What is this book about? Beginning XML, 3rd Edition, like the first two editions, begins with a broad overview of the technology and then focuses on specific facets of the various specifications for the reader. This book teaches you all you need to know about XML: what it is, how it works, what technologies surround it, and how it can best be used in a variety of situations, from simple data transfer to using XML in your Web pages. It builds on the strengths of the first and second editions, and provides new material to reflect the changes in the XML landscape — notably RSS and SVG.
David Hunter is a Senior Technical Consultant for CGI, the largest Canadian independent information technology (IT) services firm and the fifth largest in North America. With a career that has spanned design, development, support, training, writing, and other roles, he has had extensive experience building scalable, enterprise-class applications using various Internet technologies.
David Hunter contributed Chapters 1–3 and Appendix B to this book. Andrew Watt is an independent consultant and computer book author with an interest and expertise in various XML technologies. Currently, he is focusing on the use of XML in Microsoft technologies. He is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Microsoft InfoPath 2003.
Andrew Watt contributed Chapters 7–11 and 19, and Appendixes C–D to this book.
Jeff Rafter’s involvement in the computer industry began with his work on Future Lock, a Commodore 64 classic published by Compute’s Gazette. For the past eight years his focus has shifted to web development and markup languages, and he is always eager to explore emerging technologies. Jeff currently resides in Redlands, California, where he enjoys restoring his turn-of-the-century house, playing frisbee with his Border Collie and writing sonnets.
Jeff Rafter contributed Chapters 4–5 and 12, and Appendixes E–G to this book.
Jon Duckett published his first website in 1996 while studying for a BSc (Hons) in Psychology at Brunel University, London. Since then he has helped create a wide variety of websites and has co-authored more than 10 programming-related books on topics from ASP to XML (via many other letters of the alphabet) that have covered diverse aspects of web programming including design, architecture, and coding. After graduating, Jon worked for Wrox Press first in their Birmingham (UK) offices for three years and then in Sydney (Australia) for another year. He is now a freelance developer and consultant based in a leafy suburb of London, working for a range of clients spread across three continents. When not stuck in front of a computer screen, Jon enjoys writing and listening to music.
Jon Duckett contributed Chapters 16–17 to this book.
Danny Ayers is a freelance developer and writer specializing in cutting-edge web technologies. His personal focus is on using Semantic Web technologies to make the Internet a whole lot more useful. He lives in rural Tuscany with his wife, Caroline, a dog, Basil, and numerous cats. The animals regularly appear alongside XML-oriented material on his weblog at http://dannyayers.com.
Danny Ayers contributed Chapters 13 and 18 to this book.
Nicholas Chase has been involved in website development for companies such as Lucent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nick has been a high school physics teacher, a low-level radioactive waste facility manager, an online science fiction magazine editor, a multimedia engineer, and an Oracle instructor. More recently, he was the Chief Technology Officer of an interactive communications firm. He is the host of the XML Reference Guide on InformIT.com, a frequent contributor to IBM’s developerWorks, and the author of several books on XML and web development. He’s currently trying to buy a farm so he and his wife can raise alpacas and mutant chickens. He loves to hear from readers and can be reached through his website, http://www.nicholaschase.com.
Nick Chase contributed Chapters 14–15 to this book.
Joe Fawcett began programming 30 years ago and started working in development after leaving college. A career change saw him become a professional bridge player until 10 years ago when he returned to programming, becoming especially interested in XML as it was emerging in 1997. He was awarded the status of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in XML in 2003. Joe works as head of software development for Chesterton Ltd., a large property company based in the U.K. He lives with Gillian and their two young children, Persephone and Xavier.
Joe Fawcett contributed Chapter 20 to this book.
Tom Gaven has been in the IT industry for over 25 years and has developed and delivered technical training on programming languages, operating systems, user interfaces, and architecture. Recently, Tom has focused on XML and all related technologies. Currently, Tom works for Exostar, the B2B exchange for the aerospace and defense industry, maintaining the XML interfaces and schemas for the exchange. He also co-authored a freely available XML editor, XMLDE. The editor supports RELAX NG and is available at http://www.xmldistilled.com.
Tom Gaven contributed Chapter 6 to this book.
Bill Patterson has worked in the computer field for longer than he would care to admit. He holds a masters’ degree in both business and computer science. He first began working with PHP and XML in 2000, and works as an independent consultant in New Jersey.
Bill Patterson contributed Chapter 21 to this book.
