XML Applications

A good introduction to the 'current' state of XML as of December 1998. Wrox press are about to publish an updated version of this book as 'Professional XML' in February 2000.The book is a bit frustrating at times since has to deal with matters that have not been finalised, and has constant references to sites where updated details can be found. This is probably the biggest stumbling block for XML as a whole, irrespective of which XML book you buy.The book is, at times, a bit dry, and could benefit with more code samples.Overall a very good introduction to XML - but buy the updated version of the book!

This book is well balanced in its discussion of history, XML, XSL, XLink, displaying XML, and case studies. The historical introduction is well done, and doesn't drag on and on. The discussion of XML is written in english, building with simple examples to more complex. The case studies were all using Microsoft products, but concrete examples really illustrated key XML concepts. Although the discussion of XSL is probably one of the most up-to-date I've seen, caution on the examples. The XSL formatting discusion tries to go into detail, but can be difficult to follow.One of the best XML books I've seen.

This is a typical wrox book: covers mostly microsoft material, good code examples. You can read about XML from resources on the web, but this book gives you an idea on how actual applications may be implemented, at a time where there is little published browser support. 4 stars for the material, 1 for the timing.