Namespaces are the key concept
581675
You probably know that XML is descended from SGML, and it thus inherited DTDs, which were then the only means of specifying a document model. That proved adequate for SGML, but its limitations soon became clear in XML. Several alternatives were proposed, but XML Schema seems to be winning. Thus Bradley has delivered a timely exposition. He covers all the features clearly. A brief mention is made of its competitors, Relax NG and Schematron. But they do seem to be fading fast.
The most interesting part of Bradley's text are the chapters on namespaces. Other aspects of Schema are lower level and, while useful, are frankly mundane. By contrast, namespaces are the critical feature of Schema. They let you build on pre-existing schemas that have been published on the web. And you can publish your schemas so that others might benefit. You and those in your field or industry can cooperatively derive a net gain by agreeing and publishing standard definitions. A Network effect.
I assume that you are familiar with HTML. In that, the crucial element are the hyperlinks (the href and src attributes in certain tags). It is these that put the "H" in HTML. Without them, HTML just becomes a limited page markup language. It is that ability to link to arbitrary locations on the Internet which produced the Web. Likewise, in the much heralded Web Services, these exchange data via XML. Which in turn depends on XML Schema to build consistent hyperlinked semantics.
You should read Bradley's chapters on namespaces thoroughly.
810132
Each program is destined to exist as a block of binary sequences. Source code is the blueprint intent but the block of binary is the result. Quality control over the results can only go so far from the point of view of the blueprint. Sometimes you have to take a look at the end result. This book teaches the background, ways, and whys of using various tools to confirm a few aspects of binary files to address version conflicts and loading of the correct Windows DLLs or Linux Shared Objects used by a program. The book is deep and long but it is all relevant and gives you the tools necessary to understand what happened when the compiler and linker took over and created the program. You also learn how to influence that process with greater certainty.
2244969
After 3 months working with this book, I feel very comfortable with Object Oriented Programming and Java.  This book moves quickly through elementary topics, but doesn't assume anything.  Examples of difficult concepts are  carefully worked out.  The order in which new concepts are presented has  also been carefully worked out so students can use first concepts and get  some experience before moving on.  It is important to take every chapter in  order.  Use of the applications progrogramming interface documentation is  gradually brought into the learning process.  There are many, many good  sample problems.  At about 1000 pages, it covers a lot.  An excellent book.
857643
Takes the raw NLP techniques and boils it down to set processes that target certain applications
715124
The C++ is one of the pillars of any serious application. This book goes straight to the point. Information is well presented and organized, and you are confronted with real world code from chapter 1!

Basic terminology of programming could be more "spoon feeded", but it is Ok as it's presented.
1698557
The first time I wrote the Hello world program I get a error saying  Error CS0234: The type or namespace name 'Tasks' does not exist in the namespace 'System. Threading' (are you missing an assembly reference?) Why? I did everything correct and checked over serveral times. There must be a typo in the book
428462
The book discusses how XML and JSON technologies can be tackled with Java.
The first 6 chapters are devoted to XML. After an adequate XML introduction, parsing with the SAX, DOM, and StAX alternatives is presented, each in a separate chapter and in good detail. Data extraction via XPath is also given some space. XSLT and XML Schema are touched very briefly.

The last 4 chapters deal with JSON. Since it is not integrated in the standard Java API, the book describes mJson and Gson: two libraries that can be used to parse and create JSON objects in Java (Jackson is omitted altogether). The final chapter also presents JsonPath, an XPath equivalent for JSON.

The book is very readable but also packed with material.
It is far from being exhaustive. Still, the information provided is enough to get a reader up and running or give a quick recap of the technologies.
Code samples are simple, usually consisting of a single class and provided in full code.
2278774
When Microsoft took an elegant simple schema from UNIX and redesigned it into a convoluted might mare called Active Directory it was time for this book. Turns out that Active Directory is not active or a directory; who would have guessed? Well this book starts you off with correcting concepts and even lets you know that with the new terminology that the definition of domain has been changed.

