Product Description
If you’ve ever been curious about any of the multitude of internet acronyms, the web technologies they represent, and how they can benefit you, this book is a great place to start. This book covers all the necessary topics to get up and running with HTML, XHTML, and CSS while offering readers a guide to modern, standards-based design. Key tasks covered in the book include setting up a Web page, reducing image resolution, creating radio buttons, adding a hit counter, adding an embedded sound, adding content from other sites such as integrating a blog and creating an RSS feed. Large topics are broken into smaller, more approachable sub-topics that are clearly explained on two pages eliminating the back and forth page flipping required in other references. Arranged so that skills build progressively throughout the book coupled with bold page headers it is simple to flip through and easily find any section or topic you are looking for. Understandable with straightforward terms that avoid intimidating and unexplained jargon, this is a book that will benefit complete novices and advanced users alike.

While primarily focused on the technologies outlined in the title, this book goes on to provide tips on integrating with Google, Flickr, social bookmark sites and even creating and implementing RSS feeds. Rest assured, each of these technologies is explained with the benefits of each outlined. A serious resource that quickly and concisely gets to the point, this book helps you gain real skills that will have you online in short order. Best of all, you can be confident that you are doing so the right way.

HTML, XHTML, and CSS: Your visual blueprint™ for designing effective Web pages offers visual learners a solid reference that employs straight forward examples to teach you to create and design Web pages with impact. "Apply It" and "Extra" sidebars highlight useful tips and high-resolution screen shots clearly illustrate each task while succinct explanations walk you through the examples. The associated website contains all the needed code to learn HTML. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

EXCELLENT book, awesome author
I am an IT consultant and have been for many years.Recently I have branched out into HTML, and so I starting looking for a book to help me.The first one I bough WAS NOT this one.I should have bought this book by Rob.It is fantastic in its simplicity and yet how deep he goes into all the code and how to input.The layout is excellent and keeps it very easy to read and see what to type.As well he actually explains WHY you should be typing this code and what the point of a particular code is.Again I think it is a fantastic book and all HTML editors should possess a copy

Great!!
It got here earlier than expected and in great condition.recommend this seller to everyone!

Great book for designer
It is a great book, and point out the mistakes designers would make whendesign a web page, I am one of those designer makes all the mistakes for the website and I am glad that I read this book. Learn a lot to understand why my web page is not working sometime. I wish I have this book earlier.

Great Primer
This is a great primer for HTML, XHTML, and CSS.It offers a step-by-step approach with no more than one step pictured and explained on one page.It is a great reference and basic training tool.I highly recommend it to beginners as well as to those who are more experienced but seeking a great reference work.

Good, BUT - the screen shot examples ...
Nice text, I am using for an introduction to web development class. However, in the next edition, PLEASE make the font size in the notepad screen shots larger !!I'm getting old - and even with glasses the text is difficult to read.

Thanks ... Read more

Product Description

Pro CSS and HTML Design Patterns is a reference book and a cookbook on how to style web pages using CSS and XHTML. It contains 350 ready–to–use patterns (CSS and XHTML codesnippets) you can copy and paste into your code. Each pattern can be combined with other patterns to create an unlimited number of solutions.

Each pattern works reliably in all major browsers without the need for browser hacks.

The book shows how to

• Code CSS and XHTML
• Turn HTML into XHTML
• Use CSS Selectors
• Use six CSS Box Models
• Create rounded corners, shadows, gradients, sprites, and transparency
• Replace text with images without affecting accessibility
• Style text with fonts, highlights, decorations, and shadows
• Create flexible, fluid layouts
• Position elements with absolute pixel precision
• Stack elements in layers
• Size, stretch, shrinkwrap, indent, align, and offset elements
• Style tables with borders and alternating striped rows
• Size table columns automatically
• Integrate CSS and JavaScript without embedding JavaScript in XHTML
• Create drop caps, callouts, quotes, and alerts

The book’s layout, with a pattern’s example on the left page and its explanation on the right, makes it easy to find a pattern and study it without having to flip between pages. The book is also readable from cover to cover, with topics building carefully upon previous topics.

A software developer can use this book to learn CSS for the first time. A designer familiar with CSS can use this book to master CSS and XHTML. If you are completely new to coding or completely new to CSS and XHTML, you may want to read an introductory book on CSS and XHTML first.

You can interact with all the examples in the book at www.cssDesignPatterns.com.

Customer Reviews (34)

Superb Influences
So many of the previous reviewers have done such an excellent job of documenting this book's strengths that I'm really at a loss to do much more.So I'll take a layman's approach.I take my time looking for first-in-class texts where technology is concerned and this book doesn't disappoint in any way.I don't write reviews often but I am compelled to do so in this case as I want interested parties to know that, at least for my part, this is the finest work I've ever owned within the scope of CSS and HTML.If you happen to be a beginner, then you might be overwhelmed at first by all of the treasures found here.However, after you've found your zone, you'll be much better off for having avoided the pitfalls of costly mistakes and the bad habits you might have otherwise picked up from other text selections.Mr. Bowers' approach to the breadth and depth of CSS and HTML will undoubtedly bring your CSS/HTML prowess to "A-game" status.There's a good reason the title begins with "Pro" other than the publisher's naming schema and Mr. Bowers firmly sets and upholds that professional standard.

If you've ever felt as if all of the permutations of tags, selectors, quirks, and browser madness would never be tamed, least of all in a cohesive and logical way, then you might find that this is your stop. For intermediate and advanced parties, I am confident in my opinion that this text has made my list of top ten all-time favorites.I have owned this work for about three days at the time of this writing.I've learned more about the dark corners of CSS and HTML in that time than I have discovered on my own in a lifetime career of programming thin clients.If you're looking for lots of theory as to why things are as they are, forget about it.You might consider doing that in your downtime.Here you'll find a strong resemblance to the "recipe" format you've seen elsewhere and that formula works here as well.Within each chapter you'll not only find practical design patterns for CSS/HTML (yes, patterns!) but also neutral-language field advice about browser behaviors with regard to the element at hand.Neutrality is so refreshing to me in a world of overzealous, myopic, and fanatical views.Pro CSS/HTML Design Patterns is just the kind of book that's very likely to hold a high regard in your arsenal.Remember all those times when you were incensed by the lack of a reaction to a change you made to your CSS?Why didn't it work?Don't all elements have the property/value combination you used?Ever wonder if this element had that capability? Do you have a need to understand why one wrong move can throw off your design and how you can fix it?How about having someone decipher those tricky shorthand symbols and their meanings and effects?Get ready for the nirvana of intelligent answers to those kinds of questions.You'll find them here.

Truely useful book - Learn CSS how it is used.
I'm a Java programmer who started working with the Google Web Toolkit (GWT) framework and needed a book to learn CSS. Before this book I had a working knowledge of HTML and no knowledge of CSS. This is the only book I'll need on CSS.

I bought it three months ago, have been using it since and I'm still learning from it today. I've found the "design patten" format organization very useful. The best way to use this book is to chose one or two patterns in each chapter and just implement them on a prototype page of your own. While I can think of a few improvements and this won't be a classic, it does sit within an arms reach at my desk right next to the classics because it is so useful. For that reason I give it 5 stars.

After reading this, my days of tinkering with CSS and constantly Googling are at an end.
In my own personal journey of become a developer, I've always felt CSS has been my achilles heel from going after Web Developer roles. I'd always been more comfortable server-side and using Java or Groovy.
I've know the basics, things like CSS selectors, am a whiz with DOM manipulation and using Ajax libraries, but every time I tried to achieve something outside the comfort of YUI or Dojo, rolling my own CSS had been a frustrating and arduous process of trial and error and time spent Googling trawling through results that invariably didn't work.
I'd find I'd be copying and pasting examples without really understanding why things sometimes worked with certain HTML elements and then didn't with others.
Yes I was aware of the basics of inline vs block components, but Michael opened my eyes to the fact that there are more granular classifications of elements and consequently why certain attributes weren't capable of being styled across the board because these classifications.
The book is comprised of 20 chapters.
Chapter 1 distills a lot of information down into a superb and handy reference.
Chapters 2-20 are a series of patterns that build on each other and are cross-referenced.
For me I think Chapter 17 was the high point of the book when the author discussed various layouts (including Fluid) and the final example in this chapter ties everything together.
The layout of the book essentially follows a screenshot, following by the HTML & CSS code on the left page. On the facing page, the problem & solution is described.
It is a bit tough going around pages 100-200, but my advice is to concentrate on the Pattern, visual screenshot and the HTML/CSS and the Example section when present when the author discusses the solution in more depth for the meatier problems.

Knowing how to combine the CSS elements that form the pattern (or building blocks) you'll be set to tackle rolling your own code.

In addition to this, there is also sage advice on search engine optimisation, performance related issues, semantic markup and accessibility issues scattered throughout the book.

There are various routes people take when coding web pages for multiple browsers, hacks, coding to standards, graceful degradation, progressive enhancements. Thankfully you'll find no hacks in here. As the author indicates, hacks are prone to stop working once a browser fixes the issues.
If doesn't just follow the standards are the only way to go route, and what the heck if some poor sucker is still using IE6, then tough luck. Instead the book shows patterns that work in all the browsers including (yuck IE6).

At the time the book was written it concentrated on IE6/IE7/Safari2/Firefox 2. Things have moved on a bit since then. But for the better, Wiki has a good comparison of the capabilities and adherence of browsers to standards.

If there are issues with browsers, the author describes why he takes certain approaches to cover all the bases.. He discusses the merits and limitations of solutions and above all else the patterns which show how to combine a staggering number of permutations of CSS rules to achieve a given goal. (350+ patterns according to back cover).

I guess my only gripes with the book were:
* the rounded corners example. I couldn't understand why there was a need for three graphics and I got lost in the figure 14-7 on P312. I couldn't understand why the square with the rounded corners couldn't be placed in each corner.
* the use of cssQuery over the likes of jQuery for some of the dynamic design patterns. This book was published in 2007, and I've seen references to jQuery from that timeframe.. jQuery is faster than cssQuery enabling CSS selector DOM manipulation too. Is cssQuery even being maintained any more?
* P208 & 292 Text Replacement/Replaced Text were one and the same pattern. I sort of get the reason for this, because one was in a chapter on images, the other was on text. But even so... Why repeat, just cross reference.

Overall this does not detract from what is a quality must have book for any web developer. The best I've seen on CSS (and I've got around 8 to 10 books on the subject). Once you know the basics, clear the shelves and replace it with this one. You won't be sorry you made the purchase.

If you want to have a sneak peak at the code and examples in action too, try Googling on cssdesignpatterns

A Decent Catalog of CSS
This has some good information in it.I found the best parts to be the first few chapters - great descriptions of the html DOM and an in-depth listing of the CSS selectors and what they do.The patterns themselves are somewhat basic. I was hoping for a little higher level patterns.The patterns are like "you want to offset a float from its current position... solution: you can use position:relative" OK, that makes sense -but do we need an entire pattern on it?I was hoping more for "you want to display a product image and it's description in a concise format... use the following HTML and styles:..."But I guess that is way too specific for the scope of the book.Also, the last few patterns that use javascript are a bit inappropriate considering what you can do with the frameworks nowadays.

To Make Web Site Design Easier
This book addresses possible questions or wrinkles that come up in the process of designing one's own web site by writing the code originally.The Index makes it easy to drill down to what you're looking for or needing, and the written text and accompanying illustrations make the 'how-to' clear and functional. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (71)

great web bacis
This book is wonderful for those wanting to learn the basics of Web design. The book explains the terms in easy to understand language along with easy to do and learn exercises. The way each chapter adds on the what you learned the chapters before really helps a person to understand the flow of creating a Web Page.

Great Book
This book is great, it talks in strait english. The only minus is, it has no glossary, but the abbreviationscan be found on the internet.

Great Intro / Refresher Book
Best intro to web book I have seen - as far as xhtml, css, and getting graphics ready for the web. It is the book used for my class and I am glad this is what was chosen. It does not get into design really - it is mainly focused on marking up and using css to manipulate the markup. Previously I thought the Heads Up series book was the best intro (due to it's active learning method) but I really think this is the best intro now. Hopefully she keeps this updated as things change.

Really good for beginners.
The book is very helpful for beginners. Written by an industry professional, and gives you more relevant information to web coding, such as dealing with browsers and different audiences, rather than code only. Again, this is for beginners, so don't expect to learn all of XHTML after reading this book. It's a good start though.

Excellent Beginner or Student Book
I teach introductory web design in an art college's continuing education program and this is the book I started recommending to my students (who are often artists, writers or designers wanting to develop basic web design skills) after one of my students purchased it as a HTML/CSS reference book. This book is ideal for a complete beginner, more advanced web students may need or want something more sophisticated.

Here's why I recommend Learning Web Design to my beginner students:

1) The book is in color. Most (possibly all) of the HTML and CSS reference books my students buy are in black and white. For creative, non-technical folks, this can be a challenge--wading through page after page of black and white text can be mind-numbing. The design of the book uses color to indicate key pieces of code, etc, which is very helpful for beginners.

2) The book doesn't cover everything--and doesn't pretend to. It thoroughly discusses the basics of HTML, CSS, web graphics and the process of creating a web site and introduces some intermediate concepts, but really only covers what 90% of beginners need to know.

3) The writing tone is friendly (I like the Dummies Guides for the same reason), which is great for non-technical users.

4) The exercises that accompany each lesson are good, and are nice jumping off points for students.

5) The discussion of graphics is better than in most books I've seen--it seems that a lot of basic web design references drop the ball in this area, probably because they're trying to cover so much material in the HTML & CSS sections. ... Read more

Product Description
An essential update to the key web authoring standards of HTML, XHTML, and CSS

The existence of Web pages depends on three vital technologies: HTML (base language that Web pages are written in), XHTML (standards that define how to write HTML pages), and CSS (standard that applies formatting styles to Web pages). This new edition provides you with critical coverage of these three Web authoring standards, and places special focus on the upcoming releases of HTML 5 and CSS 3.

Serving as a tutorial and reference, this comprehensive resource explains the basic structure and necessary formatting to create a static (non-changing) and dynamic (changing) page on the Internet.

Coverage includes:

• Creating Content with HTML
• Markup Languages
• HTML Values and Units
• What Goes into a Web Document?
• The HEAD Elements
• Text Structuring Essentials
• Character Formatting Essentials
• Lists, Links, Tables, Frames, and Forms
• Multimedia
• Dynamic HTML
• HTML Tools and Variants
• Web Development Software
• Publishing Your Site
• An Introduction To XML
• Creating Mobile Documents
• Tidying and Validating Your Documents
• Controlling Presentation with CSS
• Style Definitions
• CSS Values and Units
• CSS Inheritance and Cascade
• Font Properties
• Text Formatting
• Padding, Margins, and Borders
• Colors and Backgrounds
• CSS Layouts
• Pseudo-Elements and Generated Content
• Dynamic HTML with CSS
• Media Styles and Defining Documents for Printing
• The Future of CSS: CSS3
• User Interface Styles
• Testing and Validating CSS
• HTML, XHTML, and CSS Tips and Tricks

Helpful examples round out this essential guide and will get you up and running with HTML, XHTML, and CSS in no time!

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Product Description
The smart way to learn HTML and XHTML—and begin creating Web pages—one step at a time! Work at your own pace through the easy numbered steps, practice files on CD, helpful hints, and troubleshooting help to learn the essentials of working with HTML and XHTML in Microsoft® Office Word 2003 and Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003. You can learn to format text and apply colors, create hyperlinks and bookmarks, incorporate sound and video, set up lists and tables, create user forms, and work with Cascading Style Sheets. With STEP BY STEP, you can take just the lessons you need or work from cover to cover. Designed for beginning-level and intermediate-level users, STEP BY STEP lets you drive the instruction—building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

excellent book!!
I found this book a very easy tool to read and understand. I think is a great tool for a beginner person, and for any programmer who wants to learn a new language.
Excellent book!! very happy with it!

Puts it Simply
The title of the book is appropriate, this book so far explains details and steps concisely and simply.I like it.I am very glad I bought it.

Informative Book
This book is a very good book for the beginner.I had played with HTML a little, downloaded the DW 30 day trial but this book really got me started on the basics.It has a clear way of explaining how to do things.Another thing I like about it is the way it walks you through each step, you do the programming yourself each step so you can watch it happen in a browser.Great for somebody who knows very little to nothing about HTML.

Clean, Neat and Thorough
After, believe it or not, prayerfully looking through my local giant bookstore's web design section and reading Amazon reviews I was sure this was the one and I am convinced after reading into it I was right. I couldn't be more pleased with this book. I'm the type of person who doesn't need anything but neat, clean, and correct information. I don't need or want jokes and distractions in my books. My wife and I both ordered a copy of Step by Step. On the surface Step by Step is sturdy and well-constructed (from a former bindery worker). The Quick Reference in the beginning is thorough and readable. The writing in the book is refreshingly consistent from a writer and educator's perspective with neat and clean organization. Excellent proofing and editing no doubt.Step by Step is no-nonsense (X)HTML training at an affordable price. Incredibly, the hard copy comes with the entire book in PDF on CD with web color charts! Ms. Wempen, thanks for the book!

Great Beginner's Book
Excellent coverage of many topics. Lots of well done exercises that work as they should. Well worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
This beginning guide reviews HTML and also introduces you to using XHTML for the structure of a web page and cascading style sheets (CSS) for controlling how a document should appear on a web page. You?ll learn how to take advantage of the latest features of browsers while making sure that your pages still work in older, but popular, browsers. By incorporating usability and accessibility, you?ll be able to write professional-looking and well-coded web pages that use the latest technologies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Wonderful
This book is really good for us beginners.I recommend doing all the examples it tells you to do.I did even some of the examples shown, because the more I practice it, the easier it is to remember.A good book.

Should be your SECOND book on the topic
Anyone serious about learning web design should consider this book. It is a superb textbook, offering six chapters of solid (X)HTML education followed by excellent introductions to style sheets, design theory, and scripting. Used in conjunction with the free code download (available from the publisher's web site), it does exactly what it says on the tin.

That said, I would not recommend this book for absolute beginners or dabblers in web design. Simply put, it IS a textbook... the black and white illustrations are simply not sufficient to get a grasp of color, layout, and the like - you must do the end of chapter exercises. Further, the sequential instruction presented in the book hampers its use as a reference; it can answer "what does this tag do?" but not "how do I do that?"

Bottom line: if you have a little HTML experience and have already read a thin "newbie book" on the topic, then you are the ideal student for this excellent self-study course.

An excellent book...
This is an excellent book in order to learn actual web page design. It's really easy to follow by non-english speakers (like me, I'm spanish).

It has a lot of usefull information about HTML, CSS and general web design.

Highly recommended!!!

Programmer
I as a programmer think that this book is a productive book, the guy go over all the materials you need to learn step by step and smoothly.

Excellent - Informative
It's an excellent and informative book! It helped me very much to teach the item to a very "difficult audience"! ... Read more

Product Description
A complete and fully updated reference for these key Web technologies

HTML, XHTML, and CSS are essential tools for creating dynamic Web sites. This friendly, all-in-one guide covers what programmers need to know about each of the technologies and how to use them together.

Like the bestselling first edition, HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition makes it easy to grasp the fundamentals and start building effective Web pages. With new information about Web 2.0 and Ajax, it's the perfect reference as well.

• HTML, XHTML, and CSS are the key technologies for building dynamic Web pages
• This friendly, all-in-one guide explains each technology, shows how to use them together, and examines quality Web design and layout
• Six self-contained minibooks cover HTML, CSS, design and layout, client-side JavaScript, Ajax and server-side, and putting it all together
• Covers new Web development advancements including new technologies and changes to the standards
• Includes a CD with additional valuable Web development programs and a companion Web site featuring the code used in the book

Web programmers and designers will find what they most need to know in HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition, helping them create the type of Web sites that today's market demands. ... Read more

Product Description
The Essential Guide to CSS and HTML Web Design is a special book—it will tell you all you need to know to design great web sites that are standards compliant, usable, and look great, but not overwhelm you with waffle, theory, and obscure details.It is designed to be invaluable to you, whatever stage you are at in your career, with a mixture of practical tutorials and reference material—beginners will quickly pick up the basics, while more experienced web designers and developers will keep returning to the book again and again to recap on techniques they maybe haven't used for a while, or look up properties, attributes and other details. It is destined to become a close friend, adopting a permanent place on your desk.It starts off by giving a brief introduction to the internet, and the broad area of web design, before diving straight in to HTML and CSS basics, reusing code, other best practices. It then focuses on all the most important areas of a successful web site—typography, images, navigation, tables, layouts, forms and feedback (including ready made PHP scripts for you to use,) and browser quirks, hacks and bugs. The book is completely up-to-date, covering support of the newest standards in all the latest browsers, including IE 7 and Firefox 2.The last chapter of the book provides several case studies for you to dissect and learn from, including all the most popular web site archetypes—a blog, a store front, a corporate home page, and an online gallery.Then the book is rounded off with several detailed reference appendices covering CSS, HTML, Color references, entities, and more, meaning that any details you need to look up are close at hand.

• This book will teach you everything you need to know to create professional CSS and HTML web sites
• Up to date � covering support of the newest standards in all the latest browsers, including IE 7 and Firefox 2
• Includes practical real world tutorials, essential reference sections, and case studies.

What you'll learn

• The basics of HTML and CSS web design
• How to implement effective layouts, tables, images, navigation, forms and typography on web sites
• How to deal with cross browser issues, including quirks, bugs, and hacks on IE 7 (and older versions,) Firefox, Safari, Opera, and all other major browsers.
• How to make sure your sites are both usable and accessible
• How to implement several different styles of web front-end, through several complete case studies, including a blog, a store front, and an online gallery
• Detailed References are also provided so you don't need to learn every little detail of CSS and HTML

Customer Reviews (12)

Covers topics that other books leave out
This is one book on my shelf that covers key topics that are completely left out by other authors. I can tell that Craig is building websites out there in the real world because he's going straight to the heart of what clients are asking for. I have read other great books which teach the basics of XHTML & CSS. Those books give you a basic understanding that set you up for a book like this. When I get out to meet clients they'll inevitably request things like an online photo gallery or may require a complex multi-column navigation system that I am easily able to build because of this book. I literally go straight to the section, type the code and the website has the feature. What I have found with other books is that they taught me the basics so that I know how to hand code with confidence. However I won't be winning any design awards and I haven't found some of the sophisticated features that clients demand in any other book. The chapter that covers navigation is the best I've come across. It covers how to code each of the navigation types, including the drop-down and multi-column types similar to the one here on Amazon.
This book is a perfect combination of the XHTML, CSS & Javascript knowledge that works in the real world of web design. If you have no idea how to go about building a drop down menu or can't find reliable information about how to build a cool web gallery then look no further. Absolute beginners should start with a simpler book that covers the raw basics of XHTML & CSS, and there's several out there on the market. Once you're ready to take on your first round of clients you'll find this book is invaluable for adding the more sophisticated features that your clients will require. Hope there's an updated edition on the way!

Essential AND informative
This book is one of the best web page design books I've used.Not only does it tell you how do get things done, it will explain multiple ways of getting the same result and the pros and cons of each way.It explains why to design your website using xhtml strict instead of any other form, but still lets you know how to go about using the other doctypes.It explains the correct way to use tables, manipulate images, and format your text.The author goes into a great amount of detail in an easy-to-read way so that you aren't overwhelmed even if you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.I have benefited from it greatly, and would recommend it to any beginner web-page designer.

Good Book, useful
I just got this book about a month ago. I have a basic knowledge already of CSS and HTML but I wanted to make sure I was doing it correctly and needed more explanation on some things and just wanted to really understand the coding more so I didn't have to rely so much on dreamweaver/photoshop to write most of it for me. I think that this book is great, especially for hands on learning. There is a folder you can download on the internet that contains documents for the exercises in the book. For every section there are exercises you can do to learn all the different parts of css and can see what everything does as far as navigation, type, lists etc etc. I think the author is very easy to understand and very thorough. Overall I think it is definitely one of the more useful ones and will make sure to teach you how to do CSS and XHTML correctly to avoid errors in different platforms/browsers and to ensure compatibility across the board. Great book. Really enjoyed it and recommend even if you're knowledge level is very little. Although if you have never worked with css and html before it might be a little much too fast.

A Highly Recommended Book on Web Design with CSS/HTML
One good book, straight to the point and yet easy to understand. The author certainly exhibits some strong pedagogical skills and he does a fantastic job at integrating various technologies under one roof. Each of the ten chapters and six appendices focus on one aspect and is illustrated by lots of practical examples that could be reused almost as is in your own projects. The author's decision to avoid any reference to web design applications is a smart one. Not only does it allow him to focus on the very foundations of web design but also to be relevant to a wider audience, both in terms of platform and level. With lots of tips, plenty of warnings, and an emphasis on standards and industry best practices, this book is like having a private web design instructor. Highly recommended.

Review
Great book suported by some On-line examples, specially good for begginers.
Little more examples or exercises will give this book the 5th star but as it is now it is also great.
My recomendation..

BR ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

jQuery, PHP, Apache centric examples
Sadly, I write in Cold Fusion, MooTools and use IIS7 Servers.I will have to translate the ideas, but still, it pointed the directions to go in.I don't regret buying it.

Opened my eyes
I had bought an iPad when they were first announced. I had the expressed intention of creating some very specific apps; I did not need Wired Magazine to tell me that mobile apps are the future.

My plans were delayed by Apple's delay in releasing a new iPad OS.I didn't want to waste a lot of time struggling with things in the original OS that might become easier in the next.

I'd rather not struggle at all. As I have gotten older, the thrill of twisting C and C++to my will is far less alluring than it used to be. Honestly, there is no allure left at all: I saw learning the Apple API as an onerous but necessary task. I was not looking forward to it.

Then this book arrived and opened my eyes.Yes, there is that "Android" in the title, but this is really about building device agnostic apps and I saw that long before the author off handedly mentioned iPhones in Chapter 7.Yeah, baby - if you think I was reluctant to learn Apple API's, well, that's nothing compared to how I feel about futzing around with Java to drive Android stuff.No thank you. But CSS and Javascript? That's different.

Not that I still don't have a learning curve.I have done very little with CSS or Javascript because of browser quirks. I realized that Jquery could smooth a lot of that out for me, but I just did not have enough of a need to invest any time learning that either.Mobile apps provides that incentive.

This book opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities I was just not aware of. For example, I did not know about theWeb SQL Database abilities in HTML5.The author said that rocked his world; well, it rocked mine also.

I am looking forward to sitting down and playing with the ideas this book has exposed me to. This really changes my plans, and this is one case whereI am very happy to veer off course.Jquery, here I come! ... Read more

Product Description
Part of the highly successful Shelly Cashman series, this text provides a comprehensive introduction to HTML and leads the user through a clear, step-by-step, screen-by-screen approach to learning. Readers learn how to create a Web page using HTML, format the page, add graphics, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good tutorials, but with error-filled code examples
HTML Comprehensive is an excellent source for tutorials and basic learning. Unfortunately, the code examples, especially those which show JavaScript, are error-filled. Nevertheless, this book is recommended.

Great book.
Book was in new condition.Shipped quickly and was exactly what I wanted.Great job!!

Javascript codes not functioning correctly?
Reviewing and completing Chapter 9, I stumbled on several javascript code errors. I put them in over and over again correctly, when working with chapter09.html , but nothing ever came up except the modified last date code. Nonetheless everything else seems to work fine, but here and there I had to modify my own pages on some chapters. I say find a better html book this one isnt worth your money.

HTML Text
The Shelly Cashman Series is very good to learn and to teach Microsoft products.You do encounter the occasional mistake or ambiguous directions, but overall they are the best textbooks for Microsoft products I have used.

College Book Review
I purchased this book for a class I'm taking at my local college. I was going to purchase the book at the college bookstore but they wanted over $120.00 for it brand new. Fortunately, I got it from Amazon for under $100.00 including shipping so I was estatic. My class hasn't started yet, but just from doing a cursory look at the book I can tell it's going to be a fun and interest class. Once again, I can count on Amazon for affordable textbooks for school. ... Read more

Product Description

Today’s Web 2.0 applications (think Facebook and Twitter) go far beyond the confines of the desktop and are widely used on mobile devices. The mobile Web has become incredibly popular given the success of the iPhone and BlackBerry, the importance of Windows Mobile, and the emergence of Palm Pre (and its webOS platform). At Apress, we are fortunate to have Gail Frederick of the well-known training site Learn the Mobile Web offer her expert advice in Beginning Smartphone Web Development. In this book, Gail teaches the web standards and fundamentals specific to smartphones and other feature-driven mobile phones and devices.

• Shows you how to build interactive mobile web sites using web technologies optimized for browsers in smartphones
• Details markup fundamentals, design principles, content adaptation, usability, and interoperability
• Explores cross-platform standards and best practices for the mobile Web authored by the W3C, dotMobi, and similar organizations
• Dives deeps into the feature sets of the most popular mobile browsers, including WebKit, Chrome, Palm Pre webOS, Pocket IE, Opera Mobile, and Skyfire

By the end of this book, you’ll have the training, tools, and techniques for creating robust mobile web experiences on any of these platforms for your favorite smartphone or other mobile device.

You’ll learn how to:

• Build interactive mobile web pages that comply with industry standards and best practices.
• Develop web sites using the markup languages of the mobile Web: XHTML-MP, Wireless CSS, and WML.
• Use Mobile JavaScript and Ajax for client-side web interactivity.
• Adapt the syntax and design of mobile web pages to target smartphone models.
• Enhance mobile web pages to target advanced features of smartphone browsers.
• Validate and compress mobile markup to optimize for network transmission and browser performance.
• Simulate smartphone browsers using emulators and development tools.

Who is this book for?

Customer Reviews (7)

Helps with understanding design concepts.
This book turned out to have some solid information on figuring out the designing and packaging concepts you need to keep in mind when setting up an appliction for a tiny screen hand held device. Forget complex rich-media site artwork that makes people linger on a widescreen monitor and think focused task operated by thumbs. Reminds me of the efficiency principles from the days of 3278's and VT100's in a way ... there's not a lot of room for noise factor on a screen the size of a playing card. The book emphasizes this and shows a number of good examples. The section on style guide planning the top, middle and bottom sections of a display page was worth the price of the book.

Beginning Smartphone Web Development
Even though I am a .NET developer, I found the book contained a lot of information that is relevant to my future plans. Mobile is here to stay and growing exponetially. So to stay ahead of the curve, as a developer, you need to keep up with current technology and, this book is a great starting point. My thanks to the authors for sharing their hard earned knowledge.

Learn Smartphone Web Development
Mobile web development is very current nowadays and the books out there now is very slim in explaining all the technologies that are neccessary.This book is a godsend for web developers who really need a reference book on understanding what issues and concerns must be taken on trying to get your mobile web page viewable on the thousands of different web platforms there are.

Web browsers in mobile devices aim to comply with web and mobile industry standards.The author teaches you the standards, best practices and development techniques for building interactive mobile web pages for browsers in smartphones and other mobile devices.

The standards-based mobile web browser is the most promising cross-platform mobile technology.The author based this book on his courses he teaches based upon his many years of experiennce in deploying mobile web applications around the world.

The examples are easy to follow and help get you up and running in a short time.

Its a great book and should be in your computer book library.

Very well written and relevant information
This book is an excellent source of information for the mobile web developer. It assumes you have prior knowledge of web development and takes you straight in to the mobile web. The information presented is extremely relevant. There is a section about useful add-ons for Firefox as a tool for web development. There are references about the MIME types used in mobile web. I specially liked the four case studies which examined four popular mobile web sites: Bank of America, CNN, Flickr and Wikipedia. The book also is supported by code examples in their website which is especially useful in web development.
It ends with a chapter interviewing a panel of experts about the future of mobile web which was very interesting and comprehensive.
Altogether, I highly recommend this book to experienced developers looking to create mobile web content. I plan to use the newly acquired knowledge to create the mobile web version of my protesting web site (BeMeProtest).

Great Book for bird eye's view of mobile platform.
It is a very well written book. The book provides a very good overview and a overall birds eye view of most of the mobile platforms. This book is not in depth, but thats exactly what the title says 'Beginning'. If you want in depth you can view some of their other series. The book is like a movie trailer, if you want to see the whole movie, there are other book by the same publisher, and same series. Its great for people who don't want to get into the details, but would like to select their favorite mobile platform, by seeing what every platform has to offer. The language and style is excellent, and the information flows smoothly. The book does contain codes and examples to try. The book help a starter to navigate the complex waters of mobile platform development with great ease. Highly recommended for mobile platform starters. ... Read more

Product Description
Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something - and skip the long-winded explanations? If so, then this book is for you. Open it up and you'll find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle more than 175 tasks involving HTML and CSS. Each task-based spread covers a single technique, sure to help you get up and running with HTML and CSS in no time.

You'll learn to:

• View HTML code in a browser
• Add and format text
• Prepare images for the Web
• Insert links to other pages
• Control layout with style sheets
• Add JavaScript to a Web page
• Helpful sidebars offer practical tips and tricks
• Succinct explanations walk you through step by step
• Full-color screen shots demonstrate each task
• Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules

Customer Reviews (5)

Visual Learner... that's me.
The layout is easy to follow, though a garish comic bookish design, each section clearly shows and explains the intent. As "visual learner", I found the instructions very helpful, but the screen shots so small as to be useless. Requires use of a magnifying glass. For the money, there are better books available.

Teach Yourself Visually HTML and CSS
Teach Yourself VISUALLY HTML and CSS (Teach Yourself VISUALLY (Tech))

I found it very difficult to use this book because the illustrations were such small type it was impossible to read. Also most of the top half of the pages were graphics that had no relation to the lessons.

A great book for visual learners!
I found this book to be a great source of information on formatting my web pages with CSS, which is the main reason I bought the book.Not having much experience doing web design, this book's abundance of pictures made it easy for me to get my web page up and running in no time.If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is priceless!

Visual Learner
Teach Yourself VISUALLY HTML and CSS (Teach Yourself VISUALLY (Tech)) First, I am a visual learner. Second, I am a senior citizen (no I will not reveal my age).I looked at the title of this book and perused the pages.I saw so manypictures, I knew this book was for me. I am a novice and decided I wanted to design a Web page andlearn more about HTML. I love the way it shows steps and pictures with majority of the steps. The book was written for novice to frequent users ready to expand their knowledge. I now understand creation a web page, formatting and Table Structure. The formatting and step by step information were valuable.The ease of reading this book made it possible to apply the knowledge I learned to immediately make a Web page (OK, it did take a few hours to do this!) I have a Web page of my own! !...Thank you Mike and Linda Woooldridge

Very slow and long way to learn. Dont waste your money.
READ MORE - LEARN LESS
To me this book was a complete waste of money . It is like a children book. And the writing for the HTML code was verysmall in size. Also this book is filled with drawings that has no objective. Please save your money and time and look for another book. ... Read more

Product Description

Goodman assumes a solid foundation, if not expertise, in basic HTMLand an understanding of what DHTML is all about. From thoseassumptions, he presents a meaty, information-dense volume. The firstof the book's four sections discusses industry standards and how toapply the basic principles of DHTML. He emphasizes the differences inWeb browsers and discusses how to build pages so that they work wellin both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The secondsection is an extensive, quick reference of all the tags, objects, andproperties of HTML, cascading style sheets, Document Object Model, andcore JavaScript. A particularly handy cross-reference guide to thisinformation follows, helping you locate it in alternate ways. Thefinal section contains appendices, with useful tables of values andcommands. --Elizabeth Lewis ... Read more

Customer Reviews (160)

Disgrace compared to the 2nd edition
First, I'll say that I've owned the previous two editions.The 2nd was 1400 pages.This "new" and expanded version (covering buzzwords AJAX and Web 2.0 along with Mozilla, Safari, and Opera) is somehow only 1300 pages.How could this be?Well, the last edition had 4 parts.This one only has 3.They cut the first 7 chapters out.I would be OK with this as the remaining is ONLY a reference, but it's not.The reason is that it's not is that the index is pure rubbish (and I'm using a lot of restraint to avoid profanity).It went from 56 pages down to barely 16.It's like they were on a mission to save pages!Another example of cost-cutting at your expense is there are no listings for something simple such as "onmouseover".It's under "mouseover" because that's the DOM event name.

As a result of the index, it is impossible to look up anything.I'll give you an example.In the 2nd edition, the word "position/positioning" had nearly 1/2 page of entries/sub-entries/etc. in the index.The new has only ONE line.The page that it takes you to is also fairly useless and says "See Chapter 5 for details and examples".That's it, noting more specific, just: Chapter 5.I looked through the roughly 125 pages in Chapter 5 by hand and couldn't find anything relevant.This book is a lesson in frustration for when you know a tag or attribute and are trying to just look up the defaults or possible values or how you access a DOM object or CSS property through JavaScript.The only usable way I found is to use BOTH books and look it up in the 2nd edition first to find out "about" where it might be in the 3rd edition.What a waste of time!

Further, the book is filled with probably 1/3 of "theoretical" DOM and CSS that is defined/proposed standards but is not implemented by any browser, so it is useless to any developer who develops in the real world.Combined with the fact that it still covers Netscape Navigator 4.x (give me a break) and all its proprietary/funky HTML, then 1/2 the book is useless reference.Also, much of the reference is terse 1 or 2 sentences.Without an index, it seriously needs "see also" type listings like you would find in a man page, etc.

In sum, this is a frustrating book with information for a given attribute/etc. scattered around in 8 major sections including "shared" sections.I found it takes at least 5X to 10X your time to look up something than it should based on the 2nd edition.I do give it two stars because you know the information is in there somewhere.It just takes forever to find it.

An invaluable resource for hardcore developers
If you're a hardcore developer who shuns frameworks and frontends, this book is your bible for three reasons: cross-browser compatibility notices, completeness, and historical insight.

This book is a great touchstone for developer and freelance interviews. If the person rating to technical competence doesn't know about this book, chances are you know more about good development than your interviewer does.

The only real flaw with this book is its reduced index. The 1st and 2nd editions of this book all had thorough indexes that let you look up prototypes, elements and properties even by casual name. This 3rd edition index is stripped of those conveniences forcing you to work your brain harder to remember the proper context of that little known element you're trying to look up. Good brain exercise, perhaps. But, very annoying during crunch time. I encourage Mr. Goodman to beef the index back up for the 4th edition, which better be coming soon. (with Chrome support, yes?)

Frustrating
A generally good reference book, but lacks a thorough index, and the page headings lack detail.Plan on spending lots of time flipping through the "input" and "document" pages looking for the page you want.

The book notes browser compatibility for each item, but its hard to not feel drowned in the clutter of useless "IE n/a NN n/a Moz n/a Saf n/a Op 9 DOM n/a" entries.

What I really wish I had was a "DHTML Best Practices" book where the primary useful, portable, and recommended tags/classes/events/whatever were highlighted and the deprecated/incompatible stuff was just summarized in a secondary section.

Book Index sucks
I used to have the previous edition. I could quickly find objects and properties in the books index and just go to what I wanted. This new edition doesn't even have the event handling properties such as onmouseover and such. Its also missing some minor properties for css or html. I know the big ones, its the minor ones that i need help on. Its great that it takes into account safari, mozilla and opera compatibility, but they really did a crappy job on the index. Apparently they wanted to safe paper and removed some things from it. so, now I use the old edition and new edition. A big inconvenience.

Awesome
The ONLY DHTML reference you need. This book has everything covered from Javascript, HTML, CSS, DOM, Ajax, Web 2.0. This is the only book that I always have by my side while developing. ... Read more

Product Description
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the lingua franca of the Web, and like any language, it's constantly evolving. That's why Elizabeth Castro has written HTML 4 for the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide, an update to her blockbuster guide to HTML 4. You'll find all the concise, practical advice--and fun examples--that made the first edition a worldwide bestseller, plus entirely new coverage of debugging, JavaScript, and using tables for page layout, and an expanded section on Cascading Style Sheets.

Like all the books in the Visual QuickStart series, this one breaks even the most complex tasks into easy-to-follow steps illustrated with hundreds of screenshots and the actual code. The book presumes no prior knowledge of HTML, making it the perfect introduction for beginners. But its tabbed format and info-packed appendixes (on special HTML characters and Web-safe colors, for example) also make it a handy and indispensable reference for those who build Web pages for a living. Find out why Amazon called the previous edition a "dream guide" to HTML.Amazon.com Review
"Perhaps the best-written HTML tutorial ever."

This book occupies a unique spot in my opinion. It's "the competition." All other HTML/Web page learning or how-to books are trying to knock the crown from this book's head. While it may not be for everyone, it just does such a superb job that it defines the field. Congratulations, Elizabeth.

This is what I could classify as a true intermediate or advanced book. Elizabeth Castro doesn't waste time or steps trying to teach a newbie how to click here or create a text file. In fact, so much is assumed that this really can't be called a beginner book at all. So, if you know what you're doing or what you want, this book will serve you well.

The whole HTML thing is broken down into tasks: formatting, text, layout commands, cascading style sheets--the whole nine yards. Then individual HTML commands or tasks are illustrated one to a page. The steps fall down the outside of the page; illustrations line the page's inside.

While this is all a great way to learn HTML, I can still find room for improvement--though not at the expense of the format. For example, a reference or tear-out card would have been handy. And some topics, especially JavaScript, are glossed over too quickly to be useful. From personal experience, I know that some topics, such as FTP, could use even more hands-on examples.

If you "get it" when it comes to computers, and are ready to do some down-and-dirty HTML coding (and I'm not talking lame-old FrontPage here), this book will teach you the basics in no time. It will provide a firm foundation upon which you can easily build your Web pages for the future. --Dan Gookin ... Read more

Customer Reviews (387)

digital books
Make availability of more digital books, it will be cheap, arrange for more digital academic book.

Very Satisfied
I order and received the book very quickly.The book was in excellent condition.Would order fromt his seller again.

Easy to understand and follow instructions.
Having no HTML experience, this book was recommended by our Manager of I.T.S.The detailed instruction and illustrations made it easy to understand and create my first website.

Still valid after all these years.
This book has all the information you need at your fingertips. I have two copies now,on for home and the other for the office. If you need to see how to apply a tag, or what the syntax is for its attributes I've found nothing better.

Sure, there are later additions, but they are bigger, and don't fit the laptop case as well as this. If you need a handy reference book this is the one.

She's Great!
If you want to learn HTML, E. Castro gives you the tools. The book is well laid out. It contains good examples and is broad enough to educate you to a point of understanding and writing a Website in HTML. ... Read more

Product Description
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON CREATING WEB PAGES WITH HTML, XHTML, AND XML teaches students how to create simple to complex Web sites from scratch using HTML, XHTML, and XML. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Required Files Not Provided
The text does a competent job of explaining the fundamentals of its subject matter, but the price is much too high compared to better-written, more informative texts on the same subjects.Also, the files needed to actually complete case problems and review projects are not included on a disc, but available through a companion site.Unfortunately, the files for tutorials 11+ are not available to download, making these review sections entirely useless and posing a serious problem for students in courses which utilize this text.

I would not recommend this book to anyone: there are far cheaper, more useful books on the subject available, not to mention the wealth of knowledge available for free on the Internet.

Alright
Have to download the files on a different site, but good book, awfully expensive though. ... Read more

Product Description
This second edition from the New Perspectives series provides comprehensive, step-by-step instruction on coding Web pages from scratch using HTML, XHTML, and XML. Offering new case problems, tutorials, and a new appendix on Web accessibility and Section 508 compliance, this text keeps students up to date on the latest in coding Web pages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

deliver took 9 days
the book was in o.k conditions and it took about 9 days to ve delivered at my dooor.

Book binding was broken
The book binding on this book was broken.Since class started the next night, my huband taped it with packing tape.There was no packaging in the box to protect the two books in it.The box was damaged during shipping as well.

Creating Web Pages Review
excellent books with step-by-step instructions for creating web pages.I am new to IT so am glad it's written in "regular joe" speak and not "IT speak" which is very helpful to someone like me who is making a career change.

Why Bother?
This is an over-rated and over-priced book.I am forced to use it, and find that there are better resources available in less expensive texts, and on the W3C School web site.The text is adequate, but barely so.Sell it if you have it, and avoid it if you can.

New Perspectives on Creating Web
Seller was very prompt in getting this book to me.The book is in very good shape.Highly recommended---smooth business transaction. ... Read more

Product Description
Part of the highly successful Shelly Cashman series, this text provides a complete overview of HTML and leads the user through a clear, step-by-step, screen-by-screen approach to learning. Readers learn how to create a Web page using HTML, format the page, add graphics, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

late delivery
advertised in stock but in reality they had to hunt this book down - took too long to receive this book than expected ... Read more

Product Description
This handy low-priced book is packed with HTML/XHTML definitions and tips, including those for HTML5 elements in depth. Snappy writing and illustrative code samples walk readers through HTML uses and element definitions. Handy pocket size provides a convenient reference for HTML coders. A true companion to standards-compliant design. The HTML Pocket Guide is for both beginning users, who want an introduction to HTML, and more advanced users, who are looking for a convenient reference. While HTML5 is still under development, browser manufacturers are already supporting many of its features in Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and the upcoming Internet Explorer 9. So, now is the time to start learning about it.

The HTML Pocket Guide is a valuable companion to creating standards-compliant markup that will help Web designers and developers quickly define content and meaning. Accessible, convenient, and inexpensive, this pocket guide is exactly what web designers and developers need.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Handy
A nifty little book, designed for reference. Most of the entries have code snippet examples. The book can be used for self-learning as well, as the chapters are thematic: lists, text, forms, tabular data, etc. ... Read more

Product Description
Part of the highly successful Shelly Cashman series, this text provides a complete overview of HTML and leads the user through a clear, step-by-step, screen-by-screen approach to learning. Readers learn how to create a Web page using HTML, format the page, add graphics, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Used College Book at a Discount Price. Great Condition.
This book was described well. I did not have any edition discrepancies and the book was in prime condition. I ordered this book almost 3 weeks before the class started, to be safe, but it arrived at my door in about a week, so I was impressed with the shipping speed. The price was very fair, I've seen this book go for almost twice the price at local college bookstores. It never hurts to shop around.

Great Tutorial
This book gives the reader a step by step tutorial on how to make an html page. Each chapter in this book shows you a new code/tags but combines the previous code/tags you learn. For example, the reader will learn how to bring in an image or multiple images in html, combine different font colors in the body and text, and use hyperlinks and more. The reader will find themselves using codes from the previous chapter everytime they start a new html page i believe this method will help the reader remember the tags better. I am not done reading this book, but everytime I read this book I am learning something new which helps me become more skilled at html.

Great step by step guide
This book is a great step by step guide for people willing to learn HTML the easy way. My personal experience that it has many colorful images that guide you through the process and show you even the steps that you might have forgot from the earlier chapters. This book is used in my college for the online HTML introductory class.

Great buy even if you want to learn the material yourself. You just need to find the chapter contents that you are going to be working with(presumably there is a disk or online download).

I like it
The book didn't arrive fast, but it is in a good condition. I am satisfied

Never received
Never received the book. I ordered 2 other books the same day. I received the other 2 but never this one from the seller. Seeking 2 get my $$$ back. ... Read more

Product Description
An essential update to the key web authoring standards of HTML, XHTML, and CSS

The existence of Web pages depends on three vital technologies: HTML (base language that Web pages are written in), XHTML (standards that define how to write HTML pages), and CSS (standard that applies formatting styles to Web pages). This new edition provides you with critical coverage of these three Web authoring standards, and places special focus on the upcoming releases of HTML 5 and CSS 3.

Serving as a tutorial and reference, this comprehensive resource explains the basic structure and necessary formatting to create a static (non-changing) and dynamic (changing) page on the Internet.

• HTML, XHTML, and CSS are the three major Web authoring standards for creating either a static or dynamic Web page
• Guides you through using HTML to create Web documents and introduces updates to HTML 5
• Demonstrates best practices for using tools and utilities to create Web documents
• Includes coverage of the new CSS 3 and tips and tricks for maximizing its abilities

Helpful examples round out this essential guide and will get you up and running with HTML, XHMTL, and CSS in no time!

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Great HTML information
This up to date HTML coding book is a good one. It gives you an inside look at HTML4 and also goes into some of the key elements that HTML 5 will hold. I am pleased with the book, and I feel you would be also. Anyone wanting to learn HTML 4, and be able to write code, using CSS, and HTML 4 and going into 5 will benefit from the information provided.

disappointing
I bought a dutch translation of this book, and was rather disappointed. I wanted to learn more about xhtml, to be able to work on my own website, and not having to ask a friend for every little change I wanted to make.
In my opinion the book clearly lacks good editing work. For instance on parts where certain elements are introduced, the authors start elaborating on styles. This complicates things a lot, because explaining styles should be reserved for the chapters that are devoted to it.
Where it says in the first chapter that layout and content should be separated, they give examples where there is layout mixed with the content. This doesn't make it easy to develop my own writing of html.
The meaning of document type definitions didn't become clear to me, because they use different type definitions throughout the text. So as a beginner I can't follow any more...

I'll do my best to go learning with this book, but if you still have to decide which one to buy...

Need a Web Site Building Companion You Can Grow With?
If you are a complete novice at building web sites and you feel a little frightened about even beginning to learn, there are several more basic books available to help get you started on this adventure.However once a few rather simple lessons are learned and you are gazing in joy at your first attempts at web pages, Schafer's book is your next step.He also covers all of the basics for beginners but those chapters are useful more or less as a review rather than a starting point.His coverage of HTML is not offered in a hand-holding fashion for the meek but rather in a straight-forward, "here's how to do it" format.His presentations and explanations are perfect though for everyone who eventually comes to the realization that they are not "dummies" and who want a more grown-up approach to learning basic web site construction.Schafer's conversational style helps those who have a grasp of the basics and is also the book they will continue to use throughout their web site creation careers: HTML, XHTML, AND CSS BIBLE, Fourth Edition is a long-term reference tool.The one drawback to the book is that it lacks any color to help brighten some of the many examples he creates.However, this loss is offset by the affordable price of the book and in the long run does not detract from its usefulness.For anyone who wants an accessible text they can grow with, Schafer's book is their answer.

Must Have for Web Developers
We've been in the web development business for over 11 years and have watched so much change in that time. We're often asked what tools are vital to learning how to work in our field. Many from the 'bible' series books have been on our office shelves over the years. This one is the latest to actually take up residence on each of our desks as a regular reference tool. Buy it, use it, use those nifty post-it flags & highlighters all over it, and when the pages start falling out, tape them back in & keep using it. As for the bad reviews - my suggestion is that if you're advanced in HTML or looking for advanced techniques in CSS there are books for that, too. It takes an entire library of reference books to stay up with all the changes & aspects of this industry, and as you grow beyond the levels found here add to your collection, but this one really is important to your library!

This book rocks my socks off
It's easy to read, full of useful information, and up to date.It is well written and has great examples.


I don't know what more to say.If you are interested in using HTML/XHTML or CSS, I'd say this is a very valuable book to own.


Jenn
ihatechunli@yahoo.com ... Read more