Intended Audience:
The
XML Handbook was designed as a starting point for those
who want to learn about and experiment
with XML. This book bills itself as "the
definitive XML resource: applications,
products, technologies, and
tutorials!" Good solid content.
As the title suggests, this is a Handbook.
It serves to provide basic information on
any XML related topic and is designed as a
reference for a wide audience.
Summary:
The
XML Handbook is organized into fifteen
parts (61 Chapters) and a CD-ROM.
There is a slight decrease in content
between Revision 2 and Revision 3. W3C standards have been
updated in this third addition.
Part 1 of the XML Handbook explains the
"Who, What and Why" of XML. This
part of the book provides the reader with
a bit of history in order to understand
the evolution of publishing markup, generic
coding, SGML, HTML and finally XML. This
book is not written to explain XML to
someone who knows SGML or even HTML, but
to provide an understanding of all these
languages in relation to one another.
Reading Part 1 is essential to
understand the philosophy of the remainder
of the Handbook and to provide a common
set of terms and concepts.
It
is important to note that Goldfarb and
Prescod make a clear distinction among
HTML, XML, and SGML. They assure readers
that while, different, these languages do
not compete. They assure readers that
there is a place (application domain) for
each language and that the invention of
XML does not mean the extinction of the
other languages.
Part 2 of the book examines "Middle-tier
Servers." In this part, the
appearance of the "middle-tier
server" architecture facilitated by
XML is explored. According to the
authors, "XML facilitates a
three-tier model, in which a single
middle-tier server can be an intermediary
that aggregates data from
multiple sources and presents all of it at
once to the client." This part
of the book examines a three-tier Web
application from the user perspective and
then takes a closer look at how a
middle-tier server works with XML."
Case studies featuring middle
tier-servers, provided by Microsoft
Corporation, eXcelon Corporation, and
InfoShark, Inc. round out this part of the book.
Part 3 of the book focuses on E-commerce. We begin by examining
EDI and the relationship between EDI and
XML. The message of XML and EDI
working together comes through clearly in
this edition of the handbook.
Collaboration is a new topic in the
E-commerce part of the handbook. A series of case studies
focuses on the E-commerce applications
of XML. Each of the case
studies provides real world application of
one or more XML tools. Sponsors for
chapters in Part 3 include POET Software
Corporation, XML Solutions, IPNet
Solutions, and Infoteria Corporation.
Part 4 of the XML Handbook focuses on
portals. This part provides a series
of case studies sponsored by vendors
providing XML-based portal software
solutions. Sponsors include
DataChannel Inc. and Sequoia Software
Corp.
Part 5 of the third edition adds the concept of
syndication, or the automated delivery of
content via the Web. Topics in this part
include concepts of information feeds and
two syndication standards -- XMLNews and
ICE (Information and Content Exchange).
Chapters are sponsored by Wavo Corporation
and Kinecta Corporation.
In
Part 6 the focus shifts to XML and
publishing. Topics in this part
include using XML for both online and
offline delivery from a single data
source, extranet delivery of high-quality
printing, using XML to customize user
documentation, and approaches to
publishing using XML. Case studies
are sponsored by Frank Russell
Company, Arbortext, and Enigma Inc..
Part
7 of the XML Handbook focuses on Content
Management. Here the authors examine
efficient information management
strategies, the content life-cycle, and
"documents" Vs.
"data." Case studies in
this part of the book have been sponsored
XyEnterprise, Arbortext, Oracle,Corporation and
IXIASOFT.
Part
8 focuses on "Content
Acquisition." In this part of
the book, methodologies for
capturing data in XML are examined. This part
also examines the process of creating XML
documents directly (authoring) and of
accessing XML data dynamically.
Sponsors for case studies in this part of
the book include Adobe Systems, Quark
Inc., Innodata Corporation, Data
Conversion Laboratories, and XMLSolutions
Corporation.
Part
9 of the handbook focuses on Schemas and
schema design. Because the final
schema "recommendation" from W3C
is not complete, this part focuses on
concepts rather than syntax. Chapters in
this part are
sponsored by Extensibility, Documentum,
and XMLSolutions Corporation.
Part
10 of the handbook focuses on Stylesheets
and how stylesheets can be used to both
control the style/formatting and
behaviors. Charles validates the
concentration on style, by stating
"Style is the dress of
thought." Case studies here are
sponsored by Enigma Inc., IBM
Corporation, and Microsoft
Corporation.
Part
11, "Navigation," focuses on the
"way you get from here to
there." Here we explore
extended linking and topic maps.
Chapters in this part were sponsored by
DataChannel Inc. and XCare.net.
Part
12 of the Handbook, formerly "XML and
Programming," is now
called "Infrastructure." This part we
learn about tools for tool building and
XML APIs known as DOM and SAX, as well as our
programming options for creating XML
applications. Programming options
highlight how Java can be used with XML.
Sponsors for these chapters include
Artesia Technologies, Intel Corporation,
and Sun Microsystems.
The
final parts of the XML Handbook are
non-sponsored chapters, these include
tutorials and resources. A great
deal of reliable, technical information
resides in these final, non-sponsored chapter.
I
have found the CD which accompanies the
XML Handbook to be particularly
useful. This CD contains over 175
free XML tools, including the IBM alphaworks
XML family of tools.
The
XML Handbook is a good resource for those
starting with XML and even for those who
have been working with XML but are
struggling to keep up with the latest
developments, standards, and tools.. In
the first and last part of the handbook,
the reader can find both a general
overview of XML and technical specifics of
XML and related standards. The scenarios,
case studies, and tool descriptions serve
to make XML "real" to the reader
and to spark the imagination as to how XML
might be used in the reader's own
environment. Together with the wealth of
resource on the CD, the XML Handbook is a
good addition to any technical library.
Comparing Handbook Editions
It is
interesting to compare this third edition
of the handbook with previous
editions. Comparison can show you
where XML has been and where it is
going. Comparisons of the
editions indicate trends in the
industry. It is interesting to note which
companies have opted to sponsor chapters
from one edition to the next. Some
sponsor companies represented in earlier
editions have been purchased by other
companies. Others are no longer in
business. Some companies have changed
their market strategy and hence have moved
their placement in the Handbook from one
part to another. And of course,
there are are always new entries to the
XML marketplace.
I keep each edition of the
XML Handbook, not only for the value of
comparison as the market matures, but for the value of the
content that is unique to a particular
edition. Case studies, by their
nature remain relevant (even if the
sponsor company has not opted to pay the
price of entry for representation in the
third edition)!
A Caution
Many
chapters in this book were contributed by
the book's sponsors. Each sponsored
chapter bears the name of the sponsoring
company. All sponsored chapters were
edited, sometimes extensively, by the
handbook authors to provide consistency.
However, it is important for the reader to
understand that sponsors contributed not
only their stories, but funding to the
development of the handbook. So if some of
the scenarios or case studies and tool
descriptions in the handbook seem a bit
like marketing pieces, they are. Readers
should understand that all stories in the
XML Handbook are representative of a far
broader spectrum of real XML applications
and tools emerging in the market place
each day. The XML Handbook does not
provide a comprehensive or complete review
of the tools on the market, rather it
represents only those product vendors who
opted to join the sponsorship program for
this title.
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