Programmer Musings

Review of XML in a Nutshell

XML in a Nutshell
Elliotte Rusty Harold and W. Scott Means
O'Reilly, 2001

This is a good overview of XML-based technologies as of 2001. If you are looking for a deep understanding of the uses of XML and related technologies, this is not the right book for you. However, if you are looking for a high-level overview or a book to refresh your memory, this is the book to read. It provides a good overview of the major technologies available, including XSLT, XPath, CSS, SAX, and others.

Unlike many books and articles I've read, this book looks at the two main philosophies of XML in a relatively dispassionate way. One section of the book is devoted to XML as documents, which they call Narrative-Centric Documents. Another section is devoted to XML as Data, which they call Data-Centric Documents.

Unlike many writers, I find many good uses for both approaches. This book treats both approaches equally and covers how some of the related technologies relate to each.