1. Java and XML by Brett McLaughlin
Good For Early Xml W/ Java Info
Java and XML, 3rd Edition, shows you how to cut through all the hype
about XML and put it to work. It teaches you how to use the APIs, tools,
and tricks of XML to build real-world applications. The result is a new
approach to managing information that touches everything from
configuration files to web sites.
After two chapters on XML basics, including XPath, XSL, DTDs, and XML
Schema, the rest of the book focuses on using XML from your Java
applications. This third edition of Java and XML covers all major Java XML
processing libraries, including full coverage of the SAX, DOM, StAX,
JDOM, and dom4j APIs as well as the latest version of the Java API for
XML Processing (JAXP) and Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB).
The chapters on web technology have been entirely rewritten to focus on
the todays most relevant topics: syndicating content with RSS and creating
Web 2.0 applications. Youll learn how to create, read, and modify RSS
feeds for syndicated content and use XML to power the next generation of
websites with Ajax and Adobe Flash.
Topics include:
The basics of XML, including DTDs, namespaces, XML Schema, XPath,
and TransformationsThe SAX API, including all handlers, filters, and
writersThe DOM API, including DOM Level 2, Level 3, and the DOM HTML
moduleThe JDOM API, including the core and a look at XPath supportThe
StAX API, including StAX factories, producing documents and
XMLPullData Binding with JAXB, using the new JAXB 2.0 annotationsWeb
syndication and podcasting with RSSXML on the Presentation Layer,
paying attention to Ajax and Flash applicationsIf you are developing with
Java and need to use XML, or think that you will be in the future; if youre
involved in the new peer-to-peer movement, messaging, or web services;
or if youre developing software for electronic commerce, Java and XML will
be an indispensable companion.

2. Two APIs discussed in the second edition - JDOM and JAXB - saw
important changes between the prerelease versions and their eventual
final releases. These changes are covered in this latest edition. This book
is organized into three sections. The first section, composed of Chapters 1
and 2, is a basic introduction to XML and related standards. However, the
introduction is fast-paced, and if you have not seen XML before it probably
wont be enough. The second part of the book - Chapters 3 through 11 -
explains a wide variety of APIs for creating, manipulating, outputting, and
pretty much doing anything else to XML documents. If you already know
XML and Java, these chapters are exc ellent. If not, again, you are going to
have difficulty as the material is fast paced. The last section - Chapters 12
and 13 - describes two important applications for XML. Chapter 14 stands
alone as a chapter of predictions about the future of XML. The following is
a description of the book in the context of the table of contents:
Chapter 1, Introduction, begins with the basics of XML. If youve never
used XML before, this chapter will give you all the information you need to
understand the rest of the book. It briefly touches on the changes between
XML 1.0 and 1.1 before introducing XSLT and XPath.
Chapter 2, Constraints, covers three ways of defining the structure of XML
documents: DTDs, W3C XML Schemas, and RELAX NG schemas. It
covers how to use these standards to define a structure and how to ensure
that a document matches that definition. It also covers how to convert
between the various constraint document types.
Chapter 3, SAX, the Simple API for XML (SAX) is introduced in this
chapter. The parsing lifecycle is explained, and the events that can be
caught by SAX and used by developers are demonstrated via code
examples.
Chapter 4, Advanced SAX, covers less-used but still powerful items in
SAX. Youll learn how to use SAX features and properties to alter the
behavior of the SAX parser, use XML filters to chain callback behavior, use
XML writers to output XML with SAX, and look at some of the less
commonly used SAX handlers like LexicalHandler and DeclHandler.
Chapter 5, DOM, unlike SAX has its origins in the World Wide Web
Consortium. Whereas SAX is public domain software, DOM is a standard
just like the actual XML specification. The DOM is designed to represent
the content and model of XML documents across all programming
languages and tools. In this chapter you learn DOM basics, find out what is
in the current specification (DOM Level 3), and how to read and write DOM
trees.

3. Chapter 6, DOM Modules, is about the various Level 2 and Level 3 DOM
modules like Traversal, Range, Events, Style, HTML, Load and Save, and
Validation.
Chapter 7, JAXP, examines the Java API for XML Processing (JAXP),
including the XPath and Validation APIs introduced with JAXP 1.3. JAXP
was initially a very small API that handled only parsing. The latest version
of JAXP provides everything in SAX and DOM, plus some extras, and
JAXP makes vendor neutrality much easier than using DOM or SAX
directly.
Chapter 8, Pull Parsing With StAX, concerns The Streaming API for XML
(StAX), which is the newest standard Java XML API. Youll learn how to
use StAX and how it compares to both SAX and DOM. There is also a brief
look at a precursor to StAX named XMLPull, which is still in use.
Chapter 9, JDOM, examines a Java-specific object model API. JDOM
provides a means of accessing an XML document within Java through a
tree structure, and in that respect is somewhat similar to the DOM.
Chapter 10, dom4j, examines another Java-specific object model API,
dom4j. This chapter compares it to both JDOM and DOM. Also examined
are features unique to dom4j, like its object-orientated transformation API.
Chapter 11, Data Binding with JAXB, talks about how with data binding,
your application code does not concern itself with the details of XML
documents, only a Java object model. Sun has developed a standard for
XML data binding: the Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB). In this
chapter, youll learn about JAXB 1.0 and 2.0, as well as the general basics
of data binding and when its use is appropriate.
Chapter 12, Content Syndication with RSS, covers using XML documents
to syndicate content. Specifically, the RSS standards are examined along
with a brief discussion of Atom. The creation and reading of RSS feeds
using other APIs are discussed as well as an RSS-specific API named
ROME. A highlight is the creation of your own podcast feed for submission
to Apples iTunes Podcast directory using this tool.
Chapter 13, XML As Presentation, looks at a variety of techniques for
using XML in visual portion of web applications. The chapter shows how
XML is a key component of the dynamic web application techniques that
are becoming more common.
Chapter 14, Looking Forward, provides some brief overviews of several
XML technologies. Included topics are XML appliances, XQuery, and Fast
Infoset.
Appendix, SAX Features and Properties, details the features and
properties available to SAX 2.0 parser implementations.

4. A good companion to this book is Processing XML with Java(TM): A Guide
to SAX, DOM, JDOM, JAXP, and TrAX by Elliot Rusty Harold. The book i s
a little older, so standards have changed, but it does a good job of
explaining things at a slower pace than this book. This book is better for
the newer standards and applications. If you are working with XML and
Java, you should probably have both books.
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