XSLT 2.0 Web Development (Charles F Goldfarb Definitive Xml)

Rating:
Summary: Great book for pragmatic developers
Review: If to try to classify this book, I would put it in 'how to's' category, rather than 'tutorials'. The book summarizes author's significant experience with building web sites that are sanely organized and easy to maintain. The approach he advocates is somewhat minimalist: XML to markup the content, XSLT to transform it into HTML and to perform other auxiliary tasks -- 'The Pragmatic Programmer' followers will appreciate this. It should be noted that the content is mostly static or treated as such; how to fetch data out of a database and to build an XML DOM/SAX representation is left for other numerous books to ponder. While XSLT is the main subject, the scope of the book is broader. It includes developing an XML vocabulary for the site, choosing a schema language and writing a schema (here Schematron gets special attention), designing stylesheets for transformation, including tasks like checking files existence and generating images via extension functions written in Java. Finally, there is a section about batch processing with XSLT for automatic generation/regeneration of the whole site. Every task is illustrated with examples, generic enough so that you can modify them for your own project.

Orthogonal to what has been explained is the question of how it has been explained. The author's writing style is dense, even dry, the text is packed with information. It took me probably three times longer to read this book than it does usually, as there was no superfluous verbiage that could be quickly glanced over. The book doesn't make dull reading, though. Not only is it highly informative, it also gives aesthetical pleasure of a well-crafted work. The concepts are thoughtfully illustrated and made very clear; terminology is used precisely and consistently. Developers will appreciate an honest, 'no buzzwords, no marketing hype' approach, and accuracy in every small detail.


Rating:
Summary: A very good "companion" title for an XML developer...
Review: If you are looking for an XSLT book that is more than just a reference or tutorial manual, you might like XSLT 2.0 Web Development by Dmitry Kirsanov (Prentice Hall).

Chapter list: XML and the Web; The source definition; Elements of a web site; An overview of XSLT; The XSLT stylesheet; XML software; XML on the server; Bibliography; Index

Don't let the short list of chapters scare you off. Each chapter is broken up into multiple "mini-chapters" that cover the subject matter quite well. Having said that, I think that it's important to know exactly what you're getting here. This is not a 1000 page tutorial and reference guide to all that is XML and XSLT. In fact, if this is your first exposure to XSLT technology, you might actually find yourself a bit frustrated. This is not so much of a "how to" as it is a "why to"...

The author spends a lot of time explaining XML design and schemas, and how an accurate schema can make the difference between a good and bad application. Once the proper schema is established, then he covers how XSLT can make the XML transform into a clear and well-structured site. Really good stuff, but you probably won't learn all there is to know about XSLT by reading this book. I actually see this as a good "second" XSLT title for a developer once they have mastered the language and syntax fundamentals.

If you're looking to learn XSLT, you may want to choose a different title. If you're looking to learn how to effectively utilize XSLT and XML on your web site, this is a very good option.


Rating:
Summary: From the author
Review: The "XSLT 2.0" is in the title (but only as an adjective, the noun being "Web Development") because I use XSLT 2.0 idioms throughout - the book is filled with code examples that are only possible in 2.0. The book is not focused on XSLT 2.0 as such, it is focused on its practical use. I strived to present the right mix of theory and examples - the mix I would have enjoyed myself when I just started learning to use XSLT for web development.

Rating:
Summary: From the author
Review: The "XSLT 2.0" is in the title (but only as an adjective, the noun being "Web Development") because I use XSLT 2.0 idioms throughout - the book is filled with code examples that are only possible in 2.0. The book is not focused on XSLT 2.0 as such, it is focused on its practical use. I strived to present the right mix of theory and examples - the mix I would have enjoyed myself when I just started learning to use XSLT for web development.

Rating:
Summary: Not what the title implies.
Review: The book is a large overview of web development. The amount of XSLT 2.0 information is trivial, unworthy of being on the title.

Rating:
Summary: Many practical examples
Review: There are numerous good books on XML, where often these pertain to using XML for data storage or interchange. But when one wants to derive browser viewable HTML from XML, then XSLT is used to make the transformation. For XSLT, there have also been books describing it. But thus far, most were about version 1.0. Plus, the HTML output might often be considered small scale. That is, a single page or a few pages.

This book differs in two important ways. Firstly, Kirsanov deals with the recently approved XSLT 2.0 and the accompanying XPath 2.0. There have been many improvements in functionality, which he explains cogently.

But, more importantly, he expands the scope of the discussion about the HTML output. No longer are we just designing a few pages. He imagines that we are now responsible for an entire website. It could be a personal one, or a corporate site of any size. This necessitates careful attention to designing the architecture of the site and the organising of the source XML documents. For example, he recommends always have a master document, listing all the pages of a site, a "site directory" in XML. Throughout the text, he gives numerous practical suggestions like this, that should be effective on any website.

Just as valuable, and perhaps more so to some, are the copious code examples, liberally embedded in the narrative. Gives flesh to the ideas. You can take these as inspiration, or even as starting templates, for your own website.

