Customer Reviews

Essential CSS and DHTML for Web Professionals (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this book quite dissapointing. I thought from what I read in the book summary that it would be a book on more advanced techniques, but it was really quite basic. Not a good beginning point for learners, and too basic for people who know more than the basics. Also, about 40% of the book is made up of reference appendices, disappointing, since the book isn't all that long (7 chapters, only 3-4 of which actually address real DHMTL). I would not have purchased this book if I knew before hand what I know now.

This may sound harsh, but if you can't learn the basics (and more) of DHTML and stylesheets from this book, then you should probably not be developing web sites. I've been slogged through hundreds of computer books throughout the years, and this is definitely in the top 5 as far as quality of writing, timeliness, usable code, and emphasis on real-world application. The text and code for the stylesheets (that's CSS for newbies) along is worth the price of the book. This book earns every one of its five stars.

I'm not sure which book the guy who gave this one star actually read. It wasn't this one. I didn't know squat about CSS or DHTML. I had to learn it quickly for my job, and reading this book and working through the examples taught me everything I needed to know in about three days. I already knew HTML and a little JavaScript. There's lots of code covering lots of different possibilities of CSS and DHTML, suggestions for best time-saving coding practices, and complete cross-browser code for IE 5 and Netscape 6. The title is just fine: I'm a web developer, and this book taught me (it's very well-written, by the way) all the essentials of CSS and DHTML as well as how to use them.

I've never written a review on Amazon before, but after seeing the single star review for this book, I have to respond. This book is great. It's terrific. I learned what was essential about CSS and DHTML and more and I absolutely have more job security right now that I did before I read this book. I'm already building web sites faster and with less effort than I was before I knew about CSS and DHTML. The book is not all about animating menus and tricks: it describes real-world uses of CSS and DHTML, when to use CSS/DHMTL, why to use them, how to use them, and all in a very friendly, conversational tone. It's clear the author considers teaching the material to you far more important than trying to impress readers with his knowledge. He obviously knows his stuff very well, but his goal is to teach the material, not awe you with his knowledge (or bore you to death, like many other computer books I have read).

The author uses browser version sniffing to achieve cross-browser DHTML, which means your code WILL break in the future if you follow his advice. Object detection is the way to go. I'm angry about the way this joker discusses CSS2 positioning properties such as float, clear, and position. He simply says, "These aren't supported the same way in all browsers, so just avoid them for now." I guess he has no faith in his own flawed cross-browser techniques! Hah! There are a couple good examples for beginners on how to hide and animate menus, but they are all heavily based on his terrible cross-browser javascript code. Finally, this book is very short. To make things worse, the pages are small, and the font-size is big. I recommend the 1400 page "Dynamic HTML - The Definitive Reference" second edition by Danny Goodman.

I wasn't sure about this book - the first edition didn't get great reviews. But this second edition has clearly been rewritten from top to bottom - the examples are great, the web site is up.

This book covers stylesheets (CSS), telling you how real-world programmers use its myriad feaatures, and then dives into DHMTL for Netscape 4 AND 6 (Netscpe 6 is weird, but it's well explained) and of course, Internet Explorer.

There's simple animations, placing layers, dragging layers, navigation systems, all sorts of cool stuff written in a really comfortable, friendly voice that knows you don't know DHMTL, but doesn't assume you're an idiot. The author is definitely a programmer who knows how to teach.

Even if you already know some DHTML, the code in the book is worth the price of admission. I don't usually gush like this, but I really think this book is one of the better ones out there.

Great place to start CSS and dHTML or refresh your memory plus a handy reference. This book tells you exactly how to create the nice little dHTML menus that you see at places like eddiebauer.com and others. Missing a few things. For you beginners, this does not directly cover the difference in Class vs. ID in the div tag but more hints at it. You're supposed to take what he's doing as gospel. Might be missing a few of the cool tricks from dHTML but overall it's great.

The name of this book is not descriptive. While it is written on CSS & DHTML, it by no means includes anything essential on these techniques. The book is limited to a few code examples. With the help of these snippets, it discusses how to write some nice effects on your web site. While the examples look nice, they are no good for learning CSS, nor DHTML. If you're about to make animated menus or interactive quizzes with JavaScript, this code might be a good starting point, but don't expect to learn the CSS & DHTML in full. Not for beginners. The appendices include references on CSS + JavaScript, and are probably the best this book has to offer. However, they are based on the now outdated browser versions 4.x. That's amazing since the book was published in 2001, when most people are already using versions 5 or 6.

This book is awful. Save your money.