XSL Books

Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Game Development

Glen Rhodes

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Game Programming

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you want to take your Flash Professional 8 skills to a new level while learning how to produce games that rival anything available on the web, this is the book for you. Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Game Development is written by a professional game developer. Using the power of Flash and the most recent advancements in ActionScript, the book progresses through the entire development process to teach programmers and Web developers how to create professional quality games quickly. It teaches techniques for producing fast 3D effects that can be used with "cheat" techniques to produce powerful, high-performance results. It details the actual science of game development, including design, character development, the physics and motion of a game, and audio issues. And in this new edition, all of the latest features of Flash Professional 8 are covered, including the new sound channels, bitmap caching, texture pages, and more. The book covers many advanced topics in a simple, easy to understand way. It emphasizes the incredible power of the new BitmapData class and teaches how it can be used to take the performance of Flash games to a whole new level. It has never been easier to get right down to the pixel level and manipulate things at blazing speeds, making previously impossible games a breeze to make. So get to your computer, insert the CD-ROM, and prepare to begin your journey into the world of Flash Professional 8 game development.

XSLT 2.0 Programmer's Reference (Programmer to Programmer)

Michael Kay

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

What is this book about?

XSLT 2.0 Programmer's Reference, 3rd Edition, is the authoritative reference guide to the language. Without using the formal and inaccessible language of the W3C specifications, it tells you exactly what every construct in the language does, and how it is intended to be used. This book is a reference rather than a tutorial; it is designed for the professional programmer who is using the language every day. It is the book that people quote when they claim that a particular product is giving the wrong answer, and the book that implementers of the language turn to when they want clarification of the specifications.

At the same time, the book is readable. Reviews of the previous editions of the XSLT Programmer’s Reference, which this book grew from, show that readers appreciate the background material on the design thinking behind the language, the essay on functional programming, the occasional dry wit, the gentle criticism of the language specification when appropriate, and the fact that the examples stray into a diverse range of interesting application areas.

XSL Formatting Objects Developer's Handbook (Developer's Library)

Doug Lovell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good code but good formatters are hard to find 4 out of 5 stars.
24 of 24 people found this review helpful.

I rated the book 4 stars because it provides solid examples in many areas of XSL FO that actually work. Even though the W3C recommendation has been out since October, 2001, we have just started to see accessible books on XSL FO, and this is the best. The author provides a hands-on view and gives you examples that work and get you up and going quickly. Not a lot of wading through esoterica wondering how you would even get started with a simple document.

However, that is not to say that the book is without problems. Let me list them in order:

1. Software that will format XSL FO is in its infancy. Therefore, although the examples work, you have to burn some shoe leather finding software that is compliant with the spec. It would have been better if the author had bundled an evaluation copy of either the Antenna House software which he claimed would format *almost* all of the examples or his own XFC software that he developed for IBM alphaworks. I did download the XFC software, but although written in Java, it is very much oriented towards a windows platform, and I could not concoct a way to get it to run on my linux machine (I gave up after discovering I had a non-compliant version of the xerces package). I think one of the reasons Michael Kay's Wrox XSLT book has been so popular has been because of his work on Saxon. Software would have made this book a 5 star book.

2. Downloadable examples. These were not available at first, but the author had them up within a week of my email, correcting an error on the publisher's web page. So, this went from a problem to a plus.

3. Pagination (Chapter 8) is not very clear. Some of the figure references seem to have been reversed (generally, in many places where the author refers to figure 8.1 you should read 8.2 and vice versa). This chapter needed a concrete example to start. Then the author could have gotten into the more esoteric issue of overlapping regions.

Editorial Review:

XSL Formatting Objects Developer's Handbook is a syntactical reference and a guide for developing practical solutions using the complete XSL toolkit. In exploring the available tools and architectures, the book allows programmers to understand and apply XSL as practitioners. XSL-FO is a complex specification that provides a framework for describing detailed document formatting characteristics. A primary goal of XML is to separate the data from presentation. Unlike HTML documents, XML documents contain no information about how those documnets will appear when displayed. The XSL-FO specification provides a standardized way to build stylesheets that express document formatting in pure XML notation.

DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide (4th Edition)

Bob Stayton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide (Fourth Edition) by Bob Stayton is the definitive guide to using the DocBook XSL stylesheets. It provides the missing documentation to realize the full potential of DocBook publishing. It covers all aspects of DocBook publishing tools, including installing, using, and customizing the stylesheets and processing tools. With this book, you can: (a) select the DocBook components that are appropriate for your needs and budget, (b) set up and configure the tools for efficient processing of your documents, (c) generate HTML and print output from the same DocBook files, (d) customize your HTML and print output (e) discover and use advanced features of the DocBook stylesheets. The book is suitable for new users just getting started, as well as more advanced users needing a complete reference. It is thoroughly indexed and cross referenced so you can quickly find what you need. The Fourth Edition updates the content to the latest stylesheets and DocBook version 5.

Xsl Fo

Dave Pawson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

No matter how flexible and convenient digital information has become, we haven't done away with the need to see information in print. Extensible Style Language-Formatting Objects, or XSL-FO, is a set of tools developers and web designers use to describe page printouts of their XML (including XHTML) documents. If you need to produce high quality printed material from your XML documents, then XSL-FO provides the bridge.

"XSL-FO" is one of the few books to go beyond a basic introduction to the technology. While many books touch on XSL-FO in their treatment of XSLT, this book offers in-depth coverage of XSL-FO's features and strengths. Author Dave Pawson is well known in the XSLT and XSL-FO communities, and maintains the XSLT FAQ. An online version of this book has helped many developers master this technology. "XSL-FO" is the first time this reference is available in print.

The first part of the book provides an overview of the technology and introduces the XSL-FO vocabulary. The author discusses how to choose among today's implementations, explains how to describe pages, and shows you what is going on in the processor in terms of layout. You'll learn about the basics of formatting and layout as well as readability.

The second part focuses on smaller pieces: blocks, inline structures, graphics, color and character level formatting, concluding by showing how to integrate these parts into a coherent whole. "XSL-FO" also explores organizational aspects you'll need to consider?how to design your stylesheets strategically rather than letting them evolve on their own.

"XSL-FO" is more than just a guide to the technology; the book teaches you how to think about the formatting ofyour documents and guides you through the questions you'll need to ask to ensure that your printed documents meet the same high standards as your computer-generated content. Written for experienced XML developers and web designers, no other book contains as much useful information on this practical technology.

FileMaker Pro 6 Developer's Guide to XML/XSL (Wordware Library for Filemaker)

Beverly Voth

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Databases -> Specific Databases -> FileMaker

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Last Word 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

The release of Beverly Voth's Guide is well worth our wait. While exhaustive, the writing is clear and not exhausting. She has given us the definitive textbook on this thorny, difficult subject, starting at the outside and working in. While breaking apart the various layers into edible morsels, Ms. Voth does not sugar-coat the complexities of her subject; she simply makes them disappear.

Well-written and well-presented 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Beverly Voth has written the "bible" on FileMaker Pro/XML integration. She takes what can be a daunting subject, and leads you logically from topic to topic, with demo files and plenty of code examples to illustrate her points. From the eight-page table of contents (in outline form) to the detailed index, this book is exceptionally well laid out, and has plenty to offer both the novice and the veteran FileMaker developer. This book does not suffer from the "we didn't have time, budget or inclination to proofread adequately" syndrome that plagues so many computer books these days... it flows beautifully, and I have yet to find a single typo.

Editorial Review:

This book is designed to teach the FileMaker Pro developer about XML and XSL.

.NET and XML

Niel M. Bornstein

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Programming -> Languages & Tools -> C#

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you're seeking ways to build network-based applications or XML-based web services, Microsoft provides most of the tools you'll need. XML is integrated into the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET, but if you want to get a grasp on how .NET and XML actually work together, that's a different story. With,"NET & XML," you can get under the hood to see how the .NET Framework implements XML, giving you the skills to write understandable XML-based code that interoperates with code written with other tools, and even other languages.

,"NET & XML" starts by introducing XML and the .NET Framework, and then teaches you how to read and write XML before moving on to complex methods for manipulating, navigating, transforming, and constraining it. To demonstrate the power of XML in .NET, author Niel Bornstein builds a simple hardware store inventory system throughout the book. As you move from chapter to chapter, you'll absorb increasingly complex information until you have enough knowledge to successfully program your own XML-based applications. This tutorial also contains a quick reference to the API, plus appendices present additional .NET assemblies that you can use to work with XML, and how to work with the .NET XML configuration file format.

