Useful Books and Software

If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regular expressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.

As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.

Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.

Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include:

• A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and tools
• How the regular expression engine works
• Optimization (major savings available here!)
• Matching just what you want, but not what you don't want
• Sections and chapters on individual languages

Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.

Reviews of this new edition and the second edition:

"There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."
--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems

"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."
--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format

"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regex novice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full of useful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable tools that every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering Regular Expressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstanding resource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of Ten Horseshoes."
--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

New Price: $25.52 / Used Price: $27.00

With all that's changed in the meantime, an overhaul is welcome. This is the rare book for designers that is almost completely nonvisual. It doesn't show what's hip in navigational bars or what the coolest colors are. Rather, it gives readers the kind of know-how that can make a difference between someone who just whips up pretty pages with WYSIWYG applications like Dreamweaver and someone who can make those pages cross-platform, cross-browser, fast loading, and accessible to all.

The clear organization makes it easy to locate any specific topic. There are six sections. "The Web Environment" discusses the realities of browser compatibility, display-resolution problems, a useful bit of Unix, and tips for print designers looking to move into Web design. "Authoring" shows how to write accurate and up-to-date HTML, cascading style sheets, and Server Side Includes (like putting the current date and time on your homepage).

"Graphics" brings together all you need to know to make effective use of images (GIFs, JPEGS, PNGs, and animated GIFs). "Multimedia and Interactivity" helps with adding audio, video, or Flash to your site (including some succinct tips on optimization and publish settings). And "Advanced Technologies" covers JavaScript, DHTML, XML, XHTML, and WAP and WML. And there are six useful look-up tables in the appendix, which include HTML 4.0 tags, deprecated tags, attributes, and CSS support across browsers. Web Design in a Nutshell could easily have been titled The Web Designer's Companion--it's mighty handy to have around. --Angelynn Grant

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author: Jennifer Niederst
Release Date: 2001-10-15
ISBN/EAN: 0596001967 / 9780596001964

New Price: $4.56 / Used Price: $0.46

This certification exam measures the ability to develop and implement XML Web Services and server components using Visual C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework. This exam, released in September 2002, counts as a core credit toward the new MCAD (Microsoft Certified Application Developer) certification as well as a core credit toward the new MCSD .NET track. Readers preparing for this exam find our Training Guide series to be the most successful self-study tool in the market. This book is their one-stop shop because of its teaching methodology, the accompanying PrepLogic testing software, and superior Web site support at quepublishing.com.

Publisher: Que
Author: Amit Kalani
Release Date: 2003-04-27
ISBN/EAN: 0789728249 / 9780789728241

New Price: $24.68 / Used Price: $5.62

New Price: $28.82 / Used Price: $8.90

XSL (eXtensible Stylesheet Language) is the styling language to match XML. At the most basic level it allows the programmer to manipulate XML on a template model - XSL provides the template to fit XML data into for displaying on a web page. However, it is capable of much more than that, and allows programmers to selectively query, display and manipulate data, perform scripting-like operations on the XML document and transform it into pure HTML for use on browsers which don't support XML.

As XML begins to take hold, the eXtensible Stylesheet Language: Transformation (XSLT) standard will be playing a major role in making all those XML predictions a reality. Author Michael Kay exudes enthusiasm in this guide, XSLT Programmer's Reference, by taking every opportunity to illustrate the power and flexibility of XSLT.

Kay calls XSLT the "SQL of the Web"--a phrase that is sure to perk up the ears of many readers expecting a simple documentation of just another Web-language standard. Like other Wrox Programmer's Reference series titles, this book starts off with chapters that rapidly introduce the concepts and set the context for the core of the book, which is a complete documentation of the XSLT standard. The book uses this space well to explore the transformation process and the tree structure that is used for both input and output of style sheet documents. By the time the reader gets to the reference section of the book, he or she will be convinced of the power of XSLT.

Each element of XSLT is covered with concise examples that include both the source XML code and style sheet code. XSLT style sheets can be used in a variety of ways and across a wide spectrum of complexity. The book helps the reader grasp this concept by presenting four style-sheet design patterns that comprise the vast majority of implementations. The text looks at each, demonstrating how to identify the design pattern by its content and apply it to appropriate circumstances.

XSLT is the true muscle behind XML and is integral to putting XML to work in the real world. This title is simply a must-have for any developer utilizing XML. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• XSLT transformation processing model
• Style sheet structure
• XSLT element reference
• Expressions patterns
• Functions
• Style-sheet design patterns
• Case studies
• Saxon
• Xalan
• xt
• Microsoft MSXML3

New Price: $12.28 / Used Price: $0.75

The first four hours of study serve to bring you up to speed with a basic understanding of the Web's architecture--even if you are entirely new to Web-page design. The author introduces you to Web pages, shows you how to look at the source of any page on the Web, and explains how to publish to a Web server.

The book moves on with four chapters on presenting Web-page text and four more on implementing graphics. After laying an HTML foundation, the author discusses general Web-page design issues and introduces you to multimedia components and even Dynamic HTML--a rather advanced topic. The tutorial wraps up with chapters on presenting, managing, and promoting your Web site and offers you a peek into the future of HTML.

Throughout this book, generous language-reference tables and screen shots, as well as exercises, chapter summaries, and review questions help you gauge your knowledge. This well-organized introduction impressively demystifies Web design. --Stephen W. Plain

Publisher: Sams
Authors: Dick Oliver, Molly E. Hikzschlag
Release Date: 1998-09-01
ISBN/EAN: 1199000671 / 9781199000675

New Price: $19.99 / Used Price: n.a.

