Effective XML: 50 Specific Ways to Improve Your XML

Preface

Learning the fundamentals of XML might take a programmer a week. Learning how to use XML effectively might take a lifetime. While many books have been written that teach developers how to use the basic syntax of XML, this is the first one that really focuses on how to use XML well. This book is not a tutorial. It is not going to teach you what a tag is or how to write a DTD. I assume you know these things. Instead it's going to tell you when, why, where, and how to use such tools effectively (and, perhaps equally importantly, when not to use them).

This book derives directly from my own experiences teaching and writing about XML. Over the last five years, I've written several books and taught numerous courses about XML. Increasingly I'm ...