XML Schema
March 8, 2010 by BPELworld.com
Product Description
If you need to create or use formal descriptions of XML vocabularies, the W3C’s XML Schema offers a powerful set of tools for defining acceptable document structures and content. An alternative to DTDs as the way to describe and validate data in an XML environment, XML Schema enables developers to create precise descriptions with a richer set of datatypes that are essential for today?s applications. While schemas are powerful, that power comes with substantial complexity. This concise book explains XML Schema foundations, a variety of different styles for writing schemas, simple and complex types, datatypes and facets, keys, extensibility, documentation, design choices, best practices, and limitations, with examples throughout. In addition, XML Schema provides a complete reference to all parts of both the XML Schema Structures and XML Schema Datatypes specifications, as well as a glossary. Appendices explore the relationships between XML Schema and other tools for describing document structures as well as work in progress at the W3C to more tightly integrate XML Schema with existing specifications.
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XML Schema is used almost everywhere (in connection with XML documents, Web Services, SOAP etc.). So I as other people needed to master XML Schema. There is not a great choice of XML Schema books. Specification is already quite getting old. The book is not easy to read. I read it sequentially chapter after chapter and I mastered a lot of basic rules. The main problem now I see is, XML Schema itself does not give you too much of design freedom. Sometimes you need to define a structure (data type) according value of other elements. So now I know mainly what is not possible to do in XML Schema.
After all I have to recommend the book. You have to read it twice. So I have just bought another XML Schema book from Priscilla and I hope I will get to know XML Schema from other point of view.
Rating: 3 / 5
Mr Van Der Vlist explaines XML schema in a very clear way, and the book is pretty short and easy to read. He does not explain XML, so you should better understand it before buying this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
A real need for further editions on this book. As others have commented, it’s very poorly constructed, poorly indexed and you’ll be hard-pressed to quickly find accurate definitions. As other posters have suggested, O’Reilly should be worried that this one got published in this state.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book tries to cover far too much in too little space, much of which is taken up by examples that are not that great and lack any type of highlighting, arrows, boxes, etc. that would help you quickly find the relevant pieces.
Regardless of whether the author had a page limit or simply favors a terse and academic style, the net result was that I had to seek other sources to understand numerous points, and they universally explained the topic much more logically and in an easy to follow and, more importantly, read fashion.
All in all a very painful read.
Rating: 2 / 5
This book tells you what you need to know. However, it is a bit of a hard slog because it doesn’t tell you why you need to know it. It also throws in obscure acronyms and not only expects you to know what they stand for, but what those protocols/standards/programs imply. Yes, you can learn all you need to know about SQL schema, (and more than you need to know – without telling you why you need to know it, you don’t know what to skip), but it is a little more painful than it has to be.
Rating: 2 / 5