This powerful new edition provides developers with a comprehensive guide to the rapidly evolving XML space.Serious users of XML will find just about everything they need, from fundamental syntax rules, to details of vocabulary creation, to transformations, to APIs used for processing XML documents."XML in a Nutshell, in fact, is the only reference of its kind among XML books. Whether you're a Web designer using SVG to add vector graphics to web pages, or a C++ programmer using SOAP to serialize objects into a remote database, this expanded second edition provides a thorough explanation of all the basic rules -- including XML, DTDs, namespaces, Unicode, XML Schemas, XSLT, Xpath, SAX, and DOM. If you need explanation of how a technology works, or just need to quickly find the precise syntax for a particular piece, this is the place to look."XML in a Nutshell is an essential guide for developers who need to create XML-based file formats and data structures for use in any XML document.
It’s ancient, so a new edition would be extremely welcome, but as xml books haven’t been in fashion the last decade, this is what we got.
It gives a good overview of xml and related tech. The prosa part is good. The reference part too verbose for my taste, and given the age also only partially useful.
XML: the grab-bag, so-what-you-will, make-it-up-as-you-go-along, there-are-rules-strict-rules-(sort-of) technology that bends you to its will as much as you can bend it to yours. And this book is a decent round-up of the most common, widely-deployed implementations -- with enough general knowledge to help you sort through the more specific ones (or help you in creating your own).
A better title for it might have been: "XML: A Developer's Almanac". (Which, I suppose is a good-enough alternative title for any book in the O'Reilly "Nutshell" series.)
Nel caso vogliate imparare a usare XML, non comprate questo libro, e scegliete qualcos'altro. In compenso, quando comincerete a masticarlo, allora sarà il momento di prenderlo, perché vi darà una visione completamente diversa e più ampia delle logiche dietro al linguaggio. La mia è la prima edizione, e quindi manca la parte sugli schemas, ma già così è assolutamente indispensabile.