Learning XML, Second Edition

This second edition of the bestselling Learning XML provides web developers with a concise but grounded understanding of XML (the Extensible Markup Language) and its potential-- not just a whirlwind tour of XML.
The author explains the important and relevant XML technologies and their capabilities clearly and succinctly with plenty of real-life projects and useful examples. He outlines the elements of markup--demystifying concepts such as attributes, entities, and namespaces--and provides enough depth and examples to get started. Learning XML is a reliable source for anyone who needs to know XML, but doesn't want to waste time wading through hundreds of web sites or 800 pages of bloated text.
For writers producing XML documents, this book clarifies files and the process of creating them with the appropriate structure and format. Designers will learn what parts of XML are most helpful to their team and will get started on creating Document Type Definitions. For programmers, the book makes syntax and structures clear. Learning XML also discusses the stylesheets needed for viewing documents in the next generation of browsers, databases, and other devices.
Learning XML illustrates the core XML concepts and language syntax, in addition to important related tools such as the CSS and XSL styling languages and the XLink and XPointer specifications for creating rich link structures. It includes information about three schema languages for validation: W3C Schema, Schematron, and RELAX-NG, which are gaining widespread support from people who need to validate documents but aren't satisfied with DTDs. Also new in this edition is a chapter on XSL-FO, a powerful formatting language for XML. If you need to wade through the acronym soup of XML and start to really use this powerful tool, Learning XML, will give you the roadmap you need.

Lingo in a Nutshell

Macromedia Director 6 is the premiere authoring tool for delivering interactive content on both the Internet and the desktop. It is the dominant multimedia package for Windows 95/NT, Windows 3.1, and the Macintosh. A quarter million developers use Director® to incorporate animation and audio into dynamic Web pages, and to create engaging interactive corporate presentations, multimedia advertising, entertainment CD-ROMs, Enhanced music CDs, and even DVDs.
Lingo is Director's powerful scripting language. This companion book to Director in a Nutshell is an essential tool for both new and experienced Lingo programmers seeking a deeper knowledge of the language. Bruce Epstein is the author of both these books and brings years of hands-on experience with Director and Lingo. The book includes numerous useful Lingo examples. Exhaustively tested, this book corrects many errors found in Macromedia's Lingo documentation and repeated verbatim in most third-party books. Extremely comprehensive, this book details dozens of misdocumented and undocumented Lingo keywords that are omitted from Macromedia's manuals and third-party books.
Lingo in a Nutshell caters to the huge pool of Director users attempting to bridge the Lingo gap, yet provides the details for the experienced Linguist that are lacking in other Lingo books. In typical nutshell style (clear, concise, deep and narrow) this book explores the syntax, structure and commands of the Lingo language. The detailed chapters describe messages, events, scripts, handlers, variables, lists, file I/O, Behaviors, child objects, Xtras, and more. This book teaches you to troubleshoot and debug common Lingo errors. Lingo in a Nutshell is the book for which both Director users and power Lingo programmers have been yearning.
The book extensively covers topics not found in other Lingo books:

• Cross-platform Lingo differences
• Lingo internals for experienced programmers
• Events, messages, and scripts
• Timers, tempos, cue points, and synchronization
• Data types and expressions
• Math, numerical expressions, geometry, and trigonometry
• Coordinates, alignment, and registration point

Lingo in a Nutshell is the most concise and compete guide available. It is a high-end handbook at a low-end price. An essential desktop reference for every Director user.

Macromedia Director in a Nutshell

Macromedia Director 6 is the premier authoring tool for delivering interactive content on both the Internet and the desktop. It is the dominant multimedia package for Windows 95/NT, Windows 3.1, and the Macintosh. A quarter million developers use Director® to incorporate animation and audio into dynamic Web pages, and to create engaging interactive corporate presentations, multimedia advertising, entertainment CD-ROMs, enhanced music CDs, and even DVDs. Director 6 is a complete multimedia authoring environment that integrates graphics, video, sound, and 3D images into compelling interactive products.
Director in a Nutshell is the most concise and complete guide available for Director. It also covers the use of Director on the Internet with Shockwave, Netscape Navigator, and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Java in a Nutshell and WebMaster in a Nutshell have established themselves as indispensable developer references, and Director in a Nutshell continues this family tradition. Like all In a Nutshell books, it takes the Director topic and drills down, expands, and delights the reader by providing useful information that the reader didn't even expect to find.
Director in a Nutshell condenses hundreds of Director tips and techniques into a desktop quick-reference format that is a must-have addition to every Director developer's library. The book begins with an overview of Director's interface and the new features in version 6. It covers the use of video, audio, graphics, text, buttons, menus, and 3D images in Director. It highlights cross-platform differences for developers under both Windows 3.1/95/NT and the Macintosh. It also includes a detailed chapter on optimizing performance and memory usage. Director in a Nutshell is an indispensable companion book to Lingo in a Nutshell.
Each chapter is devoted to topics such as palettes, sound, or digital video. Director in a Nutshell is the only book to integrate Director's multiple facets into a comprehensive discussion of each topic. The reader gets both the nitty-gritty details and the bigger context in which to use them.
Director in a Nutshell also covers:

