Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide [Hardcover]

James H. Pence (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0613914392 | ISBN-13: 978-0613914390 | Publication Date: November 2001

Anybody who creates Web sites would benefit from learning how to use Cascading Style Sheets to streamline the design and consistency of their sites. This book is specifically targeted at people new to Cascading Style Sheets. It capitalizes on the established pedagogy of the Beginner's Guide series and covers areas such as: goals; ask the expert; 1-minute drills; annotated syntax; projects; and mastery checks. The book assumes that the reader does not have previous experience with Cascading Style Sheets and addresses the complete spectrum of design issues - from analysis to the finished product.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Essential Skills for First-Time Developers

Easily incorporate Cascading Style Sheets into your Web designs, using them to control Web page elements such as fonts, colors, and spacing. Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide uses real-world examples to illustrate the essential principles of the CSS syntax, and how they structure and present Web content. Learn to create inline, embedded, and external style sheets; use properties and values to influence Web page appearance; and explore CSS design models so that you can develop Web sites and page layouts with style sheets.

This Beginner's Guide is Designed for Easy Learning:

• Modules--Each concept is divided into logical modules (chapters), ideal for individualized learning
• Goals--Each module opens with the specific skills you'll have by the end of the module
• Ask the Experts--Q&A sections throughout are filled with extra information and interesting commentary
• 1-Minute Drills--Quick self-assessment sections to check your progress
• Annotated Syntax--Example code annotated with commentary that points to the particular technique illustrated
• Projects--Exercises contained in each module show how to apply what you are learning
• Mastery Checks--End-of-module reviews that test your knowledge using short-answer, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and simple coding questions

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

James H. Pence (Campbell, TX), author of How to Do Everything with HTML, is a self-described "non-technical" writer. He was trained in creative writing and journalism at the Dallas Theological Seminary. As a member of the HTML Writers' Guild, James authors and maintains his own Web site, Tuppence Creative Ministries, at www.tuppence.org. Additionally, he works as a freelance Web designer and is currently developing sites for author Reg Grant (www.reggrant.com). --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Sagebrush Education Resources (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613914392
• ISBN-13: 978-0613914390
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

More About the Author

James H. (Jim) Pence is a full-time speaker, singer, chalk artist, writer, and editor,living in North Texas. Jim turned to writing in 1988 as a helpful means of expression after the death of his baby daughter Michelle. Eight years later, Dallas Seminary's Kindred Spirit published A Road Not Chosen, Jim's narrative account of his and his wife's experience.

Jim broke into book publishing in 2001 with How to Do Everything with HTML, a how-to book on Web authoring, written "by a non-techie for non-techies," and published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill. He followed this book the same year with another book for Osborne: Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide. Osborne published a second edition of Jim's HTML book, re-titled How to Do Everything with HTML & XHTML, in 2003.

Also a published novelist, Jim is the author of Blind Sight (Tyndale, 2003), a suspense/thriller novel set in the mind-control cults. His most recent novel, The Angel (Kregel, 2006), is set against the backdrop of the euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide movements. The Angel provides a chilling look at what can happen when society no longer values human life. It is also a compelling portrayal of one man's struggle with Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Jim moved into nonfiction with his latest book, "Terror by Night", the true story of the brutal Texas murders that destroyed a family, restored one
man's faith, and shocked a nation. Terror by Night will be released by Tyndale House in October 2009. Tyndale is also going to re-release Jim's novel, Blind Sight with Terror by Night because there is an amazing connection between Blind Sight and Terry's recovery after the murder of his family.

A 1978 graduate of Dallas Bible College and a 2003 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Jim has been in full time ministry since 1978. He served fifteen years as pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Greenville, Texas before launching out by faith into prison ministry. He left pastoral ministry in 2000 to concentrate on reaching out into prisons in Texas. Jim continues to evangelize and disciple inmates through his Inmate Bible Institute and through prison chapel programs.

A talented chalk artist and vocalist, Jim has shared Christ across the United States through music and art. Jim and his wife Laurel recently celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary. They live on six acres in the country, northeast of Dallas, Texas, and have two children. Their son Chris is 20 and married his childhood sweetheart Betsy Corbet in 2008. Chris is in the army and is currently serving in Iraq. Jim and Laurel's daughter Charlene is
16, and is also a singer. Jim and Laurel have one grandchild, Elaina Michelle (daughter of Chris and his wife Betsy).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating!, July 16, 2004

By 

Babs L. Powers "babspace" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide (Paperback)

I swear the author of this book goes out of his way to make its readers feel incompetent. While full of useful information, this book is also just as full of typos and inconsistancies.

Do you want to know how frustrating it is to try and re-create a page using the code given to you in a book, have the page come out looking nothing like the example in said book, then finding out the reason for the discrepency is because the author actually coded their example differently? Well there's plenty of opportunities in this book!

I now have to learn inline CSS which I believe might have been covered to some extent in this book. I can't remember. That's how badly I want to forget this book! I'm sticking with CSS for Dummies!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Earnest & Thoughtful, but Repitious and Full of Typos, March 31, 2004

By 

OpenMinded (Maplewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide (Paperback)

This book covers basic CSS. It succeeds in offering a very gentle and fairly comprehensive overview of CSS1 features, with some CSS2. However, his constant warning about the lack of robust support for CSS in browsers is somewhat dated and tiring. The book is also full of annoying typos that at times prevent examples from working--a missing period here, a misplaced semi-colon there. Perhaps to make the chapters (called "Modules" here) independent, there is quite a bit of repetition of the same ideas in many chapters. The gradual introduction of CSS syntax and techniques also seems to incourage the author to use examples that mix CSS and traditional html in ways that are not good CSS practice, just apparantely oversimplified examples to make simple points about transitioning from HTML to specific CSS features. That distinction could be lost on a lot beginners who don't get a more solid understanding of how to use CSS to build more complete and consistent pages and websites. I therefore wish the author would have included more comprehensive examples, rather than lots of smaller out-of-context and disconnected ones. This book is not terrible. I just think you could probably do better now. I would give it 2 1/2 stars if I could.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great textbook but needs to professional editing, April 17, 2004

By 

julia (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide (Paperback)

It is a great hands on textbook. The author did a great job conveying concepts. Easy to understand especially talking about codes. However a lot of typing error and project data or instructional errors. Misspelled in a lot of places. Information inconsistency. Requires professional editing services. I think the author should continue to write these book. Pence is a good writer but need to make sure information, data or examples are consistent. It hinders the student when trying to do the projects.