Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS (Wrox Beginning Guides) [Paperback]

Jon Duckett (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764570781 | ISBN-13: 978-0764570780 | Publication Date: August 6, 2004

What is this book about?

Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS teaches you how to write Web pages using HTML, XHTML, and CSS. It follows standards-based principles, but also teaches readers ways around problems they are likely to face using (X)HTML.

While XHTML is the "current" standard, the book still covers HTML because many people do not yet understand that XHTML is the official successor to HTML, and many readers will still stick with HTML for backward compatibility and simpler/informal Web pages that don't require XHTML compliance.

The book teaches basic principles of usability and accessibility along the way, to get users into the mode of developing Web pages that will be available to as many viewers as possible from the start. The book also covers the most commonly used programming/scripting language — JavaScript — and provides readers with a roadmap of other Web technologies to learn after mastering this book to add more functionality to their sites.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

As the Web has evolved, tools and methods for creating Web pages have also changed and matured. This book teaches you to create Web sites using a combination of new and mature technologies and shows you the best practices that have emerged for using these technologies.

In these pages you will learn to build Web sites with traditional HTML and its successor XHTML. You will see how CSS can be used to make your Web pages more attractive by controlling the presentation and formatting of pages, and how to use JavaScript™ to enhance the power of your pages. Along the way you will learn how to make your pages work in several generations of Web browsers, including new Web-enabled devices such as mobile phones. You'll also learn techniques that make your site more usable and accessible.

What you will learn from this book

• How to create Web sites using established standards
• The differences between HTML and its successor XHTML
• How to include images and links in your pages
• Methods of collecting information from visitors to your site using forms
• Ways to control the appearance of your pages (such as fonts, colors, and backgrounds) using CSS
• How to use tables, frames, and CSS to control page layout
• Design issues such as creating simple navigation and usable forms
• How to deliver Web pages to a wide range of devices
• The basics of using JavaScript in your pages

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who wants to understand the language of the Web and learn to create Web pages. You should know how to access and view Web pages with a browser, but previous programming experience is not necessary.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

About the Author

Jon Duckett published his first Web site in 1996 while studying for a BSc (Hons) in Psychology at Brunel University, London. Since then he has helped create a wide variety of Web sites and has co-written more than ten programming-related books on topics from ASP to XML (via many other letters of the alphabet) covering diverse aspects of Web programming including design, architecture, and coding.
After graduation, Jon worked for Wrox Press first in its Birmingham (UK) offices for three years and then in Sydney, Australia, for another year. He is now a freelance developer and consultant based in a leafy suburb of London, working for a range of clients spread across three continents.
When not stuck in front of a computer screen, Jon enjoys listening to music and writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 840 pages
• Publisher: Wrox (August 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764570781
• ISBN-13: 978-0764570780
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #544,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > XHTML

More About the Author

Jon Duckett has been helping companies create innovative digital solutions for over 15 years, designing and delivering web and mobile projects for small businesses and tech startups through to global brands like Diesel, Philips, Nike, Wrangler, and Xerox.

During this time, he has has written and co-authored over a dozen books on web design and programming.

Jon has not only written his his latest book HTML & CSS (design and build websites), but also designed the entire book from scratch. Dispensing with the traditional template of programming books, he wanted to present the information in a manner that is less intimidating and more relevant to those who have never tried to write code before. The result is a new, exciting way to learn about HTML & CSS presented in full-color, with plenty of info-graphics and photography that really make the title stand out from other books that cover the same topics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid introduction to web front-end programming, November 17, 2004

By 

Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS (Wrox Beginning Guides) (Paperback)

I really like O'Reilly's Dynamic HTML, but this book is good as well. This book is more of a step-by-step walkthrough of HTML, through XHTML, CSS, layout and at the end an introduction to Javascript. The text is somewhat terse, but it's workable. Screenshots are somewhat heavy, but you would expect that in a book about a visual medium like the web. Some coverage, like Javascript, is a little too light to be genuinely complete in comparison with books like Dynamic HTML. Overall, a solid introduction to HTML, XHTML and CSS.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, but could be improved, June 21, 2005

By 

Gopher (East Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS (Wrox Beginning Guides) (Paperback)

As a person who already has some knowledge in html, I have found the book to be useful, if not entirely what I was hoping it would be.

The book starts at the entry-level of web development and through the course of the book adds to your knowledge base with each proceeding chapter. Chapters go over important features, as well as defunct features you might run into if your looking at the source code of someone else's site and some features that have no function now, but are expected to be useful for the next version of web browsers. For the most part, the information is good though from time to time you will get descriptions that would only make sense if you had played around with web development before.

The book also has the annoying habit of mentioning a feature and then saying "But you'll learn all about that in chapter " which becomes annoying after you've read this and similiar lines for the 20th time. There are also some exercises where you'll find yourself using features the book hasn't gone over yet, but fortunately, it tends to talk about it a little later in the same chapter.

The Appendices in the back do a reasonably good job at grouping everything you've learned for quick access, but often forgets to provide decent details so if you don't remember certain things about an XHTML element for example, you'll find yourself having to flip through the index and rereading that section of the book.

I would recommend this book to someone who is an intermediate web developer or someone with some experience developing websites, but for someone who is a beginner, I'd suggest looking around for a different book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough page turner, November 16, 2005

By 

B. Warrick "Benjamin Warrick" (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS (Wrox Beginning Guides) (Paperback)

For being a technical book, this was a very nice read. Similar to other Wrox books that I have read in that their basic format is a thorough explanation of a subject, then a "try it out" where you are able to implement the subject, and finally a "how it work" where the "try it out" is explained.

In addition to teaching html this book goes into other parts of web programming including CSS, JavaScript, and XML. The two chapters on CSS are informative but I would suggest a book dedicated to the vast subject. Each chapter for JavaScript and XML are more of an appetizer to wet your appetite for a more thorough dedicated title.

Could have used some color, especially the HTML color appendix. I would also suggest, if it becomes possible and soon I would think it should, getting an updated addition of this book. This information is certainly up to date but there is much "errata" or errors. One must visit the Wrox web site to gather these "updates" to ovoid confusion. Also, there are several errors not covered in the errata that even I was able to discover. This, however, is part of reading technical books. I don't think anyone purchasing this title is looking for a literary gem.

If I had it to do over I would still get this book. If I lost it I would replace it. And you do stop getting creped out by the author's picture staring at you after a few days.