Who Should Read This Book

Applied XML Solutions will be helpful to programmers, analysts, Web developers, and consultants who need to use XML in their work. Developers will benefit directly from exposure to practical solutions and a lot of code. However, analysts and consultants will also benefit from new ideas and new solutions to problems.

Applied XML Solutions will be particularly valuable if you are currently working on XML projects or if you will soon join such a team. It provides sample solutions to problems and plenty of code you can reuse, teaches you new tools, and explains how to better use your current set of tools.

If you are not actively involved in an XML project, Applied XML Solutions will be a source of inspiration for the future. As you read through the solutions, I am sure you will find several examples that would work well for you.

Applied XML Solutions assumes that you know the XML syntax, how an XML parser works, and how to write an XSLT style sheet. If this is your first XML book, you might want to turn to a tutorial first. I think my previous book, XML by Example, is a good introduction to the material in Applied XML Solutions.

Most of the code (the only exception is Chapter 3, "Electronic Forms") is written in Java. Most of the solutions will port easily to C++, Delphi, Perl, Python, and other languages (I have included pointers where appropriate), so you will benefit from reading this book even if you are not a Java developer. However, you must be able to read and understand Java code.

Flip through the book and you will see several commented listings. As I have already indicated, I listened to reader feedback in preparing Applied XML Solutions, so I tried to include as many listings and examples as possible. This is clearly a hands-on book. The only persons who should not read this book are developers who hate studying listings. Only a few such developers exist, but if you are one of them, I hope I catch you in the bookstore, before you've bought the book.