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Even though this is out of print now, buy it if you can find it. I took a class on web design a couple of years ago, but had little direction. I picked up this book and taught myself how to create whole websites very rapidly and aced the class. It goes over the very basics for someone just starting, as well as covering many tips for advanced users. You can learn how to make web forms for visitors to fill out, how to have music play on your site, and how to make buttons light up when the cursor is on it. Very awesome book. I am now being hired to design websites for other people. ...

I searched high and low, paid gazillions of dollars on books and courses, they are all tough, expensive and difficult. Sams Teach Yourself Html 4 in 24 Hours is the best book I found.
It's easy to understand, gets you everywhere you want in HTML, gives you a free loaded practice web site, and it's inexpensive. The author has done a superb job.
If you are already acquainted with HTML and want to delve into it deeper, I would not recommend this book. If you're just about to learn html, get this book! You don't need anything else, trust me, it's the best!

An easy computer text wrtitten for people who have no previous knoweldge about HTML. The book covers everything related to HTML 4 with an invaluable glossery. You can count on it to build your first home page after 24 hours of reading this book or perhaps less . Besides, it provides you with the secretes that you should know to evaluate web pages and good advice to build yours.

I read this book a few years ago when I knew nothing of HTML and it was an amazing experience. I read this book in the car on a 14 hour trip and on that 14th hour, I was already an intermediate HTML programmer. The book is broken down into 24 chapters that are each very detailed and smooth. Reading this book was almost like watching a good movie. After every chapter, I found myself wanting more. It was very hard to put this book down because it was exactly what I needed. My goal was to understand the concepts of HTML and to make very good and detailed websites. This book does it all. After I read this book, I immediately pulled up a plain text file and started typing in some code. Within a few minutes, I already had a full-blown webpage with images, tables,a centered header, and even an e-mail form (that did not include any CGI). After every chapter there are questions and answers about everything that was discussed. That helped me understand everything more and kept me from getting lost. In conclusion, if you want to be on your way with making awesome websites, this book is worth the price and worth 24 hours of your time.

Before I bought this book: I knew about html basic elements such as head, body, p, and a few more. I had to use tools to create web pages and I never knew how it really works, and I didn't use any advanced elements. Now I can do web pages much better, use CSS and many other cool things.

This book is so well organized it has good approach, from easy elements to harder elements. It covers very interesting topics starting with text elements (for beginning), frames, css, java introduction, java programming, basic 2d & 3d graphics, mouse and keyb. events, layout managers, awt components, swing, threads, network programming (excellent one), and finally server side stuff (java server pages, servlets,jdbc...).

My wish would be to remove java programming sections, since java programming is too big and to complex to show it in 2 or 3 sections, also there are plenty java programming books around. However this is just my opinion.

*All* of the examples are SHORT and INDEPENDENT: you don't have to read all chapters in a row to be able to understand the example. Each topic has it's own nice and small example which exactly points out the essential things. I really hate reading a book from beginning to the end, therefore I hate when whole book is based on one example which grows as you go further - THIS BOOK IS NOT LIKE THAT, althow more examples would be even better.

Finally, this is one of the best books I own, the only negative mark is that java programming should be removed, as well as awt, and instead more java script should be present, however this problem is easy to overcome by buying one of numerous java script books (recomended: JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman).

Sorry for typos, good luck to all, bye !

This was used in an MBA-level course on "Development of Web-Based Applications." The course centered on the management of application development, and the actual web-development component of the course was pretty light. However, I've used this book as a resource before and if you use Java this is a must-have.

I would be the first person to say that Marty Hall is a gifted writer. His books on Servlets and JSP are my favorite computer books, but this book is far from great. The style is cold, the material delivered too fast with too little explanations and all in all, the attempt to cover everything in one fell swoop fails. I was using the book in a class that tried to cover the material the book does, and as a learning resource it is way too shallow for thorough knowledge, more as an 'In a Nutshell' style instead.
If you want a good Javascript book, get 'Practical JavaScript for the Usable Web'; if you want a good Java book, well, look someplace else.
Spare yourself a book you will not enjoy reading (and get Marty Hall's 'Core Servlets' instead!).