New Price: $14.75 / Used Price: $4.91

The XML explosion hardly needs any introduction-it's everywhere and there just seems to be no end to what can be done with XML. While writing to the W3C standards, and keeping up with the pace for corporate implementation, you, the programmer or web developer, will need a comprehensive guide to get you started and show you what XML and its related technologies can do. A thorough guide is imperative to success because you will need to know and understand the full scope of XML from day one in order to work with it successfully. With your time constraints and impossible project schedules, you need a comprehensive guide that fulfills your needs in one complete book. Inside XML is an anchor book that covers both the Microsoft and non-Microsoft approach to XML programming. It covers in detail the hot aspects of XML; such as, DTD's vs. XML Schemas, CSS, XSL, XSLT, Xlinks, Xpointers, XHTML, RDF, CDF, parsing XML in Perl and Java, and much more.

The tour begins with an introduction to the XML used in real-world applications (like the Chemical Markup Language, CML, and the Vector Markup Language, VML [for graphics]). While many books give you the basics, this one excels at explaining the conventions of designing robust XML document types in detail. With dozens of short examples, you'll learn XML conventions thoroughly, including some of the best practices for creating readable, maintainable content. The author highlights certain lines of XML code, so it's easier to see what's important.

After 200 pages of in-depth material on how to design XML documents, the book turns to using XML in actual browsers (both in Netscape and Internet Explorer). This practical focus means that you get to explore available Microsoft tools and how they sometimes differ from official W3C standards.

Subsequent sections turn to related XML standards, like XLinks and XPointers. Each section lists Web links to the latest online documents, but the emphasis isn't on theory so much as on what you can do right now. You'll learn how to use Java with XML, including navigating the XML Document Object Model (DOM) using IBM's XML for Java (XML4J) package. The tutorial explaining the Simple API for XML (SAX) does a great job of explaining the advantages of this popular tool.

Final chapters delve into displaying XML with several existing standards, including XHTML (for Web browser content), VML (for drawing shapes), and the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for allowing XML-based content searching. Final sections look at combining XML with Perl and Java (through servlets and JSPs) and give a glimpse at wireless content created with the Wireless Markup Language (WML).

Suitable for any developer or IT manager who needs to understand and use XML, Inside XML provides an authoritative yet approachable source of information on a fast-changing set of standards that are almost sure to revolutionize computing over the next few years. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Comprehensive introduction to XML basics and tools
• Designing XML documents (including "well-formed" XML, tags and elements, and attributes and namespaces)
• Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
• Entities and attributes (including design documents)
• XML Schemas (using Internet Explorer)
• Introduction to JavaScript
• Using JavaScript with the XML Document Object Model (DOM)
• Cascading style sheets (CSS)
• Overview of basic Java programming
• Parsing XML with IBM's XML for Java (XML4J)
• Java and the Simple API for XML (SAX)
• XSL transformations (XSL style sheets and XSL formatting objects)
• XLinks and XPointers
• Introduction to XHTML
• The Resource Description Framework (RDF)
• The Microsoft Channel Definition Format (CDF)
• The Vector Markup Language (VML)
• Using XML with Java
• Perl and ASP on the server
• Quick introduciton to the Wireless Markup Language (WML)
• Reference to the XML 1.0 Specification

New Price: $15.00 / Used Price: $0.99

That collection of books is a valuable resource for delving into the topics at depth (and at leisure). But when you need an answer fast, the dog-eared book you'll turn to again and again is the new third edition of "Webmaster in a Nutshell,"

This concise and portable quick reference distills an immense amount of information on several languages and technologies into one compact reference book. This is one book that will pay for itself a thousand times over in time saved and increased productivity.

"Webmaster in a Nutshell" puts a fast-paced introduction, detailed reference section, and quick reference guide to each technology all within easy reach. It's packed full of the genuinely useful information a webmaster needs daily, whatever the technology, including:

HTML

CSS

XML

CGI

JavaScript

HTTP

PHP

Apache

This thorough, clear, and accessible reference makes it easy to find the information you want about the technologies you use. You'll keep your other books on the shelf; you'll keep "Webmaster in a Nutshell" next to your keyboard.

This terrific reference book condenses the material of at least five huge volumes on Web site construction into a single small one. It doesn't teach how to develop and maintain a Web site, but it puts all the commands, syntax information, and related knowledge where you can find them quickly. Sections cover HTML, CGI, HTTI, JavaScript, and server configurations. Each section begins with a brief overview of the topic then follows with a series of well-organized lists, charts, and other reminders to help you rapidly find a little-used command or forgotten bit of information.

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author: Stephen Spainhour
Release Date: 2002-12-01
ISBN/EAN: 0596003579 / 9780596003579

New Price: $5.85 / Used Price: $5.85

• Working with basic data types, including strings, numbers, dates and times, and arrays
• PHP building blocks, such as variables, functions, classes, and objects
• Web programming, including forms, database access, and XML
• Useful features like regular expressions, encryption and security, graphics, internationalization and localization, and Internet services
• Working with files and directories
• Command-line PHP and PHP-GTK
• PEAR, the PHP Extension and Application Repository

New Price: $9.94 / Used Price: $4.94