XPath and XPointer

By John E. Simpson

Book Overview

Referring to specific information inside an XML document is a little like finding a needle in a haystack: how do you differentiate the information you need from everything else? XPath and XPointer are two closely related languages that play a key role in XML processing by allowing developers to find these needles and manipulate embedded information. XPath describes a route for finding specific items by defining a path through the hierarchy of an XML document, abstracting only the information that's relevant for identifying the data. XPointer extends XPath to identify more complex parts of documents. The two technologies are critical for developers seeking needles in haystacks in various types of processing. XPath and XPointer fills an essential need for XML developers by focusing directly on a critical topic that has been covered only briefly. Written by John Simpson, an author with considerable XML experience, the book offers practical knowledge of the two languages that underpin XML, XSLT and XLink. XPath and XPointer cuts through basic theory and provides real-world examples that you can use right away. Written for XML and XSLT developers and anyone else who needs to address information in XML documents, the book assumes a working knowledge of XML and XSLT. It begins with an introduction to XPath basics. You'll learn about location steps and paths, XPath functions and numeric operators. Once you've covered XPath in depth, you'll move on to XPointer--its background, syntax, and forms of addressing. By the time you've finished the book, you'll know how to construct a full XPointer (one that uses an XPath location path to address document content) and completely understand both the XPath and XPointer features it uses. XPath and XPointer contains material on the forthcoming XPath 2.0 spec and EXSLT extensions, as well as versions 1.0 of both XPath and XPointer. A succinct but thorough hands-on guide, no other book on the market provides comprehensive information on these two key XML technologies in one place.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0596002912
• ISBN13: 9780596002916
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

easy to understand, written with humour reference manual

John E. Simpson has done a remarkable job in elucidating yet another XML-related techology in fun and easy small book. Care is taken to provide comprehensive examples (sometimes with hacker-type tougue-in-cheek approach) which illustrates the points of syntax. One does not need to read the book in comprehensive fashion, after a few chapters, you one can just start coding and refer to the rest as a reference manual. One thing, however is missing, the book does you why you should use XPath or XPointer. What are the real world examples and applications? And what about XQuery? How is XPath related to XSLT? Those points are left for the reader to ponder about, and this is the only reason I am not giving the book 5 starts.

Focused and to the point

XPath is a crucial but often neglected technology for any developer that need to deal with XSLT in a serious way and it's also fully integrated in many XML parsers, like the ones from Microsoft or ColdFusion. This is a small and very focused book that manages to offer a detailed coverage of XPath mixed with some excellent practical advices. Personally I am not interested in XPointer right now, so I totally skipped the second part of the book, but I think the 120 pages dedicated to XPath are well worth the money

Simple and Handy

I have read the XPath part of this book.The author covers the subject with simple and easily understandable examples. Fundamentals are covered to the point and easily understood. The book also covers XPath 2.0 Features.Overall its a good reading..

Short, sweet and to the point.

I love O'Reilly books. This book is a great reference book. It also does a very good job of explaining XPath and Xpointer in a more general sense. When I first started working heavily with XML I had no idea what the XPath syntax meant. Now just a month later I can pretty much read anything that's put in front of me. Combine this book with the XSLT book and you really have an awesome combination of material to use.