The XML Companion

I loved this book. I've got about eight or ten XML books, but this is the one I turn to for my "Why?" questions. It's not a tutorial or cookbook, but it explains XML logically and historically. I don't sit down at my computer with this book ready to type in stuff. This is the book that I sit down with in my comfortable armchair ready to understand XML in a way that makes sense and sticks with me. It's very readable.

1. Depth and breadth of topics being covered with real application make this a solid reference for XML applications, such as Apache Cocoon 1 & 2 Frameworks. Java is indeed a natural companion to XML. 2. It is not a cookbook of raw XML/XSLT/CSS/XSchema/XLink/XInclude/XPointer, etc... It actually explains the Design behind the implementation leaving one to approach implementation with foresight and focus on planning before one wastes needless hours of frustration during rushed implementations. 3. It is for someone with a solid understanding of MVC (Model/View/Controller) abstraction approaches that are pervasive in OOA/OOD that includes Smalltalk, Objective-C, Java, C++, C#, Javascript, Python, Ruby, etc... 4. It describes XML as a means to be both a boon for turning publishing into an Art of Reuse as well as how XML solidifies many failed attempts of standards that were not able to become language agnostic. XML and all her siblings are that meta bridge. 5. With the XSL Companion those who complained about it being either difficult to grasp or tediously complex will be vindicated and appreciate returning to this book to explain all the questions that surface along the way during any project they become involved in helping solve. 6. Neil is very honest that this book is about wrapping your head around the XML paradigm and not about being a Dictionary of answers to all your XML application(s) needs. It should become clear the reason behind so many XML application standards. There are just so many avenues to address how could they all possibly be expressed in just one book?

This book is clearly not for a beginner, nor should it be. Many reviews give it less than five stars due to the fact that it's a bad tutorial. Well it wasn't designed as one, as you should see in the title XML **Companion**. It's designed as a thorough reference of XML and related technologies. Neil is really up to date with his stuff. I couldn't find another book, (and I've skimmed through all of them), that covers everything. Coverage of technical issues like white space normalization, Relax, Trex, Relax NG, etc... It's wondeful.Please don't buy this book as a tutorial, but rather as a desktop reference. It's a must on all XML programmer's bookshelves.

This is the book to read if you want to understand what XML is and why you should be interested in it.Having looked at most XML books currently on the market, I like this one best because (1) it is short (2) it is authoritative (3) it is reasonably current (4) it talks about XML *and* all the related standards/proposals (XSL, XSLT, XPointer, XLink, etc) (5) it gives you the big picture and the details, but it never gets lost in the details.*After* you read this book, you go ahead and buy a programming book for whatever platform you happen to be working on. It is a common misunderstanding that introductory computer books have to be 1000+ pages long, must contain 50% code, and have to be written to the lowest common denominator. This book does not fall in this category; it is written for grown ups. To summarize, this is the kind of book that usually gets published under the O'Reilly label.

I've read or browsed many XML books on the market in the past 6 months and this is finally the first one that spoke my language.The author is not fixated on just using XML as a replacement for SGML or HTML but gives thoughtful examples of how XML can be used in its own right, for example, with database information. In addition, he gives a clear explanation of how and why to write a DTD and even includes the DTD for the book as an appendix. I've recommended this to clients and colleagues alike.