Professional PHP4 XML by Luis Argerich, Chris Lea, Ken Egervari, Matt Anton, Chris Hubbard, James Fuller, Charlie Killian.
Published by Wrox Press.
PHP itself is usually very straightforward and easy to understand, but throw in the world of XML and things can become overwhelming very quickly. DOM, RSS, SAX, XPath, XSLT, XSL, XML-RPC - wow! Professional PHP4 XML will answer the questions "What is XML?" and "How do I use XML within PHP?"
The book starts off with a nice introduction to PHP, including the use of classes and file functions. It isn't meant to teach you everything you need to know about PHP, but to be refresher course for information that will be used throughout the book. It was nice to see the promotion of the new superglobal arrays in this section of the book.
Next, they jump into a chapter devoted to XML Fundamentals. This chapter explains the rules and syntax that a well-formed XML document must adhere to. DTDs and Schemas are discussed as methods to validate XML documents as well as define XML vocabularies. All in all, after reading this chapter you should have a good base to build upon for the rest of the book.
The rest of the book is devoted to giving you detail on the different derivatives of XML and how and when do use them with PHP. Topics covered include:
- SAX via PHP's Expat parser
- DOM
- XPath
- XSL via Sablotron
- Third party class for PHP such as XML File and phpXML
- RSS
- XML and databases
- SVG
- XML-RPC
One of the things I love about this book is that for each of these XML derivatives, they provide a detailed list of advantages and disadvantages. This enables you to determine which of these technologies is best suited for the application you are designing.
This book is an excellent resource for the beginner and advanced programmer alike. It is a mixture of a tutorial and reference book without comprising either. If you are serious about developing applications with PHP and XML, this book should be in your collection.
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
More PHP Book Reviews Articles
More By Matt Wade
 developerWorks - FREE Tools!
|
Hold your calendar on January 30, 2008 for this free webcast on the new i5/OS. Rational's Enterprise Modernization products will be discussed at this webcast as they help to drive the application development environment for this new System i OS. <br />And learn how i5/OS will take you to the next step of efficient, resilient business processing. You will hear about the new i5/OS capabilities as it will be the most significant i5/OS release in years. If you cannot join the webcast on 1/30/08 you can still use this link to listen to the replay.<br />
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to download the latest trial version of IBM Data Studio V1.1 at no cost. IBM Data Studio is a comprehensive data management solution that helps you effectively design, develop, deploy and manage your data, databases, and database applications throughout the data management life cycle utilizing a consistent and integrated user interface. Unlike other client-side data management solutions that focus on only one aspect of the application lifecycle or database administration, Data Studio complements the Rational Software Delivery platform, providing unparalleled flexibility for a heterogeneous data server environment across platforms.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Download a free trial version of IBM Rational Developer for System i V7.1, which provides a complete development environment for traditional i5/OS application development. IBM Rational Developer for System i is a new eclipse-based workstation offering for i5/OS application development that provides a comprehensive Integrated Development Environment for edit/compile/debug of traditional RPG/COBOL/C/C++ i5/OS applications.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Secure your Web applications with IBM Rational AppScan Standard Edition V7.7, previously known as Watchfire AppScan. This Web application security testing tool automates vulnerability assessments and scans and tests for common Web application vulnerabilities. Visit IBM developerWorks to download a free trial of IBM Rational AppScan Standard Edition V7.7.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
This webcast outlines the best practices that must be instituted to gain the maximum benefit from SOA while maintaining high quality of service. Whether you are deploying new applications or managing and monitoring your existing infrastructure, learn how you can ensure high quality of services with SOA based solutions from IBM. All registrants who attend this live Web Seminar will receive complimentary access to a white paper titled “Maintaining QoS in an SOA Environment”.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Portfolio Management is about effectively managing portfolio value by aligning portfolio investments with business goals. This complimentary e-kit provides a collection of materials that can help you understand how IBM Rational enables and automates best practices for improved governance and clear visibility into portfolio and project performance across the entire IT project lifecycle.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Because access to government information continues to be an area of concern for many U.S. citizens with disabilities, the U.S. government enacted Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in 2001 to ensure that government agencies create accessible Web content, enabling all citizens to access the information they need. A fully accessible Web site makes Web content accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities, who may be accessing Web content via a variety of user agents. Common user agents include standard Web browsers, text-only browsers, assistive devices and mobile devices such as cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs).
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this webcast to discover the key requirements for successful change and release management. Learn how to extend your .NET environment to improve productivity and collaboration, and address core problems afflicting team development. In this webcast, we’ll review typical challenges faced by customers and how to resolve them with the IBM Rational Change and Release Management solution, including Rational ClearCase, Rational ClearQuest and Rational Build Forge. Replay is available for 9 months.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Regression testing -- in which code is thoroughly tested to ensure that changes have not produced unexpected results -- is an important part of any development process. But many testing environments neglect the terminal-based applications that still form the backbone of many industries. In this tutorial, you'll learn how the Rational Functional Tester Extension for Terminal-Based Applications works with other Rational Functional Tester to help test terminal-based applications quickly and easily.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
The unprecedented scope of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) initiative brings to the forefront a number of management and governance issues that were sidestepped in the past. The key to a successful SOA implementation is managing and governing activities throughout the entire SOA delivery lifecycle by ensuring that services conform to the needs of all of the business’s stakeholders. Learn how service lifecycle management allows the business to ensure that the process by which services are defined, created, tested, deployed, optimized and retired is manageable, repeatable and auditable.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!
|