This book is great for a beginner. It covers the basic of HTML, Java 2, JSP's, Servelts, and some javascript. Examples are clear and easy to understand.

Agreed that Marty Hall knows how to write and produces great books. Knowing this, I can heartily recommend his more recent "More Servlets and JSPs" as it provides more relevant up to date information. For the Java side of things, this offers the most bang for your buck.

When this book first came out, it was attempting to cover the gamut of web development technology, and tried to go from CGI up through JSPs and the coverage was ultimately spotty. For a more focused approach to servlets and JSPs, read Hall's later books. For a better historical perspective on the evolution of web programming, look at "Web Application Architecture - Principles, Protocols and Practices" by Leon Shklar and Richard Rosen.

This book is a must have for all beginners to the webmastering world! It has pages and pages of valuable information for all aspects of a web designer's everyday work. Paul McFedries adds a touch of humor to this book, to make the hard work seem easier. All in all, I believe this is the best beginners guide out there.

This book is extremely basic, so it's perfect for first-timers who have never written in any program, including HTML. There's much more you can learn about web page design, especially when going into XML, but this is a great start to that.

I knew a little HTML before purchasing this book, but I wanted a better handle on it, and this book gave me that. The book includes information on getting webspace, basic construction, design tips, and extras. It also provides a good overview of cascading style sheets, tutorials on web design programs such as Netscape Composer, a glossary, and a CD-ROM containing HTML examples and other resources. What I value most about the CD-ROM is the included software. There are some excellent programs for both Windows and Macintosh.

Given CSS's rising popularity, I wish that the book had a list of the basic definitions, but McFedries only provides a few CSS examples in the one chapter on style sheets. You'll have to pick out the exact terms from his examples, from the HTML sources of webpages, or from other web resources (there are some excellent ones; do a Google search).

Generally, though, I've kept this book at my desk, for easy access while I'm working on my webpages, and I regularly use the programs included on the CD-ROM.

Other reviewers have noted that the text is out of date, anything several years old in the field of computers is ancient. However, the building blocks that the author lays out here are still in use. The general idea behind HTML and what a browser does when it comes across the HTML code on a web server is still the same. For someone that knows absolutely nothing about designing a web page, this is a very good beginner book. It starts very simply and builds on each concept that came before it. The text is laid out in a very easy to understand manner and allows the reader to develop a firm foundation of the basic concepts of HTML.

If you already know anything at all about HTML this will be too basic for you. If you know nothing at all and want to get a very basic understanding of HTML coding and how to incorporate those concepts into a very basic webpage, this is a good starter text to get the foundations before moving onto something more intricate.

Answer: 2002. That should be a "caution" for buying this book.
Outdated tech. references: no mention of Trelix nor even Windows XP. A mention of Windows 2000 if that means allot to you.
Trelix (a free service/perk of most ADSL ISPs or web hosting services) makes web design easy with no need for this book nor HTML knowledge. I bought it as Trelix did not answer a few minor questions & I thought I was an "Idiot" & needed some "hand-holding" by this Author. I'll give this book away to someone who actually wants to learn HTML. I was able to finally add a "counter" to my Verizon hosted site as this book did give me enough to appreciate the nuances of the free counter site upload advice. Another: "dust collector book on the self".

Before reading this book (this was the required text for a class in HTML), I had some very basic experience with HTML. I found it easy to read and remember the concepts, as they are presented in a straight-forward way, with an emphasis on real-world scenarios. The tips the author provides are valuable... I found myself using them a lot at work and on several projects. Because my previous HTML knowledge was so scattered, reading the book put my thoughts into place and provide a more formal picture of HTML and css. This book also addresses cascading style sheets and is loading with information. At this point I use it as a reference, the css appendix is comprehensive, tho I think the layout could have been done better-- some area are tough to read.