A lot of time Dummies books are too busy being cute; this one however is so packed with helpful information that it does not have time to be cute. This book takes you from ground zero to up and running while helping avoid common pit falls.
4861415
Stroustrup explains the intended usage of each element of the C++  language. He demonstrates reasonable usage of the C++ language with brief  examples. Serves as a complete reference by covering C++ basic facilities,  abstraction mechanisms, the standard library, and design using C++.  Presents the C++ language as standardized in ISO/IEC 14882. This is an  excellent intermediate level book.
185666
There may be times when you need to access legacy COM DLL's written in non-managed C++ or Visual Basic. This may be as a stop-gap measure until your older legacy code can be updated to .NET. In cases where performance is critical, you may have no desire to ever upgrade your C++ DLL, but would like to use C# for GUI design, rather than Microsoft Foundation Classes. If any of these situations apply, this is the book for you.

This book begins with a few chapters that will bring the reader up to date on both sides of the GAP. First you are shown the fundamentals of COM objects. Second you are shown the newer .NET architecture. Only by understanding both sides will you be able to make the two effectively communicate. For experienced users, who are already familiar with COM and .NET this section can easily be skipped. The book then continues with an overview of what datatypes are available on each side, and how they cross over.

The real meat of the book comes in the next two sections. Three chapters (the basics, intermediate and advanced topics) are given first for COM to .NET. Then the exact same pattern is repeated from .NET to COM. I spent most of my time with the .NET to COM part of the book, as I was using a C++ DLL with C#. The book answered all of my questions and I was able to successfully implement the application.

The book provides a great deal of good information, but it is sometimes hard to find exactly what you are looking for. Each direction is covered in chapters named the basics, intermediate and advanced topics. What exactly is meant by this is not clear until you begin the chapter. I often found myself skimming all three sections trying to find an example close to what I was doing.
2861844
I found Understanding SOAP to be an excellent book, which enabled me to get a good grasp of SOAP, and provided an implementation, which I could use in my own projects.
SOAP is a new protocol of ever increasing importance  to the Developer community. Contrary to widespread rumors, SOAP is not a  Microsoft specific protocol. It is supported and managed by a number of  companies and has an open specification. That said, SOAP is an important  part of Microsoft's latest Internet push, and if you want to develop for  the net, you'd better figure out SOAP. If you want to be on the cutting  edge, learn SOAP.
The book provides a through introduction and could be  easily recommended on that basis alone. However, the book's real merit for  me was its chapter on implementing SOAP with COM language Binding. This  chapter could easily have been expanded book in its own right.
The  authors have a good style of writing. Difficult concepts are clearly  explained and become easily understood. All in all I would highly recommend  this book to any developer wishing to stay abreast of industry  developments.
3547507
At first glance, this book resembles a survey course on how to use descriptive metadata to manage digital television assets.  Touching on all the basics of metadata from identifiers to schemas to preservation, this comprehensive overview is a must for anyone tasked with implementing a digital asset management project. It offers an introduction to all the emerging standards from the library sciences to industry organizations along with sample metadata sets from several repositories (CNN, UCLA Film and Television Archive to name two).

