HTML 4 Bible [Paperback]

Bryan Pfaffenberger (Author), Alexis D. Gutzman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764532200 | ISBN-13: 978-0764532207 | Publication Date: July 29, 1998 | Edition: 1

If HTML 4 can do it, you can do it too… Whether you're an aspiring Web developer or veteran Webmaster, attain absolute mastery of Web document design with HTML 4! Web experts Pfaffenberger and Gutzman take you from concept to finished product — providing step-by-step guidelines for building a Web page from scratch, enhancing your presentations with cascading style sheets, and incorporating interactive multimedia. Inside, you'll find complete coverage of HTML 4

• Make your HTML readable and avoid common syntax errors
• Develop directories to store your pages and graphics
• Enhance your Web pages with ActiveX Controls, Java applets, and JavaScript
• Weave cascading style sheets into your documents to control presentation
• Explore your server options — both Windows NT and UNIX
• Add excitement to your Web site — animated graphics, audio, and video
• Integrate "push" technology into your site

CD-ROM includes the latest versions of HTML browsers, full-featured HTML editors, site management software, sample Web pages and scripts, and trial versions of:

• Allaire HomeSite 3.0
• Claris Home Page 3.0
• Adobe PageMill
• NetObjects Fusion 3.0
• GIF Movie Gear 2.51

Plus Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.0 Shareware programs are fully functional, free trial versions of copyrighted programs. If you like particular programs, register with their authors for a nominal fee and receive licenses, enhanced versions, and technical support. Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you like—free—but they have no technical support. www.idgbooks.com System Requirements: PC running Windows 95/98/NT; Mac running System 7.x

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In HTML 4 Bible, you'll find a comprehensive definition of what is considered state of the art in Web-publishing languages. The book explains HTML tags and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) thoroughly, and it gives some attention to JavaScript as well.

Authors Pfaffenberger and Gutzman use a helpful problem-and-solution format that provides straightforward answers to common problems--they show you how to build image maps and create attractive forms, to cite two examples.

What's special about the book's approach is that it doesn't get sidetracked by the universe of detail that HTML 4 presents. Rather than choosing to ploddingly document the characteristics of one tag after another, Pfaffenberger and Gutzman explain their subject by describing how it is applied in practice. They explain, for example, how to arrange textual data so that people are more likely to read it.

The downside to this holistic approach is that HTML 4 Bible isn't the absolutely comprehensive HTML reference many readers will expect it to be. Books like that exist, and you may want to supplement HTML 4 Bible with one of them. But if you want a text that provides informed explanations of how to get the results you want with HTML, this book is for you. --David Wall

From the Publisher

Inside you'll find complete coverage of HTML 4:

Understand the basic structure of an HTML document
Build DHTML into your Web pages
Master the correct syntax for the HTML 4.01 standard
Exploit the new advanced features for creating Cascading Style Sheets
Liven up your pages with animation
Incorporate new imagemap options
Streamline Web site management using expert tips
Create fully compliant Internet and intranet Web pages

BONUS CD-ROM INCLUDES:
HTML Tidy source code validator

Trial versions of Dreamweaver 3, Fireworks 3, and Flash 4 from Macromedia, Inc.
Evaluation version of HomeSite for Windows
NetObjects Fusion and Script Builder trial versions --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764532200
• ISBN-13: 978-0764532207
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,588,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Decent Overview of HTML, June 7, 2000

By 

K. Cole (OKC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HTML 4 Bible (Paperback)

This "Bible" eases new HTML-coders into the language very gently and contains a variety of info. It introduces a very specific way to learn HTML 4 in tandem with Cascading Style Sheets and eventually JavaScript, which is theoretically the best way to learn the language... however some of the positioning tricks the authors suggest are still not supported by all browsers, and alternatives are not always suggested. There are a few typos that will frustrate more than a few readers. After spending time actually coding pages, the reader will want to find a specific answer to a nitty-gritty question or problem, but will only find an ambiguous "gloss". The book is a good start for anyone who is anxious about jumping into HTML. For the serious web builder and experienced coders, it offers a different slant on HTML 4, and excellent descriptions of CSS, etc., but will eventually need to be supplemented with another reference. It's not quite a "Bible".

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible - filled with errors & long unrelated sections., June 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: HTML 4 Bible (Paperback)

Truly disappointed with HTML 4 Bible, usualy the Bible series publishes great books. This one should be titled my genearl, overall, meandering feelings about HTML and everything else under the sun. Not only are there numerous errors in the code samples and explanations, the author inserts text after text of off subject, and bad, information. Such as pages advising the use of "active" verbs instead of "passive" verb usage in one's web content, and wondering passages about Xanadu and 'what it' that infinite cross reference idea ever takes off - how "one day" it should be incorporated into web page design. This book, by its title, should discuss HTML coding, its uses and examples - it does very little of that. In my frustration I had to stop reading 3/4 the way through and returned it.

I cant' recommend this book under any circumstances.

FYI I purchased O'Reilly's "HTML Definitive" book instead and I'm very happy with this later choice.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Accurate, November 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: HTML 4 Bible (Paperback)

This is a great book for an experienced Web developer. The authors take special pains to draw attention to what's new in HTML 4 and to indicate what works in each browser (and browser version). This book is always within reach of my computer. The index is excellent and the explanations and examples are clear and relevant. The appendices are also very helpful in showing what works in which browser.

I've seen many HTML books and this is the best one out there. So many of the books that are sold as HTML 4 books are really just re-packaged HTML 3.2 books. This one was written for HTML 4, which is really a different animal than HTML 3.2 It includes a comprehensive section on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the Document Object Model (DOM), and Javascript, and how the three work together to make Dynamic HTML.