Voice Enabling Web Applications: VoiceXML and Beyond (With CD-ROM)

Rating:
Summary: VoiceXML and a lot lot more
Review: This is a great book. It is an example of how a modern
technical book should be written to really teach the
reader both the substance of the subject and the context
in which that subject is meaningful. There is high level
motivation throughout the book which enables the reader
looking for an overview of Voice XML and how it relates
to technologies used with it. There is technical detail
that will enable the software engineer to understand
the technical foundations and how they relate to technologies
used with Voice XML such as XSLT, JSP, HTML, JavaScript, etc.
In addition, there is an architectural framework of browsers,
gateways, web servers, servlets, grammars, telephony, and
the transformational processing model, which is concisely
presented with the essential concepts needed to understand
how all these technologies are woven into a cohesive
structure to enable the building of Voice XML and multimedia
applications. If that is not enough, there is working example

provided which is explained throughout the book, and it is
even presented in a UML framework which will be useful to
engineers who want a good example of effective use of UML.
And there is a CD, and associated web site, with both the
application and all the tools you need to build and test
the example - note: some of the tools like XML Spy, IBM
WebSphere, Allaire JRun, and Apache Cocoon may have time
limits, so don't install the software until you are ready
to spend the time necessary to set up and test the
application. Finally, the book is written at an extremely
intelligent level and the reader may find some of the
philosophies like cognition and artificial intelligence
stimulating. Sounds like a lot for a 200 page book, but
the author has succeeded in delivering all the above and
more in a manner that should serve as a model for
presenting new technologies.

Rating:
Summary: Really good introduction
Review: This is an excellent overview of VoiceXML. In addition to a thorough discussion of the VXML language and technologies, the author had the great idea of illustrating the material via a Personal Information Manager project (address book, calendar, and to-do list), which the reader creates while reading along. IMHO, this is by far the most practical of the VoiceXML books that I own. I learned quite a bit, and have even been able to create a number of useful VXML apps on my own since reading it.