Just XML

Anybody who wants to keep up with the rapid pace of developments in Web design should now be confronting XML. It is a standard which supersedes (but does not replace) HTML, and it will be particularly useful for people with large amounts of information they wish to make available in different forms - for instance, product catalogues, text archives, databases, training courses, and news releases.

This book assumes you know a little about markup language (probably HTML, which is now widely known) but the emphasis is firmly on XML as a 'new start' for marking up data in a way which makes it useable in any number of formats. John Simpson spells out the rationale for XML and how to use it more clearly than any other book I have read on the subject. He's a very good teacher, and beginners will find this a reassuring approach.


He uses as a running illustrative example his own hobby of B-movies - and even throws in a few viewing recommendations along the way. This is a good teaching strategy, because the reader becomes accustomed to the illustrative content and can therefore concentrate instead on the technical points being made.

He explains the basics of XML and why it is important, then takes a lot of trouble to clarify XLinks - which make multiple and two-directional links possible. This is a feature which takes some effort to conceptualise. XLinks is followed by XPointer and XPath. These are all sharp-end developments which permit very complex and sophisticated manipulation of data.

He then explains the two types of style sheets which can be used to control XML documents. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is the best-supported by existing browsers. CSS allows you to control the appearance of what appears on the screen. To this has now been added Extensible Style Language Transformations (XSLT): this gives you the power to re-structure an existing XML document.

As an experienced programmer, he's good at explaining what XML parsers and browsers do with the code they receive. This makes it easier to understand some of the more arcane features of coding. There's also a useful summary and definition of new terms used at the end of each chapter. I found these useful for getting to grips with some of the new language.

He includes reviews of the latest XML software and makes a few well-informed predictions about what will come next in XML and its development. Although this is a book for intermediate level users, most people will appreciate his explanations of basics. He clarifies the difference between a parser and an editor for instance - and he realises that most readers will welcome the listing of sources they can try out for free. If you want to make a start with XML, this is a good place to begin.