XML For Mere Mortals: Or, Markup This!

Triple Dog Dare Media founder turns workshop series on XML into a friendly, approachable, useful book.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) November 14, 2005

It all began when Thomas Myer overheard a client complain about a boring presentation made by a well-meaning colleague at a company meeting.

"The talk was on XML, a very hot topic in technology," said Thomas Myer. "But the way the material was delivered was pretty much 'death by geek'. So I decided to start a workshop series to explain the power of XML to clients and colleagues, emphasizing practical uses."

Thomas Myer, founder of Triple Dog Dare Media, decided to call the workshop XML for Mere Mortals. It was a one-day workshop that minimized the theory and emphasized hand's on work with the technology.

The workshops attracted technical writers, software developers, business owners, and marketing professionals curious about XML.

"They always came in expecting to hear the same hype they've always heard about XML," said Thomas Myer. "But I always steered them toward the practical and the possible. XML is just a highly versatile tool in your technology toolbox. It isn't some kind of cure for cancer or the keys to infinite wisdom."

Participants learned a little bit of the technology's history and versatility, but they got the chance to create XML files and then work with them throughout the day, both by themselves and paired with another participant.

Eventually, the workshop experience led Thomas to pitch an article idea to Sitepoint.com. One of the editors bit on the idea of creating a very simple content management system using XML. After the article went live and received high marks, SitePoint offered Thomas a book contract.

The book, No Nonsense XML Web Development with PHP, published in August and has garnered solid reviews on Amazon for its practical approach to the problem of teaching XML.

Each chapter in the book covers a topic in XML and then seeks to apply that knowledge to a specific problem in a book-length development project.

"There were a few places where it was tough to keep pace with the material," said Thomas. "XML is one of those topics that is hard to talk about because every time you turn around you're introducing the reader to 8 new concepts."

Other challenges during writing included a moving technology target--PHP version 5, which the book is partly based on, kept getting revised in beta. "We had to delay a few chapters until things settled down," recalled Myer.

The book consists of 10 chapters and various technical appendixes and is tightly focused on creating a simple content management system with XML. It is available for sale online via the Triple Dog Dare Media web site (http://www.tripledogs.com/xmlbook) or by searching for the title on Amazon.com. You can also order the book directly from Triple Dog Dare Media at 512.420.8870.

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