MICHAEL FITZGERALD

Intended for experienced web developers, this collection of 100 tips offers advice on performing the core tasks associated with XML. It explores ways to use XSLT and XPath to transform XML documents, then discusses common XML vocabularies and frameworks, schema languages, and syndication feeds. A thermometer rates the difficulty of each hack. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

La tecnología XML define una sintaxis para la creación de un marcado. El término "marcado" se refiere a elementos, atributos y otras estructuras que permiten etiquetar documentos y datos de manera que puedan tener un significado que pueda ser interpretado o reconocido por otros individuos u otros ordenadores. XML quizás no sea en sí la panacea para todos los problemas de intercambio, pero cada vez resulta una opción más práctica para empaquetar y mover datos entre los sistemas o bien para representar los datos de un modo legible y consistente. La misión de este libro consiste en servir como punto de partida para conocer muchas de las cosas que pueden hacerse mediante este lenguaje. Se centra en los casos más representativos y en tareas fundamentales que pueden realizarse rápidamente como definir, leer, crear y manipular documentos XML y poner a trabajar en definitiva el enorme poder de XML en Internet y en diversas aplicaciones de productividad. Si está creando contenido para un sitio web, administrando datos para su intercambio electrónico, escribiendo un artículo o un manual o bien desarrollando sus propios proyectos personales, encontrará en esta obra todas las técnicas necesarias para tener éxito gracias a XML.

XSLT is a powerful language for transforming XML documents into something else. That something else can be an HTML document, another XML document, a Portable Document Format (PDF) file, a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file, a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) file, Java code, or a number of other things. You write an XSLT stylesheet to define the rules for transforming an XML document, and the XSLT processor does the work. As useful as XSLT is, its peculiar characteristics make it a difficult language in which to get started. In fact, newcomers are often a little dazed on first contact. Learning XSLT offers a hands-on introduction to help them get up to speed with XSLT quickly. The book will help web developers and designers understand this powerful but often mystifying template-driven and functional-styled language, getting them over the many differences between XSLT and the more conventional programming languages. Learning XSLT moves smoothly from the simple to complex, illustrating all aspects of XSLT 1.0 through step-by-step examples that you'll practice as you work through the book. Thorough in its coverage of the language, the book makes few assumptions about what you may already know. You'll learn about XSLT's template-based syntax, how XSLT templates work with each other, and gain an understanding of XSLT variables. Learning XSLT also explains how the XML Path Language (XPath) is used by XSLT and provides a glimpse of what the future holds for XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0. The ability to transform one XML vocabulary to another is fundamental to exploiting the power of XML. Learning XSLT is a carefully paced, example-rich introduction to XSLT that will have you understanding and using XSLT on your own in no time.