While many computer titles compete for maximum page count, this book makes it a point to remain economical in its presentation style. The history of markup languages from SGML to HTML and on to XML is explained from the very beginning. That's not to say that the tour of basic XML is simplistic; it's not. A number of standards (like XLinks, XPointers, and XML namespaces) that are still under construction also are described.

The book moves from theory to practice--first, by way of a survey of a number of today's XML tools. Then, XML as used in actual standards is discussed, such as the Chemical Markup Language for describing chemical formulas, and Microsoft's Channel Definition Format (CDF) for describing channels of "push" content. You also learn about how XML schemas and structured data (DVD database records are used in examples) are designed.

This book closes with a case study of an ASP-powered Web site (reviews of DVDs), using XML on the middle tier, formatted with XSL into HTML for browsers. This simple yet state-of-the-art sample helps cement the reader's understanding of XML. There's also good material that will help you grasp how XML is used in today's databases, such as Oracle and SQL Server. (Most readers will want to ignore 100+ pages of appendices, however, which are reprints of the XML 1.0 specification in full. This material likely will be nothing but intimidating to the XML novice.)

On the whole, Enterprise XML Clearly Explained accomplishes its stated mission. It's a digestible, intelligent guide to a cluster of standards that surround XML, which is a perfect choice for any IT manager or developer who's unsure about what XML is and what it can do for future Web-development efforts. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• History of XML, including SGML, HTML, and XML
• Goals of XML
• Structured data
• Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
• Valid and well-formed XML documents
• Emerging XML standards (XLinks, XPointers, and namespaces)
• Survey of XML tools (including xmlproc, Xparse, and DOMParser)
• XML authoring tools and content management tools
• Current XML standards
• Extensible Forms Description Language (XFDL)
• Vector Markup Language (VML)
• Mathematical Markup Language
• Microsoft's Channel Definition Format (CDF)
• XML support in today's browsers
• Server-side XML
• XML Document Object Model (DOM)
• Building XML with Visual Basic
• Perl, Active Server Pages (ASPs), and PHP
• XML and databases (Oracle and SQL Server)
• Case study for DVD content Web site
• Reference for XML 1.0 specification and Resource Description Framework (RDF)