• Covers the latest features of Director 7, including the 7.0.2 maintenance release.
• New Sprite operations, Behaviors, and Inspectors in Director 6
• All commands and options in the Score, Cast, Paint, Text, Palette, and Video Windows
• Animation techniques and shortcuts
• All supported file formats and media types for both import and export
• Lists of palettes, transitions, cursors, ink effects, and window types
• Video playback and manipulation, including QuickTime, Video for Windows, and QTVR
• Creating run-time Projectors and optimizing playback on all platforms
• Comprehensive command summaries by topic
• Hundreds of Director shortcuts
• Shockwave and Internet-enabled Projectors
• Sound playback, including Shockwave audio and cue points
• Browser scripting, media control, and performance optimization
• Analyzing the Score and Cast, the run-time environment, and anlyzing performance and memory usage

This book will benefit a very large audience of Director 6 users. Beginners will value the concise and complete coverage of every topic and function. Intermediate users will appreciate the explanations that illuminate the big picture surrounding every operation. Advanced users will find the book an indispensable reference tool to remind them of the proper syntax, commands, and shortcuts in Director. This book will even help content-providers understand how proper graphics, audio, and video preparation can eliminate repetitious revisions and save programming time.
Director in a Nutshell is a high-end handbook, at a low-end price -- an indispensable desktop reference for every Director user.

Managing & Using MySQL, Second Edition

MySQL is a popular and robust open source database product that supports key subsets of SQL on both Linux and Unix systems. MySQL is free for nonprofit use and costs a small amount for commercial use. Unlike commercial databases, MySQL is affordable and easy to use. This book includes introductions to SQL and to relational database theory. If you plan to use MySQL to build web sites or other Linux or Unix applications, this book teaches you to do that, and it will remain useful as a reference once you understand the basics. Ample tutorial material and examples are included throughout.
This book has all you need to take full advantage of this powerful database management system. It takes you through the whole process from installation and configuration to programming interfaces and database administration. This second edition has a greatly enhanced administration chapter that includes information on administrative tools, server configuration, server startup and shutdown, log file management, database backup and restore, and database administration and repair. In addition, a new chapter on security describes data, server, and client-server security, while a chapter on extending MySQL provides an overview of MySQL internals and describes the use of MySQL user-defined functions.
If you know C/C++, Java, Perl, PHP, or Python, you can write programs to interact with your MySQL database. In addition, you can embed queries and updates directly in an HTML file so that a web page becomes its own interface to the database. Managing and Using MySQL includes chapters on the programming language interfaces, and it also includes a complete reference section with specific function calls for each language.
Also included in the reference section are references to the SQL language, and details of the MySQL system variables, programs, and utilities. New to the second edition is a reference to the internal MySQL tables, which will be of particular interest to those who want to work extensively with MySQL security.

Java 3D Programming

Java 3D Programming steps programmers through the important design and implementation phases of developing a successful Java 3D application. The book provides invaluable guidance on whether to use Java 3D, user interface design, geometry creation, scene manipulation and final optimizations. The book does not attempt to exhaustively cover the API or replicate the official documentation but rather serves as a roadmap to alert programmers of design issues and potential pitfalls.
The author distills 12 months of using the Java 3D API for commercial projects, as well as innumerable discussions on the Java 3D email list into a book that all Java 3D developers will appreciate. Experienced Java 3D developers will applaud an authoritative resource containing the state-of-the-art in techniques and workarounds, while novice Java 3D programmers will gain a fast-track into Java 3D development, avoiding the confusion, frustration and time wasted learning Java 3D techniques and terminology.
Java 3D Programming comes complete with a comprehensive set of programming examples to illustrate the techniques, features, workarounds and bug fixes contained in the main text.
Readers of this book would include students and postgraduate researchers developing visualization applications for academia. Moderately experienced in Java, some experience of 3D graphics, little or no experience of Java 3D is needed. R+D s/w engineers at commercial institutions. Experienced Java developers, experienced with OpenGL or VRML, little or no experience with Java 3D.