Every serious XML developer will find it helpful to own a copy of the official, final XML standard - but this book goes much further, annotating the standards with inside information and practical guidance that bring them to life. With the guidance of internationally-known XML expert Bob DuCharme, you'll learn how to use the standards documents to design publishing systems and Web applications more effectively - and understand arcane terms like "syntax trees" and "big-endian." DuCharme offers a practical introduction to XML and the companion specifications XLL and XSL; helps developers understand why the standards' authors made the decisions they made, and what those decisions mean to developers. It provides many figures and diagrams that help clarify relationships among data structures in XML; helps developers find the information they need in each standards document; and more. This is the first XML book to fully reflect the final W3C standard, so it will serve as a key developer's reference for many years to come.