Sebastopol, CA--"Yes, it's yet another Java and XML API," says Brett
McLaughlin, author of Java & XML Data Binding (O'Reilly, US
$34.95). Thousands of programmers have already thrown up their hands
trying to track existing APIs--SAX, DOM, JDOM, dom4j, and the rest.
What, then, will persuade them to take up yet another? And why, as
McLaughlin claims, has XML data binding taken the XML world by storm?
Data binding starts with the assumption that your priority is
business-driven, not XML-driven. Instead of elements and attributes,
you want to work with people, names, addresses, and phone numbers. In
short, it converts XML documents into Java objects, so those documents
can be worked on and manipulated like any other Java object, then
converts them back to XML. "The reason why XML data binding is
important, and so remarkably different from other approaches, is
because it gets you from XML to business data with no stops in
between," McLaughlin explains. "You don't have to deal with angle
brackets, entity references, or namespaces. A data binding framework
converts from XML to data, without your messing around under the hood.
For most developers who try to get into XML without spending months
doing it, data binding is just the answer you are looking for."
McLaughlin's new book covers data binding from front to back, sharing
the ins and outs of what may turn out to be the API that makes XML
accessible to even the newest programmers. "Java and XML Data Binding"
explains what data binding is, and then covers all the popular data
binding toolkits: Sun's JAXB API, and three open source alternatives,
Zeus, Castor, and Quick. Along the way, the book offers practical
information on how to use data binding effectively, what pitfalls to
avoid, where to bend the rules, and how to make the various packages do
what you want them to do.
"Too many books are written about technologies by people who barely
understand them," says McLaughlin. "I've already written two data
binding implementations (Zeus, and a previous one for IBM
DeveloperWorks). I've actually used data binding for longer than the
official specification has been in existence, and I've really been able
to dig into what it takes to code an effective data binding
implementation, as well as use one correctly. This book is part user
guide, part under-the-hood manual, and part use-case. It's a powerful
combination, and one I think people need."
"Java and XML Data Binding" was written for Java developers who work
with XML, but may not necessarily be XML experts. If you want to use
XML effectively without spending months trying to grasp entity
references and ignorable whitespace, this book will provide the right
balance of concept, examples, and practice to help you quickly become
productive.
Additional resources:
Java and XML Data Binding
By Brett McLaughlin
ISBN 0-596-00278-5, 200 pages, $34.95 (US), $54.95 (CAN)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
