I think I’ve been brainwashed over the years that books which cover anything even vaguely IT-related have to be at least 900 pages thick, weigh 400 pounds and cost the wrong side of £40. Anything less than that, and there’s a nagging doubt at the back of my mind that It’s Not A Real Manual Because Real Manuals Are At Least 900 Pages Thick And Weigh 400 Pounds And Cost The Wrong Side Of £40.
Then yesterday I was looking for something on XML, and was gnashing my teeth about how all the available books on the subject were At Least 900 Pages etc etc etc, when I came across How To Use XML by John Shelley. It’s published by Bernard Babani, which means it’s the size of a normal paperback novel and printed on recycled toilet paper – but at £7.99 you can’t really expect it to be a hand-finished vellum-bound volume with a slipcase, can you? However, I can report that the content is Really Really Good – it’s one of the most clearly-written technical manuals I think I’ve ever found. It could possibly be that XML is actually not all that difficult and I’m slightly slow when it comes to everything else, but assuming that’s not the case then I’d vote this a Very Good Book Indeed.
