UML Weekend Crash Course

XML and FrameMaker

XML in a Nutshell, Third Edition

XML in 60 Minutes a Day

XML Programming Bible (Bible)

Xml

XML Weekend Crash Course (with CD-ROM)

Format: Paperback
Author: Kay Ethier
ReleaseDate: September, 2001
Publisher: Wiley
Rating:

Link for updates to book...
However, I did find the new link on their website. An earlier post provided a link to Wiley that now appears to be outdated. I have not used this product and had to rate it to provide feedback. So, I gave it a neutral so as not so skew the reviews.

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Covers the material pretty well, but sloppy.
It covers what needs to be covered to get you up to speed, and most readers with any technical background could probably could do it at about the pace that the book advertises (15 hours to get up to speed on XML. Overall this is an decent place to start with XML.) Organization and writing are mostly OK.

Hovever, the book is sloppy. It repeats itself in several places. Some editing notes are left in the text. One exercise is presented before giving proper background, so the reader doesn't even know how to do the exercise. Some obvious questions are left unanswered, leaving the reader feeling frustrated. Clearly the book was not 'street tested'.

Overall, if you can forgive the books faults, you are given a good grasp of the key XML concepts. This is par for the course, and so I give it 3 stars. It gives you the knowledge you need, but does so a sloppy way.

Readable and Sufficient
While not incredibly in-depth and by no means comprehensive, this book is successful in giving you hands-on experience in some basic coding, as well as allowing you to understand the purpose and functionality of the language. I would recommend this to anyone with a working knowledge of HTML who is looking for an introduction to the various utilities of XML. I got it used, and cannot think of a better steal for in the $5 to $10 range. . . it's definitely worth grabbing at that price, but understand that it's a jumping off point, not a comprehensive guide.