About this product: It's important for anyone who creates Web sites--even those who rely on powerful editors like Dreamweaver or GoLive--to know HTML. The World Wide Web Consortium rewrote HTML as a subset of XML (dubbing it "XHTML 1.0") and the allowable code will eventually be stricter. Tags that are being phased out are labeled "deprecated"--current browsers can still handle them, but if you want your site to keep up with future browsers, not to mention conform to accessibility requirements, you will want to get on top of XHTML.
Of course, Elizabeth Castro manages to write books that not only speak to those who are already fluent in HTML, but are good for newbies too. She makes it a breeze to create sites that are visually stylish and technically sophisticated without the expense of buying an editor.
Among the topics covered in her new book, HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS: using the (relatively newer) structural tags (like doctype and div); correctly using older tags (like p and img) that have been modified in XHTML; writing XHTML so that formatting is done by the style sheets; writing those style sheets (cascading style sheets, a.k.a. "CSS"); creating a variety of layouts; and dealing with tables, frames, forms, multimedia, a bit of JavaScript (including mouseovers), WML (for mobile device displays), debugging, publishing, and publicizing your site.
As with all Visual QuickStart Guides, this one features clear and concise instructions side by side with well-captioned illustrations and screen shots that show both the source code and the resulting effect on the Web page. The index is extremely detailed, making this a great reference.
Also great for reference are the outstanding appendices. The first is an extensive list of tags and attributes, indicating which are deprecated and/or proprietary and on which page they are discussed. A similar appendix shows CSS properties and values; given the future of Web coding, this chart alone is worth the price of the book. Other handy charts cover intrinsic events, symbols and character Unicodes, and an expanded color chart that goes way beyond the virtually archaic Web-safe palette. All of which makes this a definite must-have for every Web designer's bookshelf. --Angelynn Grant
Today, serious Web pages use HTML and XHTML to structure their content and CSS for style and presentation. You need a book that understands how to incorporate everything correctly. Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML explains the fundamentals of HTML, XHTML, topics like web color, and CSS properties. In this book, pictures and step-by-step instructions explain how to build great-looking, standards-compliant web sites.
The Road to Programming is Sometimes Paved with Web Pages By Elisabeth Robson
I am often asked how I first got started in programming. Recently, I was interviewed by Girls Gone Geek, a weekly podcast on technology from a women's perspective, and they asked if I got started by creating web sites. The Girls clearly have no idea how old I am! (Shhh...) I actually started programming long before the Web was a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee's eye, but their question got me thinking, and I realized that creating a web site is a good way to get started on your way to programming.
Now, you might be thinking, "Writing HTML and CSS is not the same thing as programming", and that's technically true. But once you've put together a basic web page, you'll have learned a lot about how the web works under the covers, and you'll be able to tackle some simple programming concepts. The next logical step is to learn a bit of JavaScript, so you can create some cool effects on your web page. Before you know it, you'll be learning Ajax, and then a server side programming language like PHP or Java, and then you'll need a database, so you'll learn some SQL... and ta da! You're a web programmer. I work with several people who have taken an interesting path to programming. One friend has an advanced degree in music and is now a business data analysis expert; another started out wanting to be a farmer, became a web application programmer, and is now a serious Java programmer.
For those of you who have no interest in the mechanics of web pages, there are lots of programs out there, like Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft Expression, that will help you create a web page without having to know how HTML and CSS really work. But if you want to know what's happening under the covers so you can learn about how web pages really work, and eventually write some JavaScript and do more advanced programming, I definitely recommend writing your own HTML and CSS from scratch. You can use a simple editor like TextEdit (on the Mac) or TextPad (on Windows). No need for anything fancy.
Another advantage to writing HTML and CSS yourself is that you can always write your web pages using the most current standards. When we wrote Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, HTML 4.01, CSS 2, and XHTML 1.0 were the most current and best supported versions of these technologies, and in fact they still are. But standards development is inching along and before too long, HTML 5, CSS 3 and XHTML 2.0 will be launched and supported by browsers. If you stay up to date with these standards, you're likely to be writing far better code than programs like Dreamweaver or Expression do.
Once the new standards for HTML, CSS and XHTML are nailed down a bit more, we'll update Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML to include some of the cool new features. HTML 5 will be more strict than HTML 4 was, but it's designed to be backwards compatible with older browsers, so you will be able to convert your HTML 4 pages to HTML 5 web pages without worrying too much about breaking them in older browsers. (However, always keep in mind that there is no substitute for lots of testing!)
In the meantime, you can write HTML 4.01, CSS 2 and XHTML 1 knowing that these standards will be the most current and the best supported for quite a while. When the new standards are released and supported by browsers, we'll help you sort through it all so you can focus on creating great web pages and building up your web skills. And once you get the hang of some of these web page skills, you might very well find yourself wanting to move from creating web pages to programming.
About this product: Want to build a killer Web site? Want to make it easy to keep your site up to date? You'll need to know how CSS, HTML, and XHTML work together. HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies makes that easy too! These eight minibooks get you started, explain standards, and help you connect all the dots to create sites with pizzazz.
