact this author! ! ! ! I have many questions, but this author does not reply ! ! ! So,4 stars. If you have reverese opinions, please tell here (to Adum).
Rating: 
Summary: Useless for learning
Review: I'm an experienced web developer beginning to work heavily with XML. I bought this book based on the reviews here to help me get up to speed on XSL & XSLT. Well, it's useless for that purpose. I haven't been able to find a single complete example in the entire book (fortunately, they are plentifully available on the web for free). All it has are small code fragments. Also, the book is completely silent on the current state of browser support for XSL/XML: Nowhere does it address compatibility issues or mention that what works in IE5 won't in IE6 and visa versa, nevermind Netscape. Repeatedly throughout the book we are informed that software that supports XSL is "emerging" yet it never mentions what actually exists NOW! It seems the author is more concerned about his book not becoming dated than with it actually being useful. In short, this book may turn out to be a good reference in a couple years after full support for XSL has "emerged" in enough places, but for now, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Just right!!
Review: If you are frustrated with books that one chapter assumes you are an absolute beginner and the next that you are a seasoned programmer, you just struck gold. This book does it right. It assumes you are a programmer familiar with the web. You will not have to skip the first three chapters because they are boring and get frustrated with the next 2. The book flows nicely from chapter to chapter. This guy knows how to teach programmers!!
|
