Sgml

The XML and SGML Cookbook : Recipes for Structured Information (Charles F. Goldfarb Series)

Format: Paperback
Author: Rick Jelliffe
ReleaseDate: May, 1998
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Rating:

Not what you would expect from a "cookbook"
This book might be a nice reference for someone who's at the point where they want to address obscure SGML problems, it definitely isn't appropriate for someone new to SGML. I'm still slogging through this weighty tome but so far it hasn't provided much in the way of solutions.

Not for newbies, but an _excellent_ guide
Jelliffe starts with vivid descriptions of the information structuring process, with useful warnings and suggestions throughout. The XML and SGML Cookbook is really more about SGML than about XML, but users of the entire family of markup languages will find much to learn in this entertaining and readable tome. His recipes for document structures are useful and cover a wide variety of possible situations. The section on internationalization is compelling, explaining clearly the wide variety of issues that complicate data processing and typesetting.

The price may seem a bit steep, but the information is well worth it. The layout is much friendlier than the rest of this series, a welcome companion to keep next to your keyboard as you work on your latest *ML project. Beginners will need an introductory guide to the syntax, but this is an excellent guide to the process and the theory behind markup language development.