The real value of this book, however,  is in the collaborative efforts of the authors which created this unified whole.  This collaboration mirrors the future business partnerships that must solidify in order to realize the promise and potential of metadata:  the partnership between engineers, library science/information architects and archivists.  As represented by Mike Cox, Linda Tadic and Ellen Mulder, this clearly articulated book itemizes each component necessary to manage the digital representation of a fundamentally collaborative medium.
45010
C++ Network Programming, volume 2, continues in the tradition
of volume 1, of doing an excellent job of explaining how to
program robust network software in C++ using the ACE framework.
The book is well-structured, and easy to read.  Each section explains:
- the general concepts associated with a specific network programming
  topic, for example reactive event loops, or asynchronous I/O
- the underlying operating system API's associated with each topic, for
  example, for reactive event loops, the Unix select()
  or the Windows WaitForMultipleObjects() calls
- the underlying design patterns for properly using these facilities,
  such as the Reactor, Proactor, Service Configurator
- and the accompanying C++ class in ACE for using this design pattern
The text and code examples are very clear and easy to follow.
I particularly like the technique of using sidebars throughout the
text, which draws your attention to particularly interesting
nuggets of information.
My favorite parts of this book were the parts which covered in depth three
of the most core concepts in the ACE framework:
- the Reactor (reactive event loops),
- the Proactor (using asynchronous I/O for dispatching events),
- the ACE_Task (using concurrency/multithreading efficiently in an
  object-oriented fashion)
Understanding these core concepts is essential for building
high-performance middleware and networked software.  These concepts
were used extensively by Schmidt, when his team used ACE to build
The ACE ORB (TAO), a C++ CORBA implementation, so this book
will help with understanding some of the internal implementation
details of TAO.
For new users of ACE, this book is a good introduction, alongside volume 1.
For experienced users of ACE, this book is an excellent
refresher, and concisely explains many core ACE concepts, accompanied
with illustrative examples.  This book will make an
excellent addition to the bookshelf of anyone serious
about C++ network programming.
2501660
Go is THE language for the internet age. Nowhere is this more evident than the first chapter of this book. The author introduces us to the world of Go by showing us exactly how easy it is create a simple web server. What would take several hundreds of lines in other languages is accomplished in Go using just a dozen lines of code. The author continues his quest to show us how easy it is to unleash the power of the Go language by building a fully functional chat server and client. Idiomatic Go, test driven development, concurrency, creating a simple API and documenting code are all touched upon in the first chapter. Just reading this chapter alone can turn the astute reader into a full fledged Go developer. The author continues the second chapter by extending the chat application with authentication using OAuth2 thus expanding the userbase to members of popular online services like Facebook, Google etc. A comprehensive overview of adding profile pictures to the application is presented in the third chapter. The next chapter introduces readers to becoming command line ninjas. A number of nifty command line tools are created and then used together to good effect in an effort to minimize the time needed to discover good domain names. Distributed computing and NoSQL databases are all the rage these days. Readers are treated to an easy to understand chapter on building a massive scale voting application using MongoDB that can be scaled by
adding as many physical machines as needed. Readers are also introduced to developing a RESTful web service API for the voting application. A fun application awaits the readers in a chapter dedicated to getting the most out of the Google Places API. The daunting task of creating your own filesystem backup application seems a cinch thanks to the author's excellent writing style.
2713175
This newly introduced "C# in a Nutshell" provides all the basic information most programmers would need on both C# and general .NET programming. It is a textbook that will appeal to both intermediate and advanced users. All parameters which constitute the basics of C# language, Visual Studio .NET, and object-oriented principles were expertly exposed. I was really impressed by its method of handling the Systems. NET,  Systems. XML, and Interopservices.
This is one C# book that I would recommend for most intermediate users, (as well as advanced users who need a handy companion). It bared all the C# parameters, although some sections were overtly summarized.
501321
I remember reading the 2nd edition of this book 10 years ago as I was teaching myself C++.  After reading and coding alongside this version, I am pleased to say that the 4th edition does not disappoint.  The author does a great job introducing data types, control flow,  pointers, references, classes, and object oriented programming principles (and it's predecessor, structural programming) through the creation of simple text based games - games whose logic could easily be expanded on and could have a GUI added to them with the right knowledge.  The samples are easy to follow and he breaks them down for the purpose of understanding.  I like that he introduces the Standard Template Library early on using the vector class and the algorithms library in his many samples.  Every chapter ends with questions and exercises to help solidify understand (useful for the classroom environment).  One thing of note, that I missed in the 2nd edition, is that he cleverly introduces the beginning programmer to their first data structure - the linked list.

There are few items of note that are missing such as templates and IO file operations, and it stays away from some of the updated features of C++ 11.  The IO file operations are useful as games (and other programs) are data driven.  Any sample where there was a list of words could have implemented the file IO.  That said - IO, templates and the C++ 11 features might add to the confusion so I can understand why the author stayed away from them.

Overall, a good book and a great introduction to C++ programming using games as a teaching tool.
2026439
Presents the key points of C syntax, and also the significant restrictions,
which are often discussed inadequately in textbooks - the
contrasting scopes of variables in blocks, functions and files, and the
automatic search for prototypes and definitions by the compiler.  Does not cover C11.