"It's estimated that there is
more data in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets than in all the relational
databases in the world combined, and Microsoft Works contains even more
information.” Matthew MacDonald,
author,
Office 2003 XML for Power Users.
I found the path to XML knowledge like having the
keys but not knowing where the door lies. The concept seems so accessible
yet there are so many directions one can take. As a Database Developer and
not an Application Developer I often have need to present data but building
and maintaining a custom application is not practical or cost effective.
Office 2003 XML for Power Users helped clarify the
picture by sufficiently narrowing the scope to Office XML technology while
still providing enough detail to feel confident implementing the tools.
The book's first two chapters and the seventh chapter
cover the basics of XML, XML schemas and XML stylesheets. There are whole
books on the subject of XML but MacDonald explains the subject clearly and
concisely in a small space. Schemas and stylesheets may require more in
depth study to fully understand. Even so, MacDonald does a great
introduction on these subjects.
The next three chapters deal with mapping XML in Excel
and Word and the import and export of data through Access. Using these tools
in the real world is pretty intuitive and I don't know that I would buy a
book just for that but there are some tips such as mapping multitabular
data, creating charts and word document templates that are worth browsing.
The final two chapters go into web services and InfoPath. If you are
interested but have not used web services before, Chapter 8 has an excellent
end-to-end walk-through of the development of a web service to take user
input data from Excel to the database.
The chapter worth spending time with is the chapter on
WordML and SpreadsheetML. WordML and SpreadsheetML are the XML formats used
by Excel and Word applications. An XML file saved in SpreadsheetML or WordML
format will automatically open in their respective applications. If you are
going to do any automation in Office it is worth taking time to learn these
formats. The chapter explains the formats very well and the code examples
are clear. If there is one regret it is that combining SpreadsheetML or
WordML with a stylesheet is not one of the examples in the book. Such an
inclusion would have provided a complete end-to-end solution for the Office
developer.
Overall this book is well written and comprehensive. It
is refreshing not to have to weed through pages of information too basic
while missing the important points. The code examples are supportive and
useful to adaptation into your own environment. The examples are also
available at the publisher's site. I recommend this book to anyone looking
for easy custom solutions without the expense and complication of developing
a custom application or website.