Before reading this book (this was the required text for a class in HTML), I had some very basic experience with HTML. I found it easy to read and remember the concepts, as they are presented in a straight-forward way, with an emphasis on real-world scenarios. The tips the author provides are valuable... I found myself using them a lot at work and on several projects. Because my previous HTML knowledge was so scattered, reading the book put my thoughts into place and provided a more formal and structured picture of HTML and css. This book also addresses cascading style sheets and is loaded with information. After reading the 1000+ pages, I use this book as a reference, the css appendix is comprehensive, tho I think the layout could have been done better-- some areas are tough to read.

This is a book that contains all of the answers to your HTML questions but finding them may be a frustrating task. The index is terrible. I tried to use this book for about 2 months before giving up in frustration. I can simply never find the answer to my question!

If you know a little about HTML, but are looking for a reference for day-to-day use, this is a very poor choice.

I actually bought and read the "The Complete Reference HTML second edition".

I'm sure they are similar with some slight additions explaining some newer browser compatibility issues and possible additions to HTML and the use of style sheets.

The Second Edition was literally a bad book. My copy broke down and all the pages were falling out in clumps of about 50 pages making it tough to use.

But the content of the book is simple. All or most of HTML uses, concepts and tags are explained one by one in a comprehensive manual-type book.

Not a great Tutorial type book. Not really for beginners. This is definitly a great reference though. For those who know how to use HTML but need to "checkup" on some things sometimes this book is for them.

My first "The Complete Reference" book was for Java 1.0. I was so happy with that book that when I went looking for an HTML manual, the first one I looked at was this one. And it's a good thing I did, because it's the only book I ever need to look at for a reference. It really does contain everything I can think I would need to write HTML code at any level of complexity or depth, and I've been writing HTML code since 1994, professionally since around 1997. If you're a beginner, the book spends some time in the beginning teaching you the basics and concepts, everything you should need to get started on your first pages. And if you're a novice or expert, the book will scale to your level of knowledge gracefully, it covers the gamut, even extending into Cascading Style Sheets, Dynamic HTML and a brief introduction to XML (if you need an XML manual you should get one dedicated only to XML, this reference is not complete for that purpose). The title couldn't be more appropriate, as inside the book, there is a complete reference of every single valid HTML tag and attribute you could use, even including explanations for what each attribute means! If you get just one HTML book, get this one.

Keep in mind that this book does not cover any WYSIWYG tools for creating HTML pages (such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver). This is just for writing the HTML yourself with a text editor, or to assist you in using the WYSIWYG tool of your choice, as most of them allow you to manipulate the HTML and attributes manually.

CSS is difficult to master, and most who have have done so over a period of years, through trial and error, and from picking up tips one by one from the community of practitioners. Rachel Andrew's CSS Anthology doesn't offer much for the CSS veterans (I found only 1 tip I didn't know), but it's is absolutely full of all the good stuff that we CSS authors treasure and, of course, USE on a daily basis. The best part? Most instances in this book follow Web standards--you won't find that to be true with many other CSS books.

After reading two great Sitepoint books* cover to cover and returning to them again and again, I thought "The CSS Anthology" would be another good purchase.

Unfortunately, this book makes learning web design as frustrating as the other two books made it easy. I'm on the verge of returning it.

The writing is not as simple, clever or memorable (important in a How-to) as the other books. Instead, the author tends to complicate rather simple concepts and blur the lines between topics.

I'm at about an intermediate level with CSS. The few solutions here that aren't too basic are hopelessly complicated by bad writing. It is easy to waste a day trying to get something from this book to work, simply because the subject was not well presented.

Because "The CSS Anthology" is not designed to be read straight through- I find myself using internet tutorials to find the same information. Not only do the Internet solutions tend to work better, they're easier to find and easier to understand.

