Appendix B: Additional Resources

Along with recommended reading, this appendix lists the main sources for HTML, XML, XHTML v 1.0, and J2EE specifications, as well as others relevant to the main theme of this book. Although reading a specification is somewhat cumbersome, it is utterly important to do so. Within a specification lies the key to understanding that particular technology.

XML is universally accepted as the markup language of choice because it is nothing but plain old text. It is decodable by both computers and human beings. An additional benefit is that XML-marked-up text passes through firewalls on port 80. This feature alone explains why XML documents are easily transmittable over the wire.

XML pervades the entire programming world and is an essential part of both J2EE and Microsoft .NET. For example, XML plays a major part in Java deployment descriptors and many other aspects of J2EE-related technologies.

ASP.NET manifests, assemblies, PE files, config files and .asax files are constructed using XML. Schemas v 1.0, written in XML, accompany XML instance documents, enforcing business model rules and imposing document structure, as well as describing both built-in data types and user-defined types.

Web services receive support from both .NET and Sun Microsystems. XML is an essential component in building web services. Furthermore, SOAP is constructed with XML, as are WSDL, UDDI, and WSML files.

It is useful to navigate to the site for the HTML 4.01 specification and observe how it serves as precursor to the XHTML specification. The XHTML Strict Specification, v 1.0, forces developers to employ style sheets for presentation and XHTML for defining business logic. Another valuable pursuit is examining the SOAP Toolkit, viewing the latest version, 3.0, and seeing how SOAP serves as an important component in accessing web services.

One of the most valuable web sites is http://www.w3.org (or http://www.w3c.org). This site contains specifications for schemas, XSLT, XPath, XLink, XSD Schemas, and many other XML-related technologies. For example, the XSD Schema part 2 contains a complete list of data types and demonstrates how facets are applied to an element data type.

You will want to explore http://www.w3c.org on your own, but among the specifications found there are

• HTML 4.01 Specification

• IBM’s DOM Implementation in C++

• XHTML 1.0 Specification

• XML 1.0 Recommendation

• “Schema for XML,” Norman Walsh, July 1999

The Sun web site, http://www.java.sun.com, hosts the J2EE specification and Standard Edition specifications as well as specifications for all other Java-related technologies.

Microsoft resources are listed on their main web site at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com, which contains links for all of their products. The Microsoft .NET Framework can be downloaded free of charge from their site. It is essential to have the Framework installed on your local drive before you can receive support for .NET.

At http://www.schema.net, you will find

• Schema.NET

• SOAP Toolkit version 3.0

And at http://www.xml.com/axml/testaxml.htm, you can find Tim Brady’s “Annotated XML Specification.”

Switching to resources in print, each title listed here provides specific information on some aspect of the main theme of this book. A particular volume may focus on designing reusable components or designing interfaces, or it will discuss access of remote objects. They have all served as invaluable guides to my understanding of major platforms and their technologies.

• Appleman, Dan, Moving to VB .NET, Springer-Verlag, 2001

• Broemmer, Darren, J2EE Best Practices, John Wiley & Sons, 2003

• Brownell, David, SAX2, O’Reilly, 2002

• Burke, Paul, et al., Professional SQL Server 2000 XML, Wrox Press, 2001

• Carlson, David, Modeling XML Applications with UML, Addison-Wesley, 2001

• Castro, Elizabeth, XML for the World Wide Web, Peachpit Press, 2000

• Chappell, David, Understanding .NET, Addison-Wesley, 2002

• Chappell, David, and Tyler Jewell, Java Web Services, O’Reilly, 2002

• Duthie, G. Andrew, Microsoft ASP.NET Step by Step, Microsoft Press, 2002

• Gamma, Erich, et al., Design Patterns, Addison-Wesley, 1996

• Keogh, Jim, J2EE: The Complete Reference, McGraw Hill/Osborne, 2002

• Kotok, Alan, and David Webber, ebXML, The New Global Standard for Doing Business over the Internet, Sams, 2001

• Liberty, Jesse, and Dan Hurwitz, Programming ASP.NET, O’Reilly, 2003

• Meyers, Scott, More Effective C++, Addison-Wesley, 1996

• Mitchell, Scott, et al., ASP.NET: Tips, Tutorials, and Code, Sams, 2001

• Monson-Haefel, Richard, Enterprise Java Beans, O’Reilly, 2001

• Onion, Fritz, Essential ASP.NET with Examples in C#, Addison-Wesley, 2003

• Peltzer, Dwight, XML: Language Mechanics and Applications, Pearson Addison Wesley, 2003

• Roman, Ed, et al., Mastering Enterprise Java Beans, John Wiley & Sons, 2002

• Sceppa, David, Programming ADO, Microsoft Press, 2000

• Schmidt, Eric, Using Schema and Serialization to Leverage Business Logic, MSDN Library (Microsoft Corporation), 2002

• Scribner, Kenn, and Mark Stiver, Understanding SOAP, Sams, 2000

• Sharma, Rahul, et al., J2EE Connector Architecture and Enterprise Application Integration, Addison-Wesley, 2001

• Short, Scott, Building Web Services for the Microsoft. NET Platform, Microsoft Press, 2002

• Troelsen, Andrew, Visual Basic .NET and the .NET Platform, Springer-Verlag, 2001

• Tulachan, Pravin, Developing EJB 2.0 Components, Pearson PTR, 2002

• Utley, Craig, The Programmer’s Introduction to Visual Basic .NET, Sams, 2002

• Williams, Kevin, et al., Professional XML Databases, Wrox Press, 2000

• Yawn, Michael, J2EE and JAX, Prentice Hall, 2002