Rating:
Summary: A guide inside the new xml world !
Review: This book has been a very interesting reading for me since it covers a lot of topics in a different way than usual. It's not a book for beginners, it does not teach you how to use XSLT from scratch neither teaches you how to build a web application if you have never done one. This book serve for mid-expert web application designer and builder in understanding the beauty,
and the need, to learn xml and xslt.
By reading this book you learn to appreciate the importance of xml and how you can effectively use it in your web application. The book requires a basic knowledge of xml and xslt, but if you have already use it, even not much,
you will learn that you cannot totally miss the knowledge of this important topic.
While reading this book my feeling has been to run on a store and
buy more dedicated books of all the topics that are discussed throughout this book. Definitely what most have impressed me are three different topics well covered on this book: Schematron, XSLT java extension and Cocoon. I feel more confident
and sure that I need to get e dapper understanding of these three topics, and this book gave me the right flavour for them. I recommend this book for both developers but most for designers that need to migrate from traditional web application
to a complete xml and xslt web applications.
Max Pellizzaro
http://www.maxpellizzaro.com

Rating:
Summary: Great book, ignore the 2.0
Review: To get the most out of this book you need to ignore the 2.0 in the title. The book is only incidentally about XSLT 2.0, and it does a great job covering modern XSLT web development. I'm actually serious in my advice, if you just concentrate on the 2.0 portion of the book you will be disappointed. You need to assess the value of the book as a whole. And that value is great. Primarily because of chapters like the first chapter which dig into how XSLT can be used to revolutionize the generation of static and dynamic websites through XML data abstraction and the use of XSLT stylesheets.

A couple of years back XSLT was the great hope for replacing JSP with an abstract interface that would generate code for both HTML and WAP. That never materialized, mainly because server side technologies were too slow and client side XSLT wasn't universally supported. In hindsight it's obvious that this JSP replacement mindset was in error. This book is a complete re-assesment of XSLT in the web development context and provides a number of options and architectures to address different performance and abstraction concerns.

If you would consider yourself a 'web designer' I don't think this book is for you. It has too much about XML schema design and not enough about the mechanics of XSLT conversion. This book is better suited to senior developers and architects who want a novel and intelligent approach to construction of static and dynamic web sites, using XML and XSLT.

For XSLT advocates who feel that their favorite technology was miscast and sent out to pasture years early, this book is for you. Let's hope Addison-Wesley marketing can find that sweet spot to get this book out there. The author has some great ideas and it would be wonderful to see them popularized.

Rating:
Summary: Good practices in website development explained well
Review: XSLT 2.0 Web Development" by Dmitry Kirsanov, teaches a system of transforming semantically structured content into browser-ready HTML, including the proper separation of content from presentation, structuring the content into "cleanly separated semantic layers", developing a XML vocabulary for each layer, validating the XML and content structure, using XSLT to transform the XML content to HTML, and integrating the transformation system with web development frameworks and development tools.

As described in the introduction, the author suggests readers should have a basic understanding of XML syntax and terms, as well as "know some XSLT and especially XPath". Before reading this book, this reviwer was comfortable reading, editing and creating XML documents, but I couldn't (and still can't) write an XML DTD. Also, the only idea I had about XSLT was that it's used to transform XML documents into HTML. That's it. With those basic introductory understandings, I had no problems following the well-structured and well-explained lessons throughout the book, as well as applying those lessons while developing a real-life web site.

This 406 page book consists of seven chapters containing plenty of well-organized and well-used text and diagrams, example code showing "all aspects of an XML-to-HTML transformation", and plenty of screenshots. The contents also include a discussion of the basic premises of XML, explanations and examples of XML source definitions including schema and regulations, a Schematron schema for document validation, XSLT extensions including new additions to XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0, coverage of tools available to assist developers, and a chapter on integrating an XML/XSLT system into a web server setup, the bulk of which is devoted to Apache Cocoon.

This book and the topics it teaches are not for the feeble minded. Reading it while falling asleep in bed is not recommended - you won't really get it. I would recommend this book to anyone concerned with organizing web site content into meaningful semantic layers, well-separated from presentation and business logic, while creating a system that is easier to understand and maintain than many web site projects I've run across.

Rating:
Summary: Good practices in website development explained well
Review: XSLT 2.0 Web Development" by Dmitry Kirsanov, teaches a system of transforming semantically structured content into browser-ready HTML, including the proper separation of content from presentation, structuring the content into "cleanly separated semantic layers", developing a XML vocabulary for each layer, validating the XML and content structure, using XSLT to transform the XML content to HTML, and integrating the transformation system with web development frameworks and development tools.

As described in the introduction, the author suggests readers should have a basic understanding of XML syntax and terms, as well as "know some XSLT and especially XPath". Before reading this book, this reviwer was comfortable reading, editing and creating XML documents, but I couldn't (and still can't) write an XML DTD. Also, the only idea I had about XSLT was that it's used to transform XML documents into HTML. That's it. With those basic introductory understandings, I had no problems following the well-structured and well-explained lessons throughout the book, as well as applying those lessons while developing a real-life web site.

This 406 page book consists of seven chapters containing plenty of well-organized and well-used text and diagrams, example code showing "all aspects of an XML-to-HTML transformation", and plenty of screenshots. The contents also include a discussion of the basic premises of XML, explanations and examples of XML source definitions including schema and regulations, a Schematron schema for document validation, XSLT extensions including new additions to XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0, coverage of tools available to assist developers, and a chapter on integrating an XML/XSLT system into a web server setup, the bulk of which is devoted to Apache Cocoon.

This book and the topics it teaches are not for the feeble minded. Reading it while falling asleep in bed is not recommended - you won't really get it. I would recommend this book to anyone concerned with organizing web site content into meaningful semantic layers, well-separated from presentation and business logic, while creating a system that is easier to understand and maintain than many web site projects I've run across.