I'll probably try to get my money back. Skip this one from the Sitepoint library.

*"Build Your Own Websites the Right Way Using HTML & CSS" and "The Principles of Beautiful Web Design"- Both excellent for beginners

For those of us who are beginners or intermediate programmers of CSS, I would recommend this book. From beginning use to advanced hints and tips, this book has something for everyone. Any book that helps me to learn even one item more than I already knew is a benefit to my library, and you can't beat Amazon.com for price!

This book has some good examples, and the way that the author describes the code is very well done. I question the overall value of this book, though, because this book is designed with neither the beginner, nor the advanced user in mind.

Ms. Andrews begins her book by making an incredibly quick overview of how CSS works and what it's for, but by no means explains it in enough detail for a beginner to really catch on. As she progresses through the question and answer format, she will quickly lose whatever intended audience she thought she had: the first half of the book is painfully simple, the second half is too advanced for the beginners, and probably too basic for advanced users.

It is difficult to use the guide as a direct reference because of it's format...an unfortunate problem that comes of the way she chose to write this book.

While I do feel that this guide increased my knowledge of CSS, I can't say that the few little tricks I learned were necessarily worth the money I spent on the guide, and that serious users should consider another option.

I am a web designer by career. And when our company began moving into CSS, I thought I'd better find some good books. This one was fantastic. It's filled with a lot of examples and tricks that not only taught me about CSS at a level I could quickly grasp, but it also provided examples that I could actually pull and use in my projects.

I own other sitepoint books such as "The Principles of Beautiful Web Design" and "CSS the Ultimate Reference" and they are all fantastic. I'm beginning to think that sitepoint is a great source for knowledge. I recommnend this book highly.

XML can be a rather dry topic. Steve Holzner writes in a style that makes the subject rather interesting. It's the first XML book that I've come across that hasn't sent me to sleep. This book is a great intro into the world of XML. Highly recommended for those looking for a starting point.

I think, learing a technology is best possible, if it is explained in an interesting, clear and organized manner. This book does just that. The details are great, the style is even excellent. This is a must buy for anyone who wants to learn basic, intermediate, and many advanced features of XML.
I rate this, one of the best XML books I have.

Title:Real World XML
Edition: 1st edition?
Author: Dr. Steven Holzner
City: Indianapolis, IN
Publisher: Peachpit press
Published Date: 2003

Reviewer Name: Ravi Mahalingam
E-mail address: mravichandran@hotmail.com
Review Date: 25 July 2004.

Overall value of the book:
4=Very useful and well written. I will refer to this book again.

Instructional value of the book:
5=Excellent! An essential book on this topic.

Please rate the reference value of this book from 1-5 where
4=This book has earned a valued place on my reference shelf.


The author is an exponent in this field and has written a number of articles adn XML. Due to the mastery over XML, the author has taken the time to explain all the concepts, history and ways to create XML document. the author has written the book at various levels. from basic to advanced depending on the need of the reader. this book can be used by the students of XML who want to start from scratch.

the author begins the book (chapter 1) by touching the salient features of the XML, its features, editor, and different implementations of XML in fields such as chemical markup language to name a few. the author has also explained about creating well formed documents, validating them against DTDs and XML schemas.

the author had provided history about XML schemas asn provided ways to create scheams. Javascript has been used for manipulating XML documents and examples to explain the difficult concepts. the book also describes how to use XML with data from a traditional RDBMS with simple examples.

this book is an excellent book and I will be buying my cousin this book - he was looking for a good book on XML. I think it is a great honor to evaluate a book by this author.

This book is VERY comprehensive. Holzner literally holds your hand through every single step, which is great if you are totally new XML or even programming in general.

However, if you have more than 1 or two years real world experience programing, this book will more than likely just frustrate you on certain levels. The information is still top notch, it's just that the path getting there is very deliberate.

