The first part of the book introduces XML and covers everything from the history of markup languages to how to use XML in a corporate intranet. Each chapter in the book starts with an "In Depth" section, which frames the information, and ends with a section called "Immediate Solutions," which provides quick examples of how to perform common tasks.
In the second part of the book, the authors pick apart XML, detailing how Document Type Definitions (DTDs), elements, and attributes all work together. This part also covers Xlink, Xpointers, and XML processors. Most tutorials would end at this point, but this hefty book continues with coverage of XML style sheets and XML applications that are out there in the real world such as Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Common Data Format (CDF).
The book also presents tools that help you convert to and process XML and presents a nice look at real Web sites that use XML. A companion CD-ROM contains a number of shareware tools, code, and links to mentioned URLs. This work is a powerful and comprehensive way to learn XML and put your new skills to work. --Stephen W. Plain