Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Solutions to Real-World Problems

Rating:
Summary: Good introduction, a little diffuse
Review: Compared with .NET and XML this book tends to wander and rat hole a little. The book covers the basics. The SAX and DOM approaches. It also covers XSLT and serving XML. It also covers advanced topics like Castor, JDOM, and web services. But most of the subjects are covered at a cursory level and do not serve as a complete introduction.

There is a small reference at the end of the book which is not as easy to read as the APIs described in the Nutshell style.

I gave this book four stars because, while it does lack focus, it is a good introduction to the XML APIs for Java. In the third release they should concentrate a little harder editing in some focus and a better reference section at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Like the title says Java & XML
Review: Requires moderate knowledge of both subjects. Does a really nice job discussing the uses of Java and XML combined.

Rating:
Summary: Good but could be more.
Review: Second editions are always great. However, I find that I dont like all of the API reference in the book. I would rather look at APIs electronically and talk concepts in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Overall, an Okay book
Review: Sometimes you come across a technical book that you can't put down, the language is clear, the examples are useful and the author keeps you focused. Well, this is NOT an example of such book.

The author covers the subject, but it was a hard book to read and stay interested in.

Rating:
Summary: Good work, a real 5 star XML book
Review: The buzz is all around. XML and all derivatives are attracting everyone. There are many XML books in the market but few are satisfactory. I like the books which can offer more than tutorials on the web. This is one of those. First of all, the book is well organized and easy to follow. Learn the idea behind SAX, DOM and then JDOM. Having a good understanding of these basics, go on with three main application areas of XML:"web publishing","interoperatibility", and "data binding". This is what XML developers should do, and author follows this order very well. In fact, I remember Brett's one article where he suggested developers not to forget basics of parsing while working with higher level APIs and protocols.

If we look at the details of book... After covering the basics of parsing, Brett introduces some -very good- real world examples: Cocoon(for publishing frameworks), soap, xml-rpc, and web services for communication or interoperatibility and Castor etc. for data binding.

What is missing or not intended in this book is XML data structure design and XSLT. This is understandable since both are very detailed topics that wouldn't fit in a single book. For XSLT there are the O'reilly Java & XSLT or Wrox XSLT books and for XML-Schema... I'm just waiting for a good one.

Especially for those intermediate level XML programmers with Java knowledge.

Rating:
Summary: Updated version of an excellent book
Review: The first edition of this book was considered one of the best on the subject of Java and XML. This new edition has expanded to include the developments in Java and XML over the last year. The author gives a little less handholding on the basics of XML reducing a three chapter introduction in the first edition to a one chapter summary. SAX, DOM, and JDOM all are covered in detail with each topic getting an introduction and an advanced chapter. JAXP 1.1 is covered in sufficient detail. After the introduction to the basic Java/XML APIs, the author moves on to some other interesting topics.

The chapters on web publishing frameworks and XML-RPC haven't changed much since the first edition. New chapters on SOAP, Web Services, and content syndication are welcome additions. The book ends with a look at data binding and JAXB.

The examples in the book are extremely clear and concise, explaining each topic well without being overly simplistic. As with the first edition, the author assumes that you are familiar with Java but unlike the first edition he assumes you have a basic understanding of XML.

If you are a Java developer and you are going to be working with XML then this book is required reading. The coverage of the Java/XML APIs is excellent. As for the other topics, it is a good introduction but for anyone working with SOAP or Web Services, other books will probably be required.

Rating:
Summary: No XML Security
Review: This book is great if you know something about XML and Java. For true beginners, well, it's a stretch. It also starts to show its age, and furthermore, its supporting website - both on the author's web server and O'Reilly's own servers, is sketchy. You will rely on both to use the code mentioned in the book.
Otherwise, it is just an unremarkable information piece about Java and XML.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: This book not only shows you how to write either a DOM or SAX parser it also include code that you can use to provide the basic framework for such a parsers and much much more. Books don't get much better than that.

Rating:
Summary: Bad book to read
Review: This is a very hard book to read. Not because of the subject, but because of the author's writing style and the fact that he introduces subjects and then referring them to the upcoming chapters.

Overall, it covers the essential subjects, like the interaction between Java and XML and covers DOM, SAX, JAXP, but I wouldn't use this book as a learning tool. Might be a good reference.

I would recommend XML Development With Java 2 by Michael Daconta, SAMS Publishing. To learn XML in detail, I would recommend the Professioanl XML, Wrox Publishing.

Rating:
Summary: Another poorly written Computer Science book
Review: While not the worst computer book that I have read; this one straddles the fence quite nicely. The author seems to know his subject, but is a bit scatter brained in places. In some instances I have to re-read paragraphs as if it were code itself. It only gets two stars, because grammar seems to be as important as content. It's an okay book otherwise, but the could have left out the xml primer, as it wasn't very meaningful. The overall content of the book is good, but nothing really seems to stand out here.