See some of the other negative reviews for examples.

Still, I think it's a great book.

This is the second edition of Holzner's book, which was originally titled Inside XML. I purchased Inside XML back in 2001 when I first started exploring XML, and it was a good choice back then. Looking at the new version of the book, my opinion hasn't changed. It's still a good choice.

Holzner assumes little programming knowledge in his writing. The JavaScript and Java chapters dealing with XML each start with a very high-level tutorial on the language. It's enough to allow you to understand how XML processing can fit in that environment. Throughout the entire book, there is an abundance of examples that you can study and use to get you up and running quickly. To me, the value of this book is how it gives you a great overview of all the pieces of XML as well as example code to make it all come together.

Perhaps the only "drawback" to this book is how much it tries to cover. Looking at the table of contents, you see that XML is actually a number of technologies that are used in conjunction with each other. You could easily buy individual books that are more comprehensive in coverage for any one of these related technologies, like SOAP, XSL, or Cascading Style Sheets. Conversely, you would get so bogged down in the minute details that you'd miss the bigger picture of how they all fit together. This book gives you more than enough information to get started, as well as helping you to understand what it is you still don't know.

For Notes/Domino developers, this is a perfect title to use to get started on XML technology. You will likely find yourself at some point having to either read or produce an XML file for exchange with another business entity. This book will help you to understand what you need to know to get it done. You could use the Java examples in order to code Domino agents to process XML, and those same examples could also help you to understand some of the LotusScript XML classes that are now provided in Notes/Domino. The SOAP chapters will also be valuable should you have to learn to use and/or create web services for your application.

Conclusion
If you are a beginning or intermediate developer who needs to learn the basics of XML in a hurry, this is a very good choice. If you need in-depth knowledge of any particular part of XML, you could supplement this choice with a specific book on that subject. Recommended.

This multicolored presentation of source examples, really is the best book I know to teach the fundamentals of basic HTML webpage programming. Since it was written before the newer techniques were developed if gives the reader all the tools they need to develop great looking webpages that are compatablile with any browser technology.

I used this book to apply many excellent tricks to my web page. I looked at a few other books and their authors were nerds who did not know how to communicate very well. And they didn't even show how their examples worked. This book on the other hand showed me how the examples and lines of codes worked! This is a great book for any HTML authors like myself.

I bought this book 2 years ago and still drag it around with me. The cover is falling off it gets used much. Everyone in the office always wants to borrow it because it's a great quick reference for advanced WebMasters and the perfect training wheels for beginners. A must have!! This book and the JavaScript QuickStart are the foundation to my WebDesigns.

Thank Ms. Castro. I bought your book about 2 years ago and I began a small web business and today I have dozens of web sites on the net. I did this part-time with little other investments. I estimate I have made 30K or more. The best part is I am still using the book for quick reference. I gave the book to my brother and he became a web master of a internet company. I Asked for the book back and then passed it to a cousin who now has your new book. Your book changed our lives. Now that is the best review I can give. Thank you for a clear, concise, visual book that helps the novice become the master.

I purchased this book after thumbing though it and it did indeed seem a whole lot better than those aimed at "dummies". A whole lot better in fact, and at $18.00 a far better bargain. HOWEVER, two days after buying this book I found Joe Burn's "HTML Goodies" book which is far better in every respect. More thought provoking, more complete and a whole lot more fun to read, with many "tricks of the trade" included. I just ordered Joe's book from Amazon.com and at less than $18.00, it's the buy of a lifetime for HTML newbies like myself.!

I'm on my third version of this book. It is comprehensive technical reference of core web technologies.

Specifically, HTML, Javascript, HTTP, CSS, and the like. As a reference, it is very thorough in each topic, covering every single element, every single object, every single response header, and every single style (at the time it was written, anyway). However, it is also very succinct. This book is NOT FOR LEARNING. It's a REFERENCE for professionals.

