Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: Not so informative. Review: I can find more information on the internet on this subject than reading this book. In fact I turned to the internet while reading this book for answers to the questions this book failed to answer.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: Not so informative. Review: I can find more information on the internet on this subject than reading this book. In fact I turned to the internet while reading this book for answers to the questions this book failed to answer.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: Useful for those who know XML but are new to telephony Review: I have XML experience but, recently, I started working on telephony applications. I agree with previous comments that the author seems to be rather complacent when it comes to applying schemas/DTDs (from the misuse of XML comments to errors in applying the VXML DTD) but I personally found the background chapters very useful. If you are not familiar with SGML or XML, you may need to use an XML parser to validate the samples against the VXML 1.0 spec (DTD) before using any of the code. Be aware as well of the VXML 1.0 to 2.0 changes.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Great Book! Review: I love this book - although not a programmer, per se, I found this book to be very useful from the aspect of explaining what Voice XML is all about. It gives the basics presented in a manner that can be understood by almost anyone. On top of that, the author makes learning XML a joy - yes that is possible!The author writes in an easy to read style that provides clear explanations and simple examples. But what impressed me most about the book were the code examples provided throughout the book to help illustrate each concept. They made it much easier to grasp the information presented. Since I'm just starting out with XML, I feel very lucky to have this book on as a desktop reference since the author seems to cover it all: how the Web works, how telecom and computer telephony work, XML, voice browsers. Not to mention the step-by-step instruction provided throughout the book. I also take exception to the review by Horsepower in which he criticizes the book. The author did plainly state in the preface that there would no doubt be errors in the examples and gave a web site where the readers to go to find corrections and updates to the book.
Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: Very Disappointing Review: If one calls the first available VoiceXML book the best, one can also call it the worst. Bod Edgar is an expert in computer telephony, but what can you expect to learn about VoiceXML, the language for the Voice Web, from someone who "had little experience of Internet technologies" and "decided to learn about HTTP, HTML" by the summer of 2000, and who doesn't seem to have created any practical VoiceXML applications? He states that one critical decision to be made in writing the book was which VoiceXML version to cover. Oddly, he chose VoiceXML 2.0. Then you realize how convenient that is - he actually revealed it himself: "there were no VoiceXML 2.0 browsers available for me in developing and testing example code." The fact is there were already at least three commercially available VoiceXML 1.0 browsers at the time of his writing (January 2001) for him to develop and test code: cafe.bevocal.com, studio.tellme.com, and developer.voicegenie.com. The next question is: does VoiceXML 1.0 lack many important features in VoiceXML 2.0? No, with strong integration with Web server technologies, applications built on VoiceXML 1.0 can do a lot! Yes, nobody supports VoiceXML 2.0 yet, as it's still an early draft. But many support VoiceXML 1.0, an already powerful language if you know how to build advanced VoiceXML application using web server technologies and some important VoiceXML elements such as <subdialog> and <object>, which he didn't give appropriate coverage at all. He says "A subdialog is a form which is called from another form and returns", where in fact, a subdialog can invoke either a form on the current page or more importantly, another VoiceXML document, which can be dynamically generated by your web application. Again, because the author's inexperience with Internet technologies, you miss great opportunities in learning how to integrate VoiceXML with your web applications. What further bothers me are mistakes in the book such as "The VoiceXML 1.0 standard was published on March 7th, 2000" - the fact is VoiceXML 1.0 was submitted to and acknowledged by the W3C on that day, and is still on the standardization process now - and that the title for the classic "Hello, World" application is "Hello, Web" - which reminds of the professor George Polya describes: he says A, writes B, thinks C, and the correct answer is D. Even if you just want to get some basic introduction to the language itself, you'll gain a lot more reading those online documentaion from sites offering VoiceXML browsers. If you want to get serious about VoiceXML and build real-world VoiceXML applications, wait or look elsewhere. This book will make you feel very disappointed.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: An indispensable "how to" reference Review: In The VoiceXML Handbook: Understanding And Building The Phone-Enabled Web, computer telephony expert Bob Edgar takes the reader through a step-by-step introduction through all the features of VoiceXML (including VoiceXML 2.0). Readers will learn about Graphical Web Browsing, HTML, and HTTP; Telecommunications; Computer Telephony; Voice Recognition and Text-to-Speech; and XML. Also provided are a VoiceXML Tutorial and instructions on using Voice Browsers to crated Phone-Enabled Web Sites. The VoiceXML Handbook is an indispensable "how to" reference for anyone who needs to enhance their website with telephony-enabled technology and ability.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: VoiceXML for very beginners Review: The book is a general overview of telephony application and a thin introduction to VoiceXML. It covers important matters in a very rapid and unprecise way. It contains even errors in the examples.
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