Two hot topics come together in this developer's guide from Brett McLaughlin, Java and XML. Both Java and XML are cross-platform technologies; by using Java for code and XML for transporting data, you can build truly portable applications. This title is aimed at intermediate to advanced programmers; while XML topics are explained more or less from scratch, readers will need prior knowledge of Java.
The book begins with an overview of XML and its uses, and goes on to explain how to parse XML by using the Simple API for XML (SAX 2). Next, there is coverage of how XML is validated by using Document Type Definitions (DTDs) and XML Schema, and transformed by using eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL). Brief coverage of Sun's Java API for XML is followed by a detailed look at the Java Document Object Model (JDOM), a new API devised by the author in association with O'Reilly, the publisher.
The last part of the book is more advanced, and covers applications of XML and Java. There are chapters on Web-publishing frameworks, XML Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs), using XML to read and write configuration data, and generating XML with Java. There is also a short business-to-business example. Appendices provide an API reference to the various specifications discussed in the book.
The strengths of Java and XML include the author's deep knowledge of his subject, and a writing style that is both clear and enthusiastic. If you happen to know a lot about Java and not much about XML, this is the ideal title. Readers who already have a good grasp of XML basics might be frustrated by the amount of introductory material. --Tim Anderson
Java and XML, 3rd Edition, shows you how to cut through all the hype about XML and put it to work. It teaches you how to use the APIs, tools, and tricks of XML to build real-world applications. The result is a new approach to managing information that touches everything from configuration files to web sites.
After two chapters on XML basics, including XPath, XSL, DTDs, and XML Schema, the rest of the book focuses on using XML from your Java applications. This third edition of Java and XML covers all major Java XML processing libraries, including full coverage of the SAX, DOM, StAX, JDOM, and dom4j APIs as well as the latest version of the Java API for XML Processing (JAXP) and Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB). The chapters on web technology have been entirely rewritten to focus on the today's most relevant topics: syndicating content with RSS and creating Web 2.0 applications. You'll learn how to create, read, and modify RSS feeds for syndicated content and use XML to power the next generation of websites with Ajax and Adobe Flash.
Topics include:
- The basics of XML, including DTDs, namespaces, XML Schema, XPath, and Transformations
- The SAX API, including all handlers, filters, and writers
- The DOM API, including DOM Level 2, Level 3, and the DOM HTML module
- The JDOM API, including the core and a look at XPath support
- The StAX API, including StAX factories, producing documents and XMLPull
- Data Binding with JAXB, using the new JAXB 2.0 annotations
- Web syndication and podcasting with RSS
- XML on the Presentation Layer, paying attention to Ajax and Flash applications
If you are developing with Java and need to use XML, or think that you will be in the future; if you're involved in the new peer-to-peer movement, messaging, or web services; or if you're developing software for electronic commerce, Java and XML will be an indispensable companion.
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