Of all the technical books I've ever owned, this book is without any doubt the one I use the most. This book (and even the third version) is a little out-of-date. Nonetheless, it is invaluable to a web developer, and is still better than any other reference that I'm aware of.

But I haven't found this book to be nearly as useful as I had hoped to after reading all these glowing reviews. My biggest problem with it is the lack of a simple Apache section governing all the real-world mods you might have to do on a regular basis. NOTHING in the book on, for instance, implementing SSL via .htaccess. In fact, it's because of the lack of treatment on SSL that I have to give this thing three stars. The CGI section is useful, the XML stuff is nice, the JavaScript reference is very valuable. But I have to say that without a comprehensive section on implementing SSL, this isn't a "real-world-ready" reference.

Perl in a Nutshell is quite complete. The 2nd addition covers CGI and Perl. This covers things that are specific to using perl on CGI. It is not a perl reference, it is a CGI reference.

This is not a tutorial for newbies but it is a fine book to get when you are a newbie. Obviously, since it is titled as a reference you will also want a book that is titled as a tutorial. (duh?)

I invested in a copy of the THIRD edition and am DELIGHTED. This reference does a good job of putting all the day-to-day needed information in one place. It saves me froming having to keep separate references on HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, CGI/Perl, HTTP, PHP, Apache functions, etc. right in my face.

I really applaud the compact and accessible way each chapter organizes and presents the details of syntax: they are clear yet take up much less space (1/5 the pages of books that are billed as references to each of the subjects included here) while giving you 95% of what a "comprehensive reference" might. I had been concerned that the information might be too compressed to be accessible, but in fact this volume is so much easier to scan through for an answer than many other reference styles. (Kudos to the book designers at O'Reilly!)

Although a reference work, it is not only a listing of syntax (as helpful as those lists are). The authors have compiled pretty readable and thorough mini-backgrounds and basic principles for each of the enormous realms that they document here. These are providing some reminders for me as I am ramp up my knowledgebase and skills; plus there are hints that I have not yet seen elsewhere in weightier tomes (e.g., on performance).

Readers may save themselves some money and desktop/bookshelf space + save some trees: this Nutshell is a vast storehouse that may enable you to forestall buying reference volumes for each of the topics covered here. Thanks to Spainhour & Eckstein for some careful work!

Note to aspiring (novice) webmasters: this IS a REFERENCE book. That is not a bad thing. You'll still appreciate having it by your side because you're regularly going to have basic questions about formating ("how do I say this in CSS instead of HTML?"). However, as one young reviewer below discovered, to BECOME a webmaster (or master) is going to require some "Quickstart" books, some instruction in DESIGN, and STRATEGY, etc. Bon voyage!

[ Further note from my earlier review: be sure you are NOT getting EARLIER edition. Complaints mentioned (below) in reviews of this book are rectified in the THIRD edition (ISBN 0596003579 ). It's probably a good idea to be watching as the reviews of that December 20002 volume to see how the work has changed.
In any event, with browsers and markup languages changing so fast almost everyone can be advised to jump to considering the most current edition -- even though (as of this writing) new copies of this 1999 second edition are still available. ]

The book includes reference on HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, PHP, HTTP, Apache modules and configuration, and web server performance. While all of the material is covered in O'Reilly's other books, I was impressed with the layout and presentation of this book. I also found that the reference material that is buried deep in O'Reilly's other books, was very easy to find in this one. I was especially impressed with the JavaScript and HTTP reference, and feel that these two sections will be used by the majority of this book's readers.

Okay, I haven't read many. But I am about as web literate as it takes to fool around with some link and image codes on my blogs. When I first picked it up, it seemed like she got into much more detail than I would be able to digest or would even want to! But once I started reading it, the explanations are so clear that I haven't been intimidated by a single exercise yet! I've done every exercise so far with so much ease I'd mistake myself for a genius if I didn't know any better. I've only had the book for three days and I'm already on the tables section! Now, I admit, I only picked up the book so that I could learn to build a very, simple website. I know enough now to take that a step or two further. I'm sure that to get the terminology down, I'll have to give the book a second read and re-visit here and again for brushing up on some things. But, I don't consider that a draw back. It's more like a book to grow with. Hands down, the author has done an excellent job in my opinion. I've read some reviews about the code typos and not being able to get the code to work because of typos. All I can say is that the explanations are so clear that the typos become so apparent that you can figure out why the code didn't work and fix it yourself.

For those looking to start web design this is the book to get. It says illustrated but it should say illustrations on every page. Very very illustrated. One of my favorite things about this book is after every chapter(when HTML is disscused)it provides an appendix showing you the html tags you just learned. Useful as a reference. This book does not leave you hanging. It teaches you every thing you need to create and understand basic websites. About half the book introduces you to html tags and the other portion is about web graphics. Jenn's style of writting is not boring but is often humerous and cozy. I have created 4 websites after reading this book. Buy this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi. This is Jennifer Robbins, the author of Learning Web Design. If you are interested in this title, I highly recommend that you get the Third Edition which is now available. A LOT has changed in the way web sites are built since the second edition of the book was published, and I'd hate for anyone to be getting out-of-date information. Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to (X)HTML, StyleSheets, and Web Graphics

I needed to understand how domain names and webhosting worked, plus design, program, test, and implement a website quickly. This book was perfect -- extremely well-organized, with a good Table of Contents and index, excellent examples and helpful (but not overwhelming) reference tables. The book had sufficient detail that I could get graphics loaded and use some CSS to make my text look more professional. I launched a good-looking, no-frills site for a club without any fancy animation, and got it up and running in a less than a month of evenings and weekends. The demo software (BBEdit) was invaluable to getting me started. Good treatment as well of issues with .gif, .jpeg, and .png files, and I feel that I can still learn more from this text should I want to make the site more sophisticated. The discussion of tables was especially clear. I recommend this book for anyone, even if you've never designed your own site or written a lick of html. Those wanting to do online forms to allow users to submit data will need to learn Javascript.

This is this first "How To" book I ever read cover to cover. It works. It is well written, and breaks concepts down without making you feel like a "dummy". It's perfect for a novice like me.

So many things that were a mystery to me were explained. I now can do rollover buttons, animations, add music, etc. But most important is the Web design concepts this book drives home. It teaches how to make a balanced, well structured, and most importantly, user friendly web page. I highly recommend this book.

If you want to learn about using Oracle's XML packages and functions, this is a good book. It fills in for the lack of Oracle documentation.

This book with real working code samples saved the day for me when building an XML Loader. One drawback: It doesn't explain XSL real well which is crucial for transforming your XML document into the canonical format so I really give it 4.5 stars.

This is one of the best Oracle books I've read for the last 2-3 years. It combines the importance of the subject with the depth and clarity of presentation technique. For instance, Ch.5 can serve not only as XML with PL/SQL but also as a great source of the PL/SQL scripts and approaches. The author deserves very high marks for the job he's done. I wish I had more books like this.
Vad Roytman,
Oracle DBA

Unless you're still running 7 or 8i, I can't recommend this book. As another reviewer noted, Oracle has added a lot of XML features in 9i and 10g. The content itself is great -- the authors should consider a second edition that covers the current Oracle XML features.

This book was written in 2000, prior to 9i, which has added a lot of functinality. If you already know XML well and need to augment the rather pathetic Oracle Press books and Oracle On-Line documention, then this is the best book I have read. Many of the examples used in the book do not reflect the real-world examples I have had to deal with, so keep an open mind.

Many XML details are assumed by the author or are skipped-over entirely, so if you do not know XML, pick-up an XML book at the same time.

The book is dominated by Java; relatively little PL/Sql coverage.