This handy, one-stop guide catches you up on XHTML basics and CSS fundamentals. You'll learn how to work with Positionable CSS to create floating elements, margins, and multi-column layouts, and you'll get up to speed on client-side programming with JavaScript. You'll also get the low-down on server side programming with PHP, creating a database with MySQL, and using Ajax on both client and server sides. You'll find out how to:
Use templates and validators
Manage information with lists and tables
Turn lists of links into button bars
Add style color and borders
Create variables for data
Add motion with basic DOM animation
Work with arrays
Add Flash functionality with AFLAX
Build and manage a multipage site
Choose and run your own server
You don't need expensive or complicated software or a super-powerful computer to build a Web site that does all sorts of amazing things. All you need is a text editor and the clear, step-by-step guidance you'll find in HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies.
"Build Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS, 2nd Edition" teaches web development from scratch, without assuming any previous knowledge of HTML, CSS or web development techniques. This book introduces you to HTML and CSS as you follow along with the author, step-by-step, to build a fully functional web site from the ground up.
However, unlike countless other "learn web design" books, this title concentrates on modern, best-practice techniques from the very beginning, which means you'll get it right the first time. The web sites you'll build will:
Look good on a PC, Mac or Linux computer Render correctly whether your visitors are using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, or Safari Use web standards so your sites will be fast loading and easy to maintain Be accessible to disabled users who use screenreaders to browse the Web
By the end of the book, you'll be equipped with enough knowledge to set out on your first projects as a professional web developer, or you can simply use the knowledge you've gained to create attractive, functional, usable and accessible sites for personal use.
About this product: Plenty of books can teach you HTML quickly, getting you up to speed and hacking out Web pages in no time. HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide offers a more comprehensive and pragmatic look at the de facto markup language of today, as well as the emerging next step.
This title systematically presents HTML markup, beginning with the basics--such as the anatomy of an HTML document, text, and links--and proceeding to cascading style sheets, JavaScript, and XML. Along the way, it discusses related issues, such as problems with displaying background images, and browser-specific behavior with tables and other elements. Each element is covered in as much depth as is necessary to frame the key implementation issues.
Most of the book is entirely relevant to basic HTML coding without any concern for XHTML. The latter, more cutting-edge flavor of markup is covered in depth near the end of the book. The entire specifications for the HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 Document Type Definitions (DTDs) are included among the appendices.
While HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide is an excellent tutorial for learning markup the right way, it is also a superb desktop reference guide to keep nearby for daily use. Perhaps, there is no greater compliment for a Web development book. --Stephen W. Plain
After years of using spacer GIFs, layers of nested tables, and other improvised solutions for building your web sites, getting used to the more stringent "standards-compliant" design that is de rigueur among professionals today can be intimidating.
With standards-driven design, keeping style separate from content is not just a possibility but a reality. You no longer use HTML and XHTML as design tools, but strictly as ways to define the meaning and structure of web content. And Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are no longer just something interesting to tinker with, but a reliable method for handling all matters of presentation, from fonts and colors to page layout. When you follow the standards, both the site's design and underlying code are much cleaner. But how do you keep all those HTML and XHTML tags and CSS values straight?
Jennifer Niederst-Robbins, the author of our definitive guide on standards-compliant design, Web Design in a Nutshell, offers you the perfect little guide when you need answers immediately: HTML and XHTML Pocket Reference. This revised and updated new edition takes the top 20% of vital reference information from her Nutshell book, augments it judiciously, cross-references everything, and organizes it according to the most common needs of web developers. The result is a handy book that offers the bare essentials on web standards in a small, concise format that you can use carry anywhere for quick reference. This guide will literally fit into your back pocket.
Inside HTML and XHTML Pocket Reference, you'll find instantly accessible alphabetical listings of every element and attribute in the HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 Recommendations. This is an indispensable reference for any serious web designer, author, or programmer who needs a fast on-the-job resource when working with established web standards.
Now featuring more than 250 color illustrations throughout, this perennially popular guide is a must for novices who want to work with HTML or XHTML, which continue to be the foundation for any Web site
The new edition features nearly 50 percent new and updated content, including expanded coverage of CSS and scripting, new coverage of syndication and podcasting, and new sample HTML projects, including a personal Web page, an eBay auction page, a company Web site, and an online product catalog
The companion Web site features an eight-page expanded Cheat Sheet with ready-reference information on commands, syntax, colors, CSS elements, and more
Covers planning a Web site, formatting Web pages, using CSS, getting creative with colors and fonts, managing layouts, and integrating scripts
About this product: This best-selling text by Patrick Carey uses the New Perspectives Series signature case-based, problem-solving approach to teach students how to create simple to advanced Web sites using HTML and XHTML.
If you are looking for a complete site design solutions book, this is not it—but if you are seeking a book to help you solve many common problems—then this book will serve as a useful tool for you.
— Nate Klaiber
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 code snippets) 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.
About this product: 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.