One study puts the potential market for new software based on XML at or near $100 billion over the next five years. The .NET Framework gives you a way to become a part of it. But to use XML and .NET effectively, you need to understand how these two technologies work together. This book gives you the insight to take full advantage of the power the two provide.

XSL Companion, The

Neil Bradley

List Price: $36.99 By: Pearson Education Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $0.63

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Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

One of the most important technologies on the XML bandwagon is XSL, which really comprises separate XSL, XSLT, and Xpath standards. The XSL Companion provides in-depth coverage of XSL and XSLT--the core technologies behind the formatting of XML data.

This book focuses on the details of how XSLT in particular can be used to mold information on the fly. The author breaks the standard apart into digestible chapters that cover, say, "contextual formatting" and "sorting." The content is fast moving and demands a technical reader who is comfortable with complexity. Those who are new to XML technologies should pick up a general tutorial prior to tackling this book.

Along with text explanations of all of the magic that XSLT and XSL can do, the author uses code snippets and numerous graphical diagrams to illustrate information processing, layout, and tree navigation. These visual elements add much to the explanation of what otherwise would be abstract concepts indeed.

The author addresses head-on the fact that much of XSLT's job today is to turn XML data into HTML-formatted documents that are compatible with the current batch of browsers. There is plenty of focus in this book on how that is done, but the chief purpose remains the exploration of the powerful transformation and formatting features that the XSL standards provide. --Stephen W. Plain

Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 (Graphics Series)

Robert Firebaugh

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Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Web Development -> Web Design -> Fireworks

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Flash has evolved into an excellent tool for creating innovative vector graphics and animations for the Web, due mainly to its easy-to-use features, high-quality output, and relatively low cost. But Flash is also a perfect illustration tool. Why hassle with creating your illustrations in one tool and then exporting them when you don't have to? Illustrating with Macromedia Flash Professional 8 provides in-depth methods for mastering the truly jaw-dropping illustration possibilities you can achieve with Flash. The book is written to teach new and experienced users how to use Flash as your illustration tool of choice. It provides innovative techniques and solutions for using the drawing tools in Flash from an artist's perspective, and it teaches you the methods needed for making beautiful, effective illustrations, whether you are naturally artistic or not. This new edition has been completely updated to cover the latest advances in Flash, provide new techniques and solutions, and to teach you the entire process for creating vector illustrations using step-by-step tutorials. Beginning with a tour of the basics of illustration concepts, techniques, and approaches, you'll progress to learning about design techniques for logos, interfaces, and content layout, as well as animation and texture techniques. You'll also discover how to use Flash to draw in a variety of different styles-- cartoon, anime, and photorealistic, and you'll finish up with advanced tutorials for layering multiple textures, using filters for blur effects, and using linear gradients to create a wrinkle effect. If you want to learn how to use Flash as your illustration tool, this is the one resource you need.

Professional Xsl (Programmer to Programmer)

Kurt Cagle, Michael Corning, Jason Diamond, Teun Duynstee, Oli Gudmundsson, Jirka Jirat, Mike Mason, Jon Pinnock, Paul Spencer, Jeff Tang, Paul Tchistopolskii, Jeni Tennison, Andrew Watt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Professional XSL takes an applied, tutorial-style approach to teaching the core fundamentals of the XSLT, XPath and XSL-FO specifications. You'll learn how to create well structured and modularized stylesheets to generate your required output, how to change, filter, and sort data, and how to incorporate other content for presentation purposes.

XML is now the established standard for platform-neutral data storage and exchange, separating content from presentation. Its popularity is due to the flexibility of the language and the ability to reuse the data in a variety of ways. XSL is a key technology for working with XML, and is comprised of two parts: XSLT is the official language for transforming XML from one format to another, whether for restructuring/selectively processing the data or presenting the data for display; XSL-FO is a proposed vocabulary for incorporating information concerning how the document should be arranged for presentation. A related standard, XPath, is the language for addressing specific